We start the fast in the morning strong. By noon we start to get weaker. By the afternoon, we really begin to feel the fast. By sunset, right before we break it, things get difficult. Our lives mirror this. We start our lives strong as youth until we reach noon time, our 30’s and 40’s, we start to get weak. Once we reach old age (Asr and Maghrib) our physical abilities are greatly reduced until we leave this life. Fasting shouts to us our own mortality. Or own truth, “You are heading back to Allah." It is a reminder of our life, our responsibilities and the value of being young and physically capable. And just as we avoid some delicacies in the day, only to enjoy them later, if we spend our lives fasting from things that God has prohibited we will break our fast with Paradise!
Righteous people used to say, “I fasted from what God commanded and I hope to break my fast on Paradise."
A simple, but powerful, lesson for us all, as we toil through the day. May Allah make this fast a means of spiritual and social awakening.
-- Imam Suhaib Webb