بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Imām as-Sa’di (rahimahullāh) said in explanation of Allāh’s statement:

‎{ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ }
That you may become al-Muttaqūn [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]. Al-Baqarah: 183

Verily, fasting is from the greatest causes (of attaining) taqwa, because (fasting has within it) obeying the commands of Allah and staying away from his prohibitions.

Benefits of Fasting in Relation to Taqwa.

•  The fasting person leaves that which Allāh has prohibited for him – from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse and the likes of these affairs which the soul inclines towards – seeking closeness to Allah and hoping in reward from Allāh because of his leaving off these things; this is from taqwa.
•  Likewise from the means of attaining taqwa is, the fasting person trains his soul with the murāqabah of Allāh, so he leaves performing that which his soul desires – whilst he has the capability to carry out his desires – due to his knowledge that Allāh is all aware of what he does.
•  Fasting constricts the pathways of the shaytān, for indeed he runs through the veins of mankind, hence by way of fasting his influence is weakened and his effectiveness in inciting people to disobedience is decreased.
•  On the whole the fasting person is plentiful in performing acts of worship and obedience. Acts of worship and obedience are from the characteristics of taqwa.
• And from the means of attaining taqwa, is that the rich person when he tastes the pains of hunger, this necessitates and obligates that he is charitable and benevolent to the poor and destitute, this is also from the characteristics of taqwa.

Taysīr al-Karīm ar-Rahmān fī Tafsīr Kalām al-Mannān (Dār ibn al-Jawzī) pg. 84