Islam Guidance

(A) The Annual Spiritual Training

(A) The Annual Spiritual Training

Fasting during the month of Ramadhān[23] is the annual spiritual program for strengthening the soul and keeping the desires/emotions within the dictates of Divine laws. Allah has described the purpose of fasting as follows:

 O You who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you has it had been prescribed for the nations before you — so that you may become God-fearing. (2:183)

 God-fearing means taqwa. Taqwa, normally translated as “fearing God”, means the mind-set in which a person fears God's displeasure because of the love that he has for God. In other words, taqwa is a frame of mind which prevents the person from committing sins that cause God's displeasure with him.

 How does fasting in Ramadhan help in acquiring such a mindset of taqwa? Fasting is a ritual which begins at dawn and ends at sunset; and during that entire time, a Muslim is expected to refrain from ten things as follows:

Food.
Drink.
Inhaling smoke or dust.
Vomiting intentionally.
Submerging the head into a body of water.
Liquid enema.
Sexual intercourse.
Masturbation.
Staying till dawn in the state of impurity caused by sexual discharge.
To ascribe a statement wrongfully to God or His divine representatives.
 

The above list includes the two strongest desires of a human being: food and sex. By abstaining from them during the daytime for the whole month of Ramadhān, a Muslim is trained to strengthen his willpower and control his desires. By the end of Ramadhān, a Muslim is expected to be a spiritually stronger person than what he was before Ramadhan.

 A Muslim who goes through this annual spiritual training is expected to maintain the domination of his soul over his desires and emotions. However, this is not always easy for everyone. The spiritual power is not a static commodity; it has the potential of increasing and decreasing. The more you protect it, the more it will protect you; but if you neglect it, soon the desires will gain control of your life.

 Generally, people go through a cycle of spiritual strength and weakness. As the distance in time increases between the Muslim and the month of Ramadhān, the soul starts to lose its strength in the face of material temptations. That is why Allah has legislated the fasting on an annual basis so that we may get the opportunity to re-energize our soul and spirit at least once every year.

 One way of maintaining the domination of soul over desires is by fasting after the month of Ramadhan on the days which are highly recommended in our sharÄ«‘a. These days are:

 ·        first and last Thursdays of every lunar month;

·        first Wednesday after the 10th of every lunar month;

·        13th, 14th and 15th of each lunar month;

·        the entire month of Rajab and Sha`ban;

·        4th to 9th of Shawwal; 25th and 29th of Dhul Qa`dah;

·        1st to 9th of Dhul Hijja; 18th of Dhul Hijja; 24th of Dhul Hijja;

·        1st, 3rd and 7th of Muharram;

·        17th of Rabi al-Awwal; 15th of Jamadi al-Ula; 27th of Rajab.

 Fasting on these days (especially the first three in the list) will surely help in maintaining the strength of the spiritual power and will go a long way in keeping the desires under control.

 In short, the ritual of fasting is actually a spiritual training to strengthen the soul and control the desires — the very nature of the trial and tribulation faced by us in this life.

 This lesson has been written by Sayyid M. Rizvi.

• Prev
• Next