Pitfalls of Fasting

Ramadan is always welcomed as a month of salvation. A month in which good deeds are multiplied. A month in which forgiveness is readily available. A month in which piety is promised. But there is one aspect that we rarely discuss: the possibility of “accidents.” Yes, accidents.

Not accidents on the highway. But spiritual accidents where worship, which should be salvific, instead becomes a cause of loss.

The Quran mentions the purpose of fasting in an interesting phrase: “so that you may become pious” (QS Al-Baqarah: 183). The word “la’allakum” is not a language of certainty, but of hope. This means that fasting is an opportunity to achieve piety, not an automatic guarantee. And every opportunity always carries the risk of failure.

A Recurring Pattern in Worship

The Quran shows a consistent pattern: every act of worship has two possibilities – to elevate one’s status or to become a cause of accident. Prayer is praised as a deterrent against evil and wrongdoing. But there is a verse that states: “Woe to those who pray.” Not because they do not pray, but because they are negligent and lose the meaning (QS Al-Ma’un).

Charity is promised to be rewarded seven hundredfold (QS Al-Baqarah: 261). However, that reward can be nullified by boasting and hurting others. And fasting does not deviate from this pattern!

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned: how many people fast, but get nothing but hunger and thirst. That is a depiction of an accident in worship.

Four Fasting Accidents

There are at least four types of accidents that lurk for those who fast. First, the accident of intention. Fasting depends heavily on sincerity. In a hadith qudsi, it is mentioned that fasting is for Allah ﷻ and He Himself will reward it. This special characteristic is also the most silent test: is it truly done for the sake of Allah ﷻ, or for other factors such as social prestige, environmental pressure, or simply following tradition?

If the intention shifts, then all that remains is hunger and thirst. It is valid in appearance. It can be empty in essence. And worship that is empty is an accident that often goes unnoticed. Second, the accident of foundation: fasting without maintaining prayer.

Some are disciplined in refraining from eating and drinking, but lax in performing obligatory prayers. They are enthusiastic about Tarawih, but find it difficult to perform the Subuh prayer. In fact, prayer is the pillar of religion. If the foundation is cracked, the spiritual building will collapse. In this condition, the accident is multilayered: fasting loses its transformative power, and prayer loses its essence. Ramadan should improve the quality of the most fundamental worship, not just add ceremonial activities.

Third, the accident of behaviour: not abandoning falsehood. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever does not abandon false words and deeds (falsehood), then Allah ﷻ does not need him to abstain from his food and drink. Falsehood is not just verbal lies. It includes all forms of sin and futility; slander, insults, hate speech, to futile and destructive digital behaviour. This is where misinterpretations often occur. Many people understand Ramadan only within the time frame from suhoor to iftar. As if the obligation to restrain oneself stops when the Maghrib call to prayer is sounded. In fact, Ramadan is 24-hour education. If during the day we restrain ourselves from hunger, but at night we allow ourselves to sink into futility, then the essence of fasting is undermined. If during the fasting hours we guard our tongue, but after breaking the fast we feel free to criticize and hurt, then what we are guarding is only the eating schedule, not ourselves. This is the accident of behaviour: worship runs administratively, but character does not move even a little. Fourth, the biggest accident: without forgiveness. Ramadan is the month of forgiveness. However, the Prophet ﷺ said that woe to those who meet Ramadan but do not receive forgiveness. This is a serious paradox. How is it possible that in a month full of grace, there is no trace of the erasure of sins? The answer is simple: because fasting and all its series of worship are carried out without sincerity. Ramadan is not just an annual ritual. It is a moment of transformation. If after a full month we are still the same; the way we speak is still rude, the way we behave is still arrogant, bad habits are still maintained, then there is something wrong with the way we fast.

Between Safety and Accident

Fasting is a great opportunity to achieve piety. But opportunity always has a risk. Without a sincere intention, without a strong foundation of prayer, without controlling behaviour throughout the day; not just from suhoor to iftar, and without sincerely seeking forgiveness, fasting can lose its meaning and become an “accident”. We often feel safe just because we are fasting. In fact, what invalidates the value of fasting is not only food and drink, but a heart that never submits. The biggest accident in Ramadan is not hunger. But when that holy month passes, while we remain the same and the promised piety is never truly achieved.

Wahyuddin Luthfi Abdullah. Lecturer of Islamic Religious Education, Andalas University, Padang.