What is prohibited during fasting
Question
What are the things which are prohibited during fasting.
Answer
A fasting person must not vitiate his fast and lose its reward. He must restrain himself [both physically and mentally] from doing or thinking of anything that incurs the wrath of God Almighty and which make him forfeit his fast. These include:
• Slander.
• Talebearing.
• Gossip.
• Looking at what God has prohibited.
• Quarrels and discord.
• Severing the ties of kinship.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It may be that a fasting person may not receive anything from his fast except hunger, and it may be that a person praying Qiyaam [the night vigil prayers] at night may not receive anything in recompense except staying up late" (reported by al-Nisa`i, ibn Majah, and Ahmed. Ibn Khuzaimah, ibn Habban and al-Hakem declared it authentic).
Anything that eliminates or diminishes piety eliminates or diminishes rewards because fasting was legislated to attain piety. God Almighty says: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may (learn) self-restraint” (Quran 2: 183).
And God Almighty knows best.