It should also be borne in mind that fasting does not aim at inflicting punishment upon people or sadding upon them unbearable burdens. The underlying idea behind it is to teach moderation and spiritual discipline so that human temptations may not become so wild and uncontrollable as to flout the commands of the Great Master. To be a true servant of Allah, it is essential that man should be able to conform his behaviour to the moral and spiritual discipline embodied in the Shari'ah of Islam. One cannot achieve this end if one finds oneself helpless before untamed and turbulent desires. Fasting is indispensable for this moral and spiritual training.
Another distinguishing feature of Islamic fasting is that it does not train a person for complete renunication but for perfect and cheerful obedience to the Lord All those things from which man is commanded to abstain during fast, e.g. eating, drinking and sexual intercourse, become permissible for him at the end of the fast. This shows that Islam does not look down upon the appetite of flesh as something ignoble and thus fit to be exterminated root and branch from the human soul. According to Islam, there is nothing profane or ignoble in human personality: both soul and body are sacred and worthy of respect. No aspect is to be ignored and no urge is to be completely curbed. What is required is to keep all these urges well within their proper limits so that none of them transgresses natural bounds and becomes the source of trouble.
That fasting is an institution for moral elevation can be judged from the fact that Allah does not impose check only upon eating, drinking and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, but also exhorts His servants to refrain from other foul acts, for ex- ample, backbiting, indulging in foul speech, telling lies, etc. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying : If one does not abandon falsehood and other actions like it, God has no need that one should abandon one's food and drink (Sahih Bukhari).
https://www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/006_smt.html
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