Subject: [Masjid Tucson] Submission weekly reminder

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


Peace be upon you,

[Quran 2:183] O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.

The importance of fasting to salvation is mentioned in both 2:183 and 2:187 (the first and last verses in this Quranic passage on fasting).

Among the benefits of Ramadan is the opportunity to nourish and strengthen our souls by following God's guidance to observe this month and to remember and implore God. Fasting can help us appreciate God's blessings of good food and water. We humans must have these to survive. We also need water for our animals and our crops (Quran 31:10, 32:27). God has even blessed us with the means to store water so we will have access to it even during droughts (Quran 39:21). By God's grace most of us have water coming to our homes and do not have to go out in the heat of the summer's day to get water or carry it home over long distances. Fasting can enhance our compassion for others who don't have these blessings (for example, an estimated 800 million people go to bed hungry) and our motivation to help them.

Fasting may help us kill our egos knowing how dependent we are on God and His provisions. It can motivate us to be on our best behavior so we do not nullify the gains of fasting by breaking God's commandments.

May the Most Merciful bless us with an easy and successful fast today and through Ramadan.


References:
Ramadan: fasting for the body and feasting for the soul, https://masjidtucson.org/publications/books/sp/2022/apr/page1.html
Ramadan / Remembrance, https://masjidtucson.org/publications/books/sp/2022/apr/page2.html

Peace.