Ramadan is the month of peace and compassion. One’s self-purification in Ramadan should be reflected in their individual and collective life. Simply abstaining from food and drink during the hours of daylight without exercising a moral life is of no significance. 
One must not reduce Ramadan to abstaining from food and drink. Ramadan has great philosophy and humane messages for mankind rather than sheer suffering from thirst and hunger in this hot climate. One of the reasons behind remaining hungry and thirsty from dawn to dusk is to feel the extreme pain and suffering of the poor who put up with for years or for the whole life. Therefore, the rich have to help the poor financially. So, keeping fast is not an individual act, but it intends to boost the morale of compassion and humanity in a community. For instance, it will be immoral of one to live in skyscrapers and eat enormous food while their neighbors have no roof over their heads and suffer from starvation. Therefore, one has to nurture their humane feelings and emphatic and sympathetic emotions.
In Ramadan, all individuals are encouraged to repent for their past sins and pledge to live a moral life. Ramadan is called holy to inspire people to pay heed to spiritual life, exercise virtue, and shun vice.
The message of Ramadan for warring parties is to, at least, humanize the war if not quit it. They have to avoid spilling the blood of non-combatants, mainly women and children, the wounded in action and captives or hostages. In other words, humanitarian law, which stems originally from religious guidelines and ethical code, must be abided by. People’s natural rights and dignity, “bestowed by their Creator”, must be protected under any circumstances. The Islamic radicals, who claim to practice upon a certain ideology, must decrease their militancy and suicide attacks so as to prevent from mounting number of casualties.
The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful impurities. Ramadan also teaches Muslims how to better practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus, encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity.
John Foster Dulles has aptly said, “Economic and military power can be developed under the spur of laws and appropriations. But moral power does not derive from any act of Congress. It depends on the relations of a people to their God. It is the churches to which we must look to develop the resources for the great moral offensive that is required to make human rights secure, and to win a just and lasting peace”. Indeed, it is mosque, church, and temples for individuals, in which to polish their souls and uphold their moral activities. There is no military power or legal force in countries behind keeping fast, it is simply to enhance humanity and ethical code in the community through feeding souls by worship and fasting.
One’s practices should be also reflected in their individual life. Imagine praying with tearful eyes and a soulful heart in the privacy of midnight or at the crack of dawn. That is, what will be your feelings when a lump in your throat makes your tears run down your cheeks and a deep sadness is in your heart while there is thirst in your soul? A spiritual dialogue with your God at the altar of worship enables you to realize the sanctity of the Creator, which is emphasized in Ramadan.
Muslims should mold their souls according to religious tenets and moral standards and satisfy their spiritual needs through prayer and fasting. In short, it is the month of breaking the chains of slavery and purifying soul from satanic characteristics.
Not only individuals but human societies should revive moral standards in this month and keep them forever. They have to fight against both inward and outward evils for their entire life. The outrageous acts of horror and terror should be ceased and people’s dignity and fundamental rights must be respected not only during Ramadan but forever.
In Ramadan, holding out against passions, enduring hunger and thirst, and resisting carnal desire will awaken and arouse the dormant and secret inner force, provide an exercise in self-control and enable man not to succumb easily to the base desires like the outburst of lust, anger, and selfishness. So, to develop this resisting power gradually, one must have an occasion to fight against their desires and personal pleasures – Ramadan provides such an opportunity.