How Fasting Sets Higher Standards

Abu Hurairah reported that Prophet ( peace and blessing be upon him ) said :

Fasting is a shield. Let no one who is fasting commit any obscenity or foolishness. Should anyone engage him in a fight or slanging match, let him answer him by saying : I am fasting, I am fasting.

clipped from www.islamonline.net It is well known that fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the main duties Islam lays down for its followers. Some scholars consider these duties as pillars on which the structure of Islam is built. It is needless to say that fasting in Ramadan ranks on par with Prayer and zakah in its importance as a main Islamic duty. Indeed, it enjoys a special status, since it can only be fulfilled through abstention, rather than through a direct or positive action. For this reason, Allah is quoted by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying in a hadith qudsi, “Everything a human being does is his, with the exception of fasting, which belongs to me and I reward it accordingly” (Al-Bukhari). This is due to the fact that there are no apparent signs which indicate that a person is fasting.