The Real Purpose of Fasting

موضوع: The Real Purpose of Fasting الجمعة مايو 31, 2013 11:38 pm

There
are essentially two component factors in any work which a man has to
perform. The first thing is the purpose for which a work is done and the
second thing is the particular shape of that work which is chosen to
achieve that purpose. For instance, take the case of food your object in
taking food is to remain alive and maintain your strength. The method
of achieving this object is that you take a morsel, put it in your
mouth, masticate it and push it below the throat. This method is adopted
by you since it is the most effective and proper one to achieve this
object. But everyone of you knows that the main thing is the purpose for
which food is taken and not the form and procedure of this action.
What
will you say if anybody were to make a morsel of saw-dust or cinder or
mud, put it in his mouth, chew and gulp it? You will say only this that
his brain is out of order. Why? Because this idiot did not understand
the real purpose of eating and is suffering form the misunderstanding
that only the aforesaid four component acts constitute eating. Likewise,
you will call that person also mad who soon after taking the food
vomits it by thrusting his fingers into his throat them complains that
the benefits said to accrue from taking food have not been availed of by
him and that, contrarily, he is daily getting lean and is on the verge
of death. This fool blames the food for his growing weakness little
realizing that it is due to his own stupidity. He imagined, due to his
intellectual deficiency, that life vitality could be got by fulfilling
those requirements which constitute the act of eating. As such, he
thought why should he sustain the load of food in his stomach? “Why not
throw it out so that the stomach may become light? I have already
fulfilling the requirements of eating”, he surmises, Naturally he has
himself to suffer the penalty of harboring such a foolish idea and then
implementing it also. He ought to have known that until the bread gets
digested after entering the stomach and having transformed into blood,
is diffused into the whole body the vitality of life cannot be obtained.
Although
outward actions are also necessary, because without them the bread
cannot reach the stomach, yet the object cannot be achieved by merely
fulfilling the outward actions. There is no magic in these actions that
by merely fulfilling them, blood starts running in a wizardly manner in
the veins of a man. Blood will be obviously produced according to the
law prescribed by Allah. If you break it, you will kill yourself by your
own hands.
Consequences of Considering the Outward as Real
The Real Purpose of Fasting Ram7

If
you ponder over the example I have just placed before you in detail,
you can understand why your "Ibadat" have become inefficacious today. As
I have already pointed out repeatedly, the greatest mistake of all is
to regard the acts of Salah and fasting and their outward shape as real
‘`Ibadat’ and you suffer from the delusion that whoever fulfilled these
requirements performed the "Ibadat" of Allah. You are just like that
person who thinks that performance of four acts, i.e. making the morsel,
putting it in the mouth, masticating it and pushing it below the throat
makes up the process of eating, and that whoever did these four things
has eaten the food and so should receive the benefits of eating
irrespective of whether he pushed down in his stomach mud and stone, or
vomited the bread soon after eating it.
If
you have a little sense then tell me how a man who is fasting and is
thus engaged in the ‘`Ibadat’ of Allah from morning till evening, can in
the midst of that ‘`Ibadat’ utter a lie and indulge in backbiting? Why
does he quarrel at the slightest pretext and utter abuses from his
mouth? How dare he encroach on other people’s rights? How does he
indulge in acquiring illicit money and giving money to others illicitly?
And having done all these thing, he still thinks that he has performed
‘`Ibadat’ of Allah? Does this not resemble the work of that person who
eats cinder and mud and thinks that by merely completing the four
requirements of eating he has actually done the job of eating.
Again Freedom from Restrictions after Ramadan
Then
tell me how is it that when you are relieved after doing Allah’s
‘`Ibadat’ for about 360 hours throughout Ramadan all the effect of this
whole exercise in piety disappears on the 1st of Shawwal? You do during
the ‘`Eid’ days all that Hindus do in their festivals, so much so that
in the cities even adultery, wine-drinking and gambling are resorted to
on ‘`Eid’ day. And I have seen some wretched people who keep fast during
the day and drink wine and commit adultery in the night. The general
Muslims, by the grace of Allah, are not degenerated to that extent but
after the end of Ramadan how many of you are there who retain some
effects of piety and virtuousness on the second day of ‘`Eid’ also?
Which law of Allah is left un-violated? What part of your time is
devoted to good deeds, and how much is selfishness reduced?
Result Wrong Conception of ‘`Ibadat’
Think
and ponder as to what after all can be the reason for this? I assure
you that its only reason is that the very meaning and purport of
‘`Ibadat’ has become twisted in your mind. You think that mere
abstention from eating and drinking throughout the day is called fasting
and that this alone is ‘`Ibadat’. Therefore you observe it
meticulously. You fee the fear of Allah to that extent that you avoid
every transgression which even slightly endangers the break-up of the
fast so much so that even if the life is at stake, you are not prepared
to break the fast. But you do not know that being merely hungry and
thirsty is not real ‘`Ibadat’ but only a form of it. And the purpose of
prescribing this form is to create in you the fear of Allah and love of
Allah, and thereby develop in you so much strength that by repressing
yourself, you are enabled to avoid the seemingly profitable things but
which actually displease Allah, while, on the other hand, by controlling
yourself you make yourself agreeable to those things which possibly
entail risks and losses but definitely please Allah.
This
strength can be developed only when you understand the purpose of
fasting and make use of the practice you have gone through for curbing
the corporeal urges, under fear of Allah and love for Allah, and them
making these urges work according to the pleasure of Allah.
But
soon after Ramada you throw to the winds this practice as well as the
virtues acquired from if just as a man after taking food vomits it by
thrusting his fingers into his throat. In fact, some of your spew the
virtuousness of the whole day soon after breaking the fast. Now you
yourself decide, is there in Ramadan and fasting a magic that by mere
completing their outward shape you can acquire that strength which in
reality should emanate from genuine fasting? Just as physical strength
cannot be obtained from the bread until it is digested after entering
the stomach and until it is transformed into blood and penetrates every
vein in the same way spiritual power cannot be obtained from fasting
until the person who keeps fast does not fully comprehend the purpose of
fasting and allows if to permeate his heart and mind and dominate his
thought, motive intention and deed.
Fast, Source of Becoming Pious
The Real Purpose of Fasting Ram9

