A literary beauty:

In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah tells us about fasting in the month of Ramadan and He tells us to eat and drink until dawn whereupon the fast starts. Surprisingly, immediately afterwards He brings our attention to money. He says “But do not eat each other’s wealth unjustly or send it to those in power in order to consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know.” [2:188]

Food and drink aren’t the only things we ‘eat’. They aren’t the only things that enter our system and nourish (or poison) our minds and body.

The way we spend our money also directly impacts our being. This verse is also directed at lobbying bodies and the elite who ‘donate’ to politicians and ‘sponsor’ political parties – you best believe in the end, it’s because they want a return on it. And that return comes out from the pockets of ordinary people (if it’s wealth they want), or it’s a return in the form of your obedience to some agenda they have. In the end, it’s to take from you unjustly and in sin.

But how is this related to fasting?

If you are someone who can say ‘No’ to food and drink that you may desperately want (or need), then you are someone who cannot be bought.

If you’ve been elected by the people to lead and serve, and you’re able to restrain yourself from desire, then you are someone who will never sell them out for personal gains.

If you’ve learnt that money and wealth is just like food and has boundaries, then you are someone who will never accept ‘donations’ and ‘sponsorships’ that have a sin at the heart of them.