Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
One cannot benefit from fasting unless he or she restrains themselves from indulging in sins.
In is response to the question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states the following:
The purpose of fasting is to develop taqwa (piety) or mindfulness of Allah. Taqwa entails staying away from sins of mind, body and tongue by visualizing one’s standing for the final judgment before Allah, the Master, and Judge.
Therefore, fasting is not merely abstention from foods and drinks; rather it involves abstention from sins of all kind, major and minor, outward and inward.
Hence, one cannot benefit from fasting unless he or she restrains themselves from indulging in sins.
The Prophet’s words are worth remembering in this context, “Whoever does shun foul speech and indulging in obscene and lewd acts, Allah does not need him to go without food or drinks.” (Al-Bukhari) He also said, “Many fast and yet they gain nothing out of their fasts except hunger and thirst!” (Ibn Majah)
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.