In order to maintain economic equality and fairness in society, wealth needs to flow from the wealthy to the unfortunate. But often times, wealthy people do not understand the hardships of the poor, not because they are bad but simply because they haven’t experienced what it feels like to be poor. In order to experience this, Muslims are required to give up their worldly conveniences and step in the shoe of a poor person. During the month of Ramadan, practitioners are required to abstain from food, water, bad speech and sex from dawn till dusk.1 Fasting during Ramadan teaches Muslims self-control, discipline, sacrifice, empathy and compassion for the less fortunate and encourages generosity towards the poor. Most Muslims donate a percentage of their income as the obligatory tax (Zakāt) to the poor.2 Ramadan also encourages Muslims to devote time away from worldly activities into devotion and worship by rewarding greater than usual good deeds. Both fasting during Ramadan and charity (per year) are two of the five pillars of Islam and are necessary.3.

I think fasting is a great practice for exercising self-control, sacrifice and compassion towards the poor. Accompanying it with charity makes it a great custom for everyone (not only Muslims) to follow

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan#Fasting ↩

  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat ↩

  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam ↩