Across Chicago and its suburbs this month, Ramadan raises a familiar question that we don’t often stop to examine: What is the point of a spiritual practice if it doesn’t change how we live together as a society? As someone involved in community and interfaith work in the Chicago area, I see this lesson play out every Ramadan in small but meaningful ways.
This year, starting Wednesday, Muslim families will fast from dawn to dusk, and mosques are opening their doors to neighbors each evening, not simply as a ritual but as a reminder that personal discipline and public responsibility are inseparable.
Ramadan is often described as a month of fasting. Yet its stated purpose in the Quran is broader. Fasting is prescribed “so that you may attain Taqwah” (2:183), a term that conveys moral restraint, ethical awareness and accountability. At its core, the idea is not to withdraw from society but to protect it by cultivating self-control and self-discipline in everyday life.
Ritual practices such as fasting are meant to establish a connection between an individual and the individual’s source of guidance, God. But that connection is not intended to remain private. It is meant to shape attitudes, behavior and public conduct. In this understanding, faith is only as meaningful as the kind of society it helps build: a peaceful, inclusive and protected society free from harm and injustice.
As someone involved in community and interfaith work in the Chicago area since 1987, I see this lesson play out every Ramadan in small but meaningful ways
Taqwah, therefore, is not limited to inner belief. It functions as a moral safeguard, an internal discipline that restrains excess, curbs destructive impulses and encourages accountability. A person shaped by it is expected to be careful with words, honest in dealings, restrained in behavior and responsible in public life. Ramadan, in this sense, is less about hunger and more about one’s public character. Behavior is thus a function of one’s Taqwah.
This is why fasting during the month goes beyond abstaining from food and drink. Participants are urged to restrain harmful speech, dishonesty, anger and ego. Islamic tradition warns that fasting, which does not curb destructive behavior, fails to achieve its purpose. The lesson is straightforward: Rituals lose meaning when they do not translate into ethical social conduct. Personal devotion that does not improve how one interacts with others remains incomplete.
Ramadan also functions as a period of moral training. For one month, Muslims practice restraint in its most basic form, resisting even lawful food and drink. The lesson is not deprivation but discipline. If one can learn to restrain appetite, one can learn to control impulse, rage and indifference. This inward focus is not an escape from society; it is preparation for engaging it more responsibly.
The timing of this training is significant. As people go about their daily lives, they are constantly exposed to social pressures, moral shortcuts and negative influences. Like a vehicle that requires periodic wheel alignment after navigating rough roads, Ramadan offers an annual recalibration. It realigns values, corrects drift and restores balance so individuals can continue navigating social challenges without veering off course, better able to resist temptation
The month also commemorates the revelation of the Quran, described as guidance for humanity. The sequence matters. Guidance precedes action. Social change untethered from moral grounding often becomes reactive and short-lived. Ramadan proposes a different model: disciplined reform rooted in values and aimed at lasting impact.
That moral training naturally extends into social responsibility. Experiencing hunger deepens empathy for those who face it daily, which is why charitable giving and volunteerism increase during Ramadan. Across Chicago-area communities, shared evening meals, food pantries and service initiatives become practical expressions of civic connection and care.
When Ramadan concludes with Eid, the celebration does not mark an end to discipline but its continuation. The expectation is that Taqwah produces ethical citizenship: service, justice and care for the vulnerable.
At a time when society is eager for change but often impatient with self-reflection, Ramadan offers a counterintuitive lesson. Lasting renewal begins with moral preparation. Before seeking to change society, one must first take responsibility within it. In that sense, Ramadan is not only a religious observance. It is also a civic reminder that the health of our social system depends on the ethical commitment of individuals within it.
Irfan Sarwar is a Chicago-area community organizer, youth activist and interfaith educator.
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