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

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sālih al ‘Uthaymīn (rahimahullāh) said,

The wisdom behind fasting is not that a person merely prevents himself from the grace of Allāh (‘azza wa jal), such as food, drink and sexual relations; however the wisdom behind fasting is something greater than that, it is (that you attain) the taqwa of Allāh, as Allāh (tabāraka wa ta’āla) said when he mentioned the obligation of fasting

‎[البقرة:183] ‎{ 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

At-Talīq ‘ala Risālah Haqīqah as-Siyām pgs. 12-13

Shaykh ‘Abdur Razzāq al-Badr (hafidahullāh) said,

The taqwa of Allāh is to obey Him, adhere to His commandments and abstain from His prohibitions.

The meaning of taqwa, is that the servant places a barrier between him and between that which he fears. And the taqwa of a servant in relation to his Lord, is that he places between him and his Lord a barrier that protects him from that which he is scared of, from Allah’s anger, displeasure and punishment.

And that is not achieved except by the performance of acts of obedience and refraining from acts of disobedience.

http://al-badr.net/muqolat/2515

Question: “If a woman owes days of fasting from Ramadān, is it permissible for her to fast the six days (of Shawwāl) before the days of Ramadān or does she prioritise the days of Ramadān before the six?”

Answer: “If a woman has to make up fasts from Ramadān, she should not fast the six days from Shawwāl except after making up the fasts of Ramadān. That is because Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadān, then follows it with six days from Shawwāl…), so whichever woman has to make up days from Ramadān, hasn’t fasted Ramadān and so does not acquire the reward of the six days except after she finishes making up the fasts she owes.

Supposing the fasts required to be made up by a woman takes up the whole of Shawwāl, such as the woman who went through post-natal bleeding and didn’t fast a single day of Ramadān. Then she begins making up the fasts in Shawwāl and doesn’t finish until after Dhil-Qi’dah enters, here she fasts the six days of Shawwāl (although ouside of Shawwāl), and for her is the reward of the one who fasted them in Shawwāl, because her delaying of those days were due to necessity and so her fasting of those six days (outside of Shawwāl) is excused and so she acquires the reward.”

Majmū’ Al-Fatāwā Wa Rasāil of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn, volume 20, page 19, Kitāb Aṣ-Ṣiyām, Question 386.
Translated By Abu Humayd Sālim

Question: I heard on the program ‘Nūr ‘alā ad-Darb’ in reply to a question that it is obligatory that the feeding (expiation for not fasting) is NOT to restricted to one poor person, but rather for every day missed, a different poor person is to be fed.

Answer: Concerning this matter I am not aware of it being obligatory to feed a multiple of poor persons when making the expiation for missed fasts. Allāh, the Majestic, the Most-High, says:

“As for those who can fast with difficulty, they have (a choice either to fast or)
to feed a Miskīn (needy person) (for every day).”
[Al-Baqarah:184]

And so long as the person concerned carries out the expiation of feeding and was to do so with one poor person, I hope and see that as being sufficient, if Allāh wills.

Majmū’ Fatāwā of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Al-Fawzān, volume 2, page 423. 

In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Betower of Mercy

Shaikh Uthaymeen [rahimahullaah] said: This precaution is not legislated and indeed the Prophet [sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam] said: “The over-stringent ones are destroyed”. [Ref 1; see further benefits on this hadeeth at the end of this article]

It [i.e. this type of precaution] is incorrect because if they [i.e. the people] take this precaution in relation to the fasting, they will commit a mistake or a misdeed. That is because many people stand up and [start] praying Fajr when they hear the Mu’addhin. Therefore, the one who hears the A’dhaan of the Mu’addhin before Fajr and starts praying, he might have prayed before the right time and prayer before its right time is incorrect. So in this regard, the Musalloon [performers of the prayer] have been wronged.

Likewise, the Saa’imoon [i.e. those who intend to perform the fast on that day] are wronged because he [Mu’addhin] prevents them from eating and drinking despite the fact that it is permissible [i.e. eating and drinking until the correct time of Fajr].  He [the Mu’addhin] commits an offence against the Saa’imoon because he prevents them from that which Allaah has made permissible for them; and he commits an offence against the performers of the prayer when they pray before the right time of Fajr and this is a nullifier of the prayer.

Therefore, it is obligated on the Mu’addhin to fear Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic] and that he follows- whilst aspiring to establish what is correct- that which the Book and Sunnah guides to.

[Source: An Excerpt from ‘Majmoo Fataawaa’ of the Shaikh (rahimahullaah) 19/295]

Ref 1: The Messenger (sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam) said, ‘’The over-stringent ones are destroyed’’: Imaam Nawawi (rahimahullaah) said: ”The over-stringent ones are those who look too deeply (into affairs) and are excessive- those who exceed the Hudood [prescribed legislated sharia boundaries] in their statements and actions.” [Source: Saheeh Muslim Hadeeth Number 2670 & Saheeh Muslim Bi-Sharh An-Nawawi Vol 16, Page 180 & page 220. Publisher Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyyah 1^st ed 1421AH (Year 200)]