The Inner Reality of Fasting

“Infinite is the native land from whence Allah has created the soul.”

The life of this world is a return journey of the soul to its native land. The soul doesn’t feel tranquility in this “dunya” because it is not its home.

Allah reminds us in the Holy Quran about the beleaguered soul as it calls out in regret,

{يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي }

[He will say, “Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (future) life!”] (Surah al-Fajr; 89:24)

The “life” that the soul is referring to is its eternal life and not the life of this world as we know it. It has been said that “the world is a bridge, so cross it and do not build upon it”. The only purpose of our creation and our very existence in this world is to worship Allah, as He (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says,

{وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ }

[I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve me] (Surah al-Dhariyaat; 51:56)

Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) [about whom the Prophet, peace be upon him, has said… ” I am the citadel of knowledge and Ali is its door”] has said,

“There is no good in worship that is not understood.”

Our journey in this life and our quest for knowledge is all about understanding this worship and understanding the essence of our relationship with our Creator, so that good can come from our acts of obedience.

When our prayers become a “chore” and our fasts become something we just “have to get through” – we have missed the secrets of these sublime acts of worship and submission.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has said,

{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ}

[O’ you who beleive! Fasting is enjoined upon you, as it was enjoined upon those before you, so that you may become God-conscious] (Surah al-Baqarah; 2:183)

Therefore, one of the main purposes of fasting is to attain God-consciousness or “taqwa”. This “taqwa” entails a consciousness that Allah exists and He watches and is aware of everything we do. When this consciousness of Allah is lost, it is easy to sever the ties that connect us with the Divine and to fall into the path of heedlessness and sin.

[Content based on notes taken in Ramadan Preparation classes. ]