Divine Messages in Fasting-I

02/08/2010| IslamWeb

The act of fasting has great inner meanings and sublime goals that  never cease to amaze us if we reflect upon them deeply, causing us to realize the greatness of the Islamic Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation). Perhaps, on our own, we may come to realize only a few of these meanings and goals, while many of them continue to remain hidden. They include:

First: Realizing the true meaning of worshiping Allah The Almighty and submission to Him.

Fasting is unanimously considered one of the important pillars of Islam and one’s Islam cannot be complete without it. It trains the slave in obedience and adherence and reminds him that he is a slave of Allah The Almighty, not a slave of anyone else. Thus, Allah The Almighty orders the Muslim to eat at a particular time. If the Muslim fasts during that specified time, he would be disobedient, such as fasting on the day of ‘Eed or fasting continuously without breaking the fast. At other times, Allah The Almighty orders him to fast, and if he breaks his fast at that time, he would be disobedient.

This objective is also achieved in Ihraam (sacral state). The slave abstains from many things while in the state of Ihraam and is ordered to do them elsewhere. This reminds the Muslim that he is a slave of Allah The Almighty, and urges him to carry out His orders and abide by His ordinances. If people grasp this great meaning and consider it in their worship, it would affect their whole life since its meanings are not just applicable to the well-known pillars of Islam. This makes the Muslim like an ideal soldier in every situation who is ready for action, awaiting the command to fire or to withhold.

Fasting is training on the perfection of worship of Allah The Almighty. The issue is not a matter of desires and tastes; it is pure obedience to Allah The Almighty and carrying out His orders. Worship of Allah The Almighty is the greatest goal of fasting and the greatest of all acts of worship. A large number of Muslims neglect this meaning. They may perform some acts of worship, but they do so without spirit, and thus, these acts no longer have the desired impact on them with regard to achieving the meaning of worshiping Allah The Almighty. Indeed, worshiping Allah The Almighty is real freedom; complete freedom lies in complete worship of Allah.

 

Second: Fasting is connected with faith. It is a secret act of worship between the slave and His Lord. The person can break his fast whenever he wants by eating, drinking, or by his intention even if he abstains from food or drink all day and appears to be fasting. When the slave abstains from things that break the fast while being able to have them in secret, this indicates that he certainly feels Allah The Almighty is watching his secret and hidden matters. If you contemplate, you will find that this faith-based secret runs through all acts of worship. Ablution and Ghusl, (ritual bath) for instance, purify the Muslim from impurities, and if he came to prayer without purification, people would not know that. Similarly, he performs the prayer and its required reading of the Quran and Tasbeeh (words of praise) in bowing and prostration. He says these Athkaar (remembrance) secretly without being heard by the one next to him. Nothing urges the Muslim to say these Athkaar except his deep faith in his Lord Who knows his secrets and what is more hidden. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden.}[Quran 20:7]

 

Third: Fasting directs the slave to piety. Thus, Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {…that you may become righteous.}[Quran 2:183] The fasting person is aware that he neither eats nor drinks -- although eating and drinking are in principle lawful -- because he has made a promise with Allah The Almighty. He abstains from eating and drinking seeking the reward from Allah The Almighty, so he must, with a stronger reason, abstain from the misdeeds that he knows are prohibited under all conditions. If the Muslim comprehends this meaning, he would realize the inner secret and true meaning of fasting. In other words, how come he abstains from food and drink, which are basically lawful, then indulges in backbiting, tale-bearing, false statements, false testimonies, or the like? It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, , said: "Whoever does not eschew false statements and working accordingly, Allah does not need him to abstain from food and drink." [Al-Bukhari] The one who keeps away from false statements and works according to them, still Allah The Almighty does not need him to abstain from food and drink. However, the Hadeeth (narration) means that Allah The Almighty did not ordain fasting because He wants you to abstain from food and drink; rather, He ordained fasting so that you would be trained to avoid false statements and from working accordingly. If you insist on saying false statements and working according to them, there is no benefit in your fasting, and if fasting does not stir this meaning in you, then your fasting will be useless. This is a very unique point which must be considered by the fasting person. Fasting raises man to piety and quitting all the prohibitions including backbiting, tale-bearing, foul language, calumny, and the other evil manners which destroy the individual and society.

Fourth: Fasting educates the society. When the fasting Muslim sees all those around him fasting, he feels the solidarity of society in an aspect of worship which unites them all. This is one reason why observing the obligatory fast is easy and observing the voluntary fast is (relatively) difficult. The Muslim who observes fasting in Ramadan finds people fasting wherever he goes. He feels that everyone around him is taking part in this act of worship and that he is doing a normal act that all people are doing. This is contrary to voluntary fasting.

Thus, fasting contributes to the education of society. Even in societies where corruption prevails, one finds the effects of Ramadan apparent in general, even among the dissolute people. This is the blessing of Ramadan and of such education.

Divine Messages in Fasting-II