The Meaning of the Saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Fasting is a shield”

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the meaning of the hadith “Fasting is a shield”? And is it true that one should fast when people fast and break the fast when people break the fast?

Answer:
These are two issues. The first issue is about the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Fasting is a shield.” A shield is what a person takes as protection between himself and the weapon, between himself and the projectiles, and between himself and the injuries, like the shield one uses to protect oneself from projectiles. So, fasting is a shield in the sense that it protects you from sins, which are more severe than the impact of weapons or the impact of projectiles. Fasting protects you from sins, and therefore it is called a shield, meaning that it shields you and wards off injuries from you. This indicates the virtue of fasting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: They asked: “With what is it breached?” He said: “With backbiting or talebearing, or something of that nature.” This is from the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, protect your fasting from the factors that affect it. Fasting is not merely abstaining from food and drink; rather, it is abstaining from what Allah has forbidden at all times. There is a permanent fast until death, which is fasting from what Allah has forbidden. And there is a fast at a specific time, whether obligatory or voluntary, which is abstaining from food, drink, and things that break the fast.
And this is the easiest type of fasting. It may be easy for a person to abstain from food and drink, but it is not easy for him to abstain from backbiting, talebearing, and bad words. So, the Muslim should be aware that fasting is not merely abstaining from food and drink while letting his tongue run loose in forbidden speech, forbidden looking, and forbidden listening.
He said: Yes.