Imam Al-Ghazali Warns Against Eating Poison That Undermines the Value of Fasting

Fasting is not merely about withholding hunger and thirst. A Muslim must protect the entire body from sinful acts and ensure that the food eaten at iftar is halal and not excessive. While carrying out the fasting, a Muslim should also guard the hands, feet, and other limbs from all forms of reprehensible deeds. Muslims are also required to guard the stomach from foods that are haram or syubhat at the time of breaking the fast.

Imam Al-Ghazali, in the book Ihya Ulumuddin, explains that there is no meaning in those who fast during the day by abandoning halal food, yet at iftar consume haram food, whether in the food itself or in the way it is obtained.

People like that are like someone who intends to build a palace, but in doing so destroys the entire city.

The prominent scholar Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Ghazali also explains that it is prohibited (haram) to eat foods that are halal yet acquired through excess or greed. Reducing and restraining oneself from halal is not only permitted but obligatory, and this is manifested through the practice of fasting.