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Allah says: “O children of
Adam, take your adornment to every mosque. Eat and drink, but be not
excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.” [Sűrah
al-A`râf: 31]
There are a number of
etiquettes related to fasting. On of these is for the fasting person to be
moderate in his eating and drinking during the nights of the fast.
Alas, we see that some
people – indeed most people – turn the month of Ramadan into an annual
season for exuberant table spreads filled with copious amounts of exotic
foods. They go out of bounds, exhibiting every possible manner of excess.
You see them going out to the markets to spend dearly on culinary delights
that they would almost never think to purchase at any other time of the
year.
The result of this behavior
is that a lot of money gets wasted and a lot of people fall ill on account
of overeating. Even worse, people find themselves too sluggish and tired
after gorging themselves to engage in worship. We should also think about
the valuable time in Ramadan that gets wasted shopping in the markets and
preparing all that fancy food, much of which ends up in the trash bin.
The exhaustive culinary
preparations for Ramadan that most Muslims engage in are contrary to Allah’s
orders and contradict the true spirit of Ramadan. They are also unhealthy
and uneconomical.
If these people would only
conduct themselves appropriately, in accordance with the manners taught by
Islam, and eat the foods that they usually eat, they could spend the extra
money in charity, as they are supposed to do in Ramadan. They could feed
the poor, the needy, and the orphan. They could give those who find
themselves in restricted means a chance to break their fasts on something
nice as well.
Almost every affluent
person who spends lavishly on his Ramadan menu has some poor neighbors.
These neighbors have the greatest right to his charity. If some affluent
person has no poor neighbors, then there are still many other avenues open
to him.
If the squanderers on fancy
food and drink would do this instead, they would add to their fasts another
noble way of drawing closer to Allah, which is to do good to those who are
in need. This would have a great affect on society. It would bring the
hearts of the people closer together in this blessed month. Everyone would
feel that this is indeed the month of goodness, mercy, and brotherhood.
We should also consider the
consequences of indulging all of our appetites. It leads only to misery and
sickness. Sometimes a doctor imposes upon his patient a specific dietary
regimen to allow the body to rest, to cleanse and reinvigorate itself, and
to restore its inner balance. It is a regimen for health.
This, in fact, is one of
the obvious wisdoms of our fasting. How can we turn this upon its head and
make Ramadan into an occasion for eating more and more?
Allah says: “Eat and drink,
but be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.”
[Sűrah al-A`râf: 31]
Some scholars have
commented on this verse, saying: “Allah has gathered together all of
medicine in this verse.”
The Prophet (peace be upon
him) said: “The child of Adam fills no vessel worse than his stomach.
Sufficient for the child of Adam are a few morsels to keep his back
straight. If he must eat more, then a third should be for his food, a third
for his drink, and a third left for air.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (2380) and
Musnad Ahmad (17186) and authenticated by al-Albânî in Sahîh al-Jâmi`]
No sensible person can be
heedless of the negative consequences that overindulgence in food and drink
has for our religious and worldly lives. These consequences go far above
and beyond what we have already mentioned. Overeating dulls the intellect
and impairs our thought processes. It leads to indolence. It hardens our
hearts and inspires our basest passions and desires, giving Satan a chance
to take over.
Ibn Taymiyah writes:
It is established that the
Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, Satan runs in the son of Adam in
the way that blood circulates.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]
There is no doubt that
blood is born of what we eat and drink Therefore, when we eat and drink, we
broaden the avenues for Satan. This is why it has been said: “Constrict his
avenues with hunger.”
When Satan’s paths are
hindered, the heart is inspired to do the good deeds that open the doors of
Paradise. It finds it easy to abandon the sins that open the doors of Hell.
In Ramadan, the devils are
chained and their strength and power is diminished. They cannot achieve in
Ramadan what they are capable of achieving at other times of the year.
However, we cannot say that the devils have died or have been slain. They
have merely been chained. A chained devil can still get up to some
mischief, but not as much as usual. The power of these devils is diminished
according to how completely we observe our fasts. A person whose fasts are
observed in the best, most complete possible manner repels the power of
Satan far more than a person whose fasts are deficient.
There is a clear
correlation between abstinence from food and drink and this other ruling
that is founded on it.
Luqmân said to his son: “O
my son! If the stomach is full, one’s mental processes go to sleep, one’s
wisdom is dulled, and one’s limbs refrain from worship.”
`Umar observed: “Whoever eats a lot finds no pleasure in the
remembrance of Allah.”
`Umar also said: “If you have a paunch, then consider
yourself chronically ill.”
Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
Overeating leads to all
sorts of evil consequences. It quickens the limbs towards disobedience
while making them lazy to work righteousness. These two consequences are
sufficient to show just how bad it is. How many are the sins have come
about as a result of satiation and overeating. How many are the good deeds
that have failed to materialize on account of it. Whoever safeguards
himself from the evil of his stomach has indeed saved himself from a great
evil. Satan has his greatest influence over a person with a full stomach…
If the only consequence of
a full stomach were that it leads to neglecting Allah’s remembrance, then
know that the heart’s heedlessness of Allah’s remembrance for but an hour
is opportunity enough for Satan to beset it with promises, false desires,
cravings, and every manner of discontent. When a soul is satiated, it
becomes restless and goes about seeking opportunities for indulgence. When
it is hungry, it becomes tranquil and shows humility and submissiveness.
Those who go to great
lengths in seeking their culinary pleasures actually find food less
delicious than those who restrain themselves.
Ibn Taymiyah writes:
Those who show moderation
in eating find greater pleasure in their food than those who overindulge.
When they become addicted and habituated to their indulgence, they find no
great pleasure in it anymore, though they might suffer for want of it when
they do not have it and endure ill health because of it.
I address my esteemed
brothers and sisters who are fasting and say: With the situation being as
we have described it, why do we not make this month of ours an opportunity
to moderate our eating habits? Our inner selves are always probing, never
content with a mere modicum of pleasure. If we exert our efforts to get our
inner selves under control, then they can learn self-restraint and we can
rein in their passions and their incessant pursuit of pleasure. Otherwise,
if we choose to go forward in this pursuit and give in to our every whim
and fancy, it will lead us to our ruin.
By: Sheikh Muhammad
al-Hamad
Location: Islamtoday
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