This
is why Allah said after ordaining fasting: “La`allakum tattaqoon” i.e.
fasting is made obligatory on you, may be you become pious and virtuous.
It is not said that you will certainly become pious and virtuous
because this outcome of fasting depends on the perception and intention
of the man concerned. Whoever will understand its purpose and will try
through it to achieve its objective, will become pious to the desired
extent, but one who will not comprehend its purpose and will not even
try to get at if, cannot hope to gain any thing out of it.
Real Goals of Fasting:
Abstention from Lying
Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has drawn attention in
various ways towards the real aim of fasting and has explained that to
be hungry and thirsty without keeping in view the objective is in no way
useful. He said: “Whoever did not give up lying and practicing falsehood, Allah is in no need of his giving up food and water”. In another Hadith he said: “Many
are the fasters whose fasting does not bring them anything except
hunger and thirst and many are those who keep standing in the night but
their standing does not bring anything except being awake in the night”.
The purport of both these Hadiths is quite plain. It means that being
merely hungry and thirsty is not by itself ‘`Ibadat’ but an instrument
of performing real ‘`Ibadat’. And real ‘`Ibadat’ consists in not
violating the law of Allah for fear of Allah, and for the love of Allah
an eager pursuit of every such work as would please Him, and lastly
avoidance of satisfying corporeal urges as far as possible. Whoever
remained heedless of this real ‘`Ibadat’, unnecessarily caused
inconvenience to his stomach with hunger and thirst. Why should Allah
need to make him merely give up food and water for twelve to fourteen
hours?
Faith and Self-Scrutiny
The Prophet has drawn attention to the real aim of fasting thus: “Whoever observed fast imbued with faith and with the expectation of reward from Allah, all his past sins are forgiven”.
The reference to faith implies that the belief in Allah with a Muslim
should remain fully fresh in the mind of a Muslim, ‘Ihtisab’ denotes
that man should be desirous of only Allah’s pleasure constantly keeping
an eye on his thoughts and actions to check if he is doing anything
against the pleasure of Allah. If, in accordance with these two
principles, a person where to observe all the fasts of Ramadan, he will
have all his past sins forgiven because even if he was once an unruly
and disobedient slave he has now turned fully repentant to his master -
and “A penitent is like one who has, as it were, never committed a sin at all” this the Prophet said.
Shield for Protection from Sins
In another Hadith it is said: “Fasts
are like a shield (just as a shield is meant for protection from the
enemy’s assault, so is fasting for protection from Satan’s attack)”.
Therefore when a man observes fast he should (utilize this shield and)
abstain from disorderly behavior. If anybody abused him or quarreled
with him, the person who keeps fast should tell him: “Brother, I am
fasting (do not expect from me that I shall take part in such activities
of yours)”.
Temptation of Goodness
The
Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, has directed in other Hadiths
that man while fasting ought to do more and more good works and should
be eager to perform benevolent acts. Particularly during fasting, he
must develop with full intensity a sympathetic sentiment for his other
brothers because being himself in the throes of hunger and thirst he can
all the more realize what is befalling other slaves of Allah in their
plight of destitution and misery. It is related by Hadrat Ibn `Abbas,
may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessing be
upon him, used to become especially kind and benevolent during Ramadan.
No beggar in that period went empty-handed from his door, and the slaves
secured emancipation.
Reward for Providing ‘Iftar’
According to a Hadith the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said: “Whoever
in Ramadan provide a person who is keeping fast with Iftar, this act
will become a source of forgiveness for his sins and safety from Hell
Fire and he will get as much reward as will the keeper of fast get
without any reduction in the recompense of the latter”.
Excerpted from Let Us Be Muslims by Abu Sayyed Abul A`la Al-Maududi with some little modifications.

by Sayyed Abul A`la Al-Maududi

» What is the Purpose of our Life?
» The Purpose Of All Religious Practice
» Fasting According to the Quran
» The Inner Dimensions of Fasting
» Making up missed days of fasting