Praise be to Allah Who has thwarted the hopes of Satan and frustrated his plots by making fasting a bulwark and a shield for his righteous servants; Who taught them that the way of Satan to their hearts lies in secret lust; Who has made known to them that only through subduing its secret lust could the soul assert its superiority.
Fasting is distinguished from the other pillars of Islam by its special and peculiar position in relation to Allah, since He informed us through His Prophet : "Every deed of the son of Adam will be given a ten-fold reward, up to seven hundred. Allah says: ‘Except fasting, for it is (exclusively) meant for Me, and I (alone) shall reward for it, for he gives up his desire and his food for My sake…’.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
To have an idea of the excellence of fasting one has only to remember the words of the Prophet when he said: “By Him in whose hand is my life, the smell from the mouth of a fasting person is better before Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [A-Bukhari and Muslim]
Since the excellence of fasting has become very important, it is necessary for the Muslim to know its inward and outward conditions. However, this article will be concerned with the inward requirements of fasting, because this aspect of fasting is less covered in comparison with the outward duties and regulations of fasting which are heavily discussed.
Pondering upon the nature of fasting, one of Islam's major acts of worship, the scholars came to the conclusion that there are three levels of fasting:
1. The fast of the ordinary person
This fast consists of the abstinence of appetite, sexual intercourse, noise, arguing etc.
2. The fast of the select few
This one is that of keeping the ears, eyes, tongue, hands, feet together with all the other senses free from sin. The people in this category free themselves from sin in the following ways:
• Refraining from looking at anything that is blameworthy or disapproved such as telling lies, backbiting, telling tales, perjury, covetousness and lustful gazes.
• Keeping the tongue free from ranting and raving, obscenity, abusive speech, wrangling, and hypocrisy. Rather, one should busy himself with the remembrance of Allah and the recitation of the Quran.
• Closing the ears to all that is reprehensible.
• Constraining the rest of the senses from sin. Restraining the hand from evil, curbing the foot from the pursuit of wickedness, avoidance of questionable foods at the break of the fast.
• Overindulgence in food because the spirit, as well as the secret, of fasting is to weaken the flesh which is Satan's tool for turning mankind back to evil.
• After breaking the fast, the heart should remain in a state of suspense between fear and hope as one does not know whether the fast has been accepted.
3-The Fast of the Elite
The fast of the Elite means the fasting of the heart from unworthy concerns and worldly thoughts, in total disregard of everything but Allah. This kind of fast is broken by thinking of worldly matters, except for those conducive to religious ends, since these constitute provision for the Hereafter and are not of this lower world.
To this third degree belong the Prophets, the true devout worshippers and the intimates of Allah. It consists in utmost dedication to Allah to the neglect of everything other than Him. It is bound up with the significance of His words (which mean): {Say: `Allah (sent it down) then leave them to play in their vain discussions."} [Quran 6:91]
The Inward Requirements
In order for one to achieve the special fasting, the one practiced by the righteous, one should keep one's organs free from sin, and certain things are required to accomplish this type of fast:
1. Not seeing what displeases Allah
This means restraining the eyes from viewing anything that is reprehensible, or that distracts the heart and diverts it from the remembrance of Allah.
2. Not speaking of what displeases Allah
The Prophet said, “When anyone of you is observing fasting, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor should he raise his voice; and if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him, he should say: `I am fasting.`” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
3. Not hearing what displeases Allah
Everything unlawful to utter is likewise unlawful to listen to. That is why Allah equated the eaves-dropper with consuming what is unlawful, as Allah Says (what means): {Listeners to falsehood, consumers of illicit gain.} [Quran 5:42]
4. Not doing what displeases Allah
Keeping all limbs and organs away from sin: the hands and feet from reprehensible deeds, and the stomach from questionable food. The Prophet said: "How many of those who fast get nothing from it but hunger and thirst!’ [Ibn Maajah] This has been taken by some scholars to mean those who break their fast on unlawful food.
5. Avoiding overeating
Not to over-indulge in lawful food at the time of breaking fast, to the point of stuffing one's belly. There is no receptacle more odious to Allah than a belly stuffed full with lawful food. Of what use is the fast as a means of conquering the enemy of Allah (Satan) and abating appetite, if at the time of breaking fast, one makes up for all what he has missed during the daytime? It has even become the custom to stock up for Ramadan with all kinds of foodstuffs, so that more is consumed during that time than in the course of several other months put together.
It is well known that the object of fasting is to experience hunger and to check desire, in order to reinforce the soul in piety. If the stomach is starved from early morning till evening, so that its appetite is aroused and its craving intensified, and it is then offered delicacies and allowed to eat its fill, its taste for pleasure is increased and its force exaggerated; passions are activated which would have lain dormant under normal conditions.
The spirit and secret nature of fasting is to weaken the forces which are Satan's means of leading us back to evil. It is, therefore, essential to cut down one's intake to what one would consume on a normal night, when not fasting.
6. Looking to Allah with fear and hope
After the fast has been broken, the heart should swing like a pendulum between fear and hope. For one does not know if one's fast will be accepted, so that one will find favor with Allah, or whether it will be rejected, leaving one among those He abhors. This is how one should be at the end of any act of worship he performs.
So, every act of worship has an outward form and an internal form—an external husk and internal pith. It is for you to choose whether to be content with the husk or join the company of the wise and learned.