By Syeda Sumayya
“O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183)
Ramadan is not about food, but a month where the soul connects to Allah more easily because we are doing what we were created for: Huquq-ul-Allah (Rights of Allah) and Huquq-ul-Ibad (Rights of people).
We fast to control our desires in the form of food and water, and to increase charity, kindness towards people, forgiveness, honesty, justice. Without understanding the Qur’an, our fasting has no soul and becomes just a tradition.
Ramadan is not just a month of fasting or preparing delicious food or thinking about what to cook next, but a month of spiritual growth – a month full of tranquillity. It is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who communicated it to mankind. But unfortunately, people are more concerned about what to consume and how to make iftar more delicious, or how to make family and neighbours happy with new dishes. In the rush of what to prepare next, we neglect the bond with the Qur’an, dua, and spiritual growth during the month.
Ramadan and Food Industries
Ramadan is a “peak season” for the food industry, with an average increase of 15% to 25% compared to other months due to over-ordering at iftar. Organisations like the Robin Hood Army and No Food Waste reported a 35% increase in food recovery calls during Ramadan 2025.
So, we need to understand Ramadan is not about food schedules, it’s about charging yourself to connect with Allah in long term. Ramadan is a rain, and our heart is like soil. As rain cannot produce agriculture everywhere on earth because soil needs preparation, in the same way our hearts need preparation before the rain of Ramadan touches heart. The heart needs to be softened by the remembrance of Allah so that the rain of Ramadan can penetrate easily into it, making it bloom.
To make this possible, certain habits is required to change. The swap of habits:
From Phone to the Qur’an
Starting our day with revelation, not notification, because notifications demand reaction and Revelation cultivates reflection. When our mornings look like alerts, overload information, it becomes habit. But when it begins with Allah’s words, the hearts gain clarity and calmness.
Replacing Overeating to Sunnah-Style Meals: Excess eating at iftar and suhoor dulls the heart and burdens the body. But Islam teaches us to eat moderately: one-third food, one-third water, one-third air. This restores energy and keeps the heart light for worship, because hunger teaches restraint, excess erases its lesson.
From Gossip to Dhikr: Speech that harms others weakens the spiritual core of fasting. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up food and drink.” (Bukhari)
From Music to Mindful Listening: Choosing the Qur’an over music creates an environment where the heart can soften and reconnect. Allah says: “Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah.” (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:28)
Replacing Unnecessary Shopping to Sadaqah: Sadaqah purifies wealth, disciplines the ego and reminds the fasting person that true fulfilment lies in giving, not accumulating.
The Way Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Fasted
The fasting of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was marked by simplicity, intention and discipline – not hardship for its own sake.
The suhoor: light, purposeful and sometimes minimal. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged suhoor, saying: “Eat suhoor, for indeed there is blessing in it.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
The iftar: breaking the fast immediately at sunset. The fasting of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the very opposite of a food-centred routine. His fast did not revolve around planning meals, counting dishes, or recovering from overeating. Instead, it revolved around obedience, restraint, and spiritual presence.
He ﷺ would take suhoor, but it was often light – sometimes only a few dates and water – taken for barakah, not indulgence. He taught that blessings lie in suhoor, yet his practice showed that the purpose was spiritual preparation, not physical satisfaction. At the sunset, he would break his fast immediately, first with dates, or water if dates were unavailable. This simplicity reflects a powerful principle: the fast ends with remembrance, not with excess.
Even after a long day of hunger, the Prophet ﷺ warned against overeating, saying that no vessel is filled worse than the stomach, and that balance is the way of the believer. This guidance directly challenges a culture where fasting becomes an excuse for overconsumption at iftar.
The Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ was defined by simplicity, restraint, and purpose. Food existed, but it was never central. Their fasting reduced attachment to the world, sharpened self-discipline, and strengthened their bond with Allah. Hunger softened their hearts, not their schedules.
Modern-day Ramadan vs Prophetic Way
In contrast, the modern-day Ramadan often revolves around planning meals, scrolling recipes, and recovering from excess. The fast begins with restraint but ends in indulgence, turning a spiritual discipline into a daily cycle of deprivation followed by overcompensation. When this happens, fasting risks becoming a routine of timing rather than a training of taqwa.
This comparison is not meant to romanticise the past or condemn the present, but to invoke reflection. If their fasting produced patience, generosity, and moral clarity, and ours produces exhaustion, distraction, and waste, then the difference lies not in the length of the fast, but in its intention.
Ramadan does not ask us to replicate Prophetic circumstances, but to realign our priorities. The question is not how elaborate our iftar is, but how much of the self is restrained, reformed, and refined by fasting. When fasting moves away from food and returns to purpose, it once again fulfils its Qur’anic promise – shaping hearts, not menus.
[The writer is studying in B.SC Final Year, and is Secretary of GIO Sindhanur, Karnataka]
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