Ramadan is the most awaited holy month of Islamic calendar. The rewards of our good deeds are multiplied in this month and no one can ever imagine how blessing this month is. Islam is a beautiful religion and a large number of people are converting to Islam every day. Islam is the religion of love, peace, and harmony and promotes the same. Muslims all around the globe fasts the whole month for the sake of Allah Almighty.  there are infinite benefits of fasting in Islam and Islam encourages everyone to take part in fasting month and earn infinite reward. Fasting is just not the name of refraining one from eating all day but also brings so many spiritual benefits of fasting in Ramadan. Let’s have a look at the benefits we can earn if we start fasting.

Physical Benefits

Our bodies are an amanah from Allah and fasting helps us take care of that amanah! Here are some of the physical health benefits of regular fasting:

• It protects you from obesity and associated chronic illnesses
• It reduces inflammation
• It boosts cognitive performance and may help in preventing neuro-degenerative disorders
• It promotes blood sugar control by reducing insulin resistance
• It enhances heart health
• It could delay aging and promote long life.

It is Sunnah to fast, not only in Ramadan, but also regularly throughout the year and there are clearly many health benefits to it! However, we should always remember to keep our intentions pure.

Ultimately we fast for the pleasure of Allah, not to lose weight, decrease heart disease, or because ‘it is good for us’. So make the correct intention every time you fast and remind yourself of this intention throughout the day! There are also some economic benefits of fasting in Islam.

Mental Benefits

One of the ways fasting helps us mentally is by improving our relationship with food. Food is one of the most incredible blessings Allah has created for us. It gives us the joy of sharing a meal with our loved ones, the pleasure of inviting aromas and delicious tastes, and the satisfaction of creative expression through cooking and experimenting. The power of food is so potent that many of us even associate Ramadan - the month of fasting! - With delicious dishes like samosas, fruit salad and biryani. It is wonderful that we take so much delight in food, as Allah is the One Who provides it for us:

‘And it is He Who causes gardens to grow, trellised and untrellised, and palm trees and crops of different (kinds of) food, and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of (each of) its fruit when it yields and give its due (Zakat) on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess’. [The Noble Qur’an, 6:141]

Also Read: Ramadan Timings 2022

The spiritual Benefits of Fasting in Ramadan

Alhamdulillah, fasting is good for our bodies, minds and our souls! It helps us spiritually in this life and is a special investment in the next life:

1: It increases our Taqwa.

’O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those who came before you, so that you may attain Taqwa (piety)’. [The Noble Qur’an, 2:183]

Having Taqwa has often been translated to being conscious of Allah, fearing Allah or simply being pious. It has the profound meaning of being vigilant over our own lives as if constantly conscious that Allah can see us.

2: It protects us from the Fire.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘A worshipper does not fast a day for the sake of Allah except that that day (of fasting) distances the Fire from his face by seventy autumns’. [Tirmidhi]

SubhanAllah, a single day of fasting takes us far away from Hellfire. Now, imagine the reward of those who fast every week or even every month. How distant they must be from the Fire, and how close to Jannah!

3: It leads us into Paradise.

The Prophet (saw) said, ‘Indeed, there is a gate of Paradise called Ar-Rayyan, through which only those who fasted will enter on the day of Resurrection. No one else will enter it along with them. It will be said, “Where are those who fasted, that they may enter?” When the last of them enter, it will be closed and no one else will go through it’. [Bukhari]

4: It carries unimaginable reward.

Like many good deeds, fasting will carry us to Jannah and distance us from Hellfire. But what is the specific reward of fasting? What is something we can only gain by fasting for the sake of Allah?

The Prophet (saw) said, ’Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten times it’s like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, “Except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will give recompense for it, as he leaves off his desires and his food for Me”. For the fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk’. [Bukhari]