Spiritual delights of fasting Ramadhan (4)

Today on the 4thday of the blessed month of Ramadhan, we start our daily programme titled “Spiritual Delights of Fasting Ramadhan” with the special supplication for the day:

“O Allah! Give me this day the strength to carry out Your commands; give me to taste therein the sweetness of Your remembrance; inspire me therein to give thanks for Your Munificence, and protect me in it with Your Protection and Covering (of faults); O Keenest of observers!”

"The one who feels thirsty while fasting for the sake of God in hot days, God will assign one thousand angels to wipe his face and give him tidings till he breaks the fast, saying: O my angels testify that I forgave him."

This is what Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) has informed us of the blessings of God. The Almighty has decreed a month of fasting for all those who are grown- ups, are healthy, are not very old, nor are travelers, and neither are feeble. Likewise, pregnant women, those giving suckle to infants and those passing through their monthly cycle of menstruation are exempted from fasting. Fasting is thus an exercise to control our gluttony and carnal desires for a month during the daylight hours, so as to strengthen our resolve and to make us aware of the have-nots of society.

In religious teachings there are guidelines which we enable us to attain the proximity of our Loving Creator. One of the works that bring us closer to the Almighty is the unique form of worship called fasting in the blessed month of Ramadhan. In this spiritual month, God has asked us to refrain from food and drink from pre-dawn till a little after sunset. Although fasting appears to be refraining from food and drink and keeping away from certain lawful bodily pleasures during certain hours, this wonderful act of worship is far greater in magnitude. A fasting person feels exalted internally, and it is evident that he or she has attained the proximity to the Almighty by keeping away from evil and other vain acts. On the other hand, a fasting person who merely keeps away from food and water, but does not keep his/her eyes, ears, and tongue, away from evil, deceit and mischief, is deprived of spiritual benefits. According to a narration there was a woman in the days of the Prophet who despite fasting used to regularly insulted and upset others. When the Prophet heard this he called that food be brought and placed before the fasting woman. The woman was surprised and said: O Prophet of God I am fasting. The Prophet said: how can you claim to be fasting while you were insulting and abusing others; beware that fasting is not merely refraining from eating and drinking.

Thus, as is clear, the Almighty has placed fasting as a barrier against evil deeds and words. In several verses of the holy Qur'an, God has described the visage of the true believers. In ayah 2 of Surah Anfaal, God says:

"The true believers are only whose hearts tremble with awe when Allah is mentioned, and when His signs are recited to them, and they increase in them their faith, and who put their in their Lord."

As could be clear from the wordings of the ayah that we recited, the natural result of faith in the Omnipresent God is proper cognizance of Him and reliance upon Him in all affairs. Trust in God has excellent spiritual and social impacts on us. Therefore one of the basic objectives of Islamic teachings is to strengthen the relationship between human beings and God, since this relationship guarantees the health and prosperity of mankind and society. Belief in the fact that the All-Wise and All-Omnipotent God observes every minute affair, even whatever is in our hearts or whatever flashes across our mind, acts as self-control for us.

A narration says the Archangel Gabriel once told the Prophet that when a person attains such an exalted state of cognizance of God and has complete trust in the Almighty, he or she does nothing except for the sake of God and pins hope in no one except God. Such persons acquire tranquility of heart and real peace of mind. One of the examples present in the holy Qur'an of such a person is Prophet Abraham (PuH) to whom God had revealed heavenly scriptures in this very month of Ramadhan. When the tyrant Nimrod ordered Prophet Abraham to be thrown into a huge fire, the young Abraham was calm and composed and did not panic because he had profound trust in God. He only sought refuge with God. Thus, when he was flung into the fire through a catapult, before he could land in the blazing inferno, God decreed the fire to turn into a cool garden and a safe place for Abraham. The enemies were surprised and shocked but they couldn't do anything. In ayah 69 of Surah Anbiya, God says:

"We said: O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham"

However, trust in God does not mean that we should ignore the use of our God-given faculties. Life requires the proper use of the facilities that God has put at our disposal. Therefore we should first have firm faith in God and then strive, as was practically taught by all Prophets, including Abraham and the Last and the Greatest of them all, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

AS/SS