Narratives reaching us from 's (s.

Narratives reaching us from 's (s.a.w.) Ahl-ul-Bait, wonderfully explain these facts. How beautifully the eighth Imam of the Prophet's pro.geny All ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.) expounds the philosophy of fasting,as a blessing from the Almighty, so that one becomes aware of the hardships of the poor and the needy and quite naturally feels obliged to pay out of what Allah has granted us. Moreover, he says.

that by realizing the pangs of hunger and thirst one becomes aware of the Day of Resurrection when people will have to stand for timeless hours waiting their turn to be judged. In short, concludes the Imam, fasting builds up personality because the restraint over desires helps us acquire the virtues of modesty, self- control, humbleness of character, hope, kindness, generosity, forbearance etc..

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) has been quoted as saying: "Allah made fasting incumbent to make equity between the rich and the poor. A rich man does not feel the pains of hunger to have mercy for the poor, since he is able to obtain whatever he likes. (By enjoining fasting) Allah…