The Month of Ramadan

Translated by Dr. Abu Zayd

They asked: What is the meaning of the month of Ramadan? I replied: It is a month of blessings, abundance, happiness, and beauty. In it, the Qurʾān was revealed as guidance for humanity, guidance that is self-evident and clear. The source of the good fortune and blessing of the month is its fasting. Because of this, God commanded: ‘Whoever witnesses the month should fast in it.’

They asked: Can you explain fasting being the source of noble endowments and great favors from the Merciful Lord? I replied: Most scholars view the underlying factor of the blessing of fasting to stem from the element of hunger or food deprivation.

Imām Ghazālī, for instance, states in Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn:

The spirit as well as the secret of fasting is to weaken the flesh which is Satan’s tool for turning men back to evil. [Such weakening of the flesh] is never achieved unless a person reduces his food to the amount of food which he would have eaten in the evening if he were not fasting. But if, on breaking his fast, he should eat an amount of food equivalent to what he would have eaten during both the daytime and the evening, he would reap no benefit from his fast. As a matter of fact, among the properties of fasting is that the person should not sleep much during the daytime but rather stay up so that he might feel the pangs of hunger and the flames of thirst and become conscious of the weakness of the flesh, with the result that his heart would be cleansed and purified. He should maintain his flesh in such as state of weakness during the Night of Power so that he might find his night worship (tahajjud) easier to perform and his [night] portions easier to read. It is hoped, then, that Satan will not hover around his heart and that he will be able to lift his eyes unto the kingdom of heaven. In this connection, the night of power represents the night on which a glimpse of the invisible world is revealed to man. It is also the night which is alluded to by the words of God when He said: ‘Verily We have sent it down on the Night of Power.’
He who buries his head deep into a nose-bag full of food, cannot hope to see the invisible world. Even if he keeps his stomach empty, he will not be able to remove the veil and see the invisible world unless he also empties his mind from everything except God. (Translation: Nabih Amin Faris. The Mysteries of Fasting.)

This is affirmed by what Shāh Walīullah wrote in Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah:
You should know that sometimes a person comprehends, due to God’s inspiring him with this knowledge, that his physical animalistic form is keeping him from what would constitute his fulfillment in terms of its obeying the angelic side. Therefore he comes to detest the animalistic side and seeks to shatter it’s force. He won’t find anything that helps him to do this as much as hunger, thirst, foreswearing sex, and practicing vigilance over his tongue, heart, and limbs. Persistence in this is a cure for the sickness of his soul. (translation: Marcia Hermansen)

This also resembles what Ibn al-Qayyim wrote in Zād al-Maʿād.

They asked: Do you agree with them? I replied: No. They asked: Please explain your rebuttal to them. I replied: Their words convey that fasting represents hunger and reduction of food. For this reason, we find Imām Ghazālī recommend that one increase in their limiting of food and hunger in order to increase the benefit of fasting and magnify its blessings.

They asked: What is it that you object to? I replied: Surely, eating less is the practice of the prophets, messengers, the pious and the wise. They hated satiety. Tirmidhī relates with a fair (ḥasan) isnād from al-Miqdād b. Maʿdīkarib that the Prophet said: ‘The human does not fill any container that is worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat what will support his back. If this is not possible, then a third for food, a third for drink, and third for his breath.’ Bukhārī relates from Abū Hurayrah that a man that was known to eat embraced Islam and began to eat very little, to which the Prophet said: ‘A believer eats for one intestine while the disbeliever eats for seven.’

Therefore, eating less is recommended in all situations. If the benefits of fasting were realized only through the element of hunger, then the month would lose its distinguishing characteristic. If the fast of Ramadan was only achieved by eating less, the Prophet, peace be upon him, would not have said: ‘The people will remain on the right path as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast.’ Bukhārī and Muslim relate this from Sahl b. Saʾd al-Sāʿidī, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr stated that the reports about hastening the breaking of the fast and delaying the morning meal are sound and related by mass-transmission (tawātur). ʿAbd al-Razzāq relates with a sound isnād from ʿAmr b. Maymūn al-Awdīyy: Among people, the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, delayed the morning meal and hastened the breaking of the fast the most.
In addition, the month of Ramadan is one in which the provisions of the believer are increased. If provisions are indeed increased in Ramadan, then that would necessitate benefiting from those increases while maintaining reverence for God. For this reason, you find Muslims all over the world, even the poor, frequenting restaurants and dining places, eating in abundance, and eating better foods than they would have outside of this month.

They asked: What do you think about that? I replied: I used to think that the blessing of the month was due to the disciplining of the self that characterizes this month, which is close to the views of the scholars mentioned above. Later, however, I began to think that it was because to the ability of people to consciously differentiate worship from custom, with the element of worship becoming predominant in the month.

They asked: What do you think now? I replied: Know that God is one. This means that He is Complete and independent of need from others. To Him belong the most beautiful names and lofty attributes since eternity. He possessed these attributes before He created anything. All of creation did not add anything to Him that He did not already have. He created the universe out of His mercy. He created man and gave him an independent will. He then enabled him to choose between pleasing himself or pleasing his Lord. Human gratification that stems from his innate nature and intellect is among the things which bring him benefit. But if it arises from his desires, it can cause harm.

If a person is subdued to his own will and desire, it can bring benefit or harm. But if he submits to God’s commands seeking His pleasure, then that will only bring benefit. Obedience of God is the best interest with only benefits and no harm. This is because God’s commands do not bring any benefit to Himself but only benefit the worshippers and bring them abundance.

Subduing oneself to the pleasure of God, which is Islam, is no easy task. The desires will fight back strongly. You must force yourself to obedience and cling to it firmly. This will occur by nurturing the feeling of the fear of God, awareness of His presence, and practicing His commands while avoiding His prohibitions. That is expressed in the term taqwā. Taqwā is the complete path to God, the Lord of the worlds. God mandated fasting upon His slaves as a mercy to them to develop this trait of taqwā. The slaves will eat, drink and fulfill their desires only when God permits (after sunset), and desist when He forbids (at dawn).

They asked: Is there really a contradiction between what you and the others have said? I replied: No, but these various meanings are different from one another. They asked: Then what prevents you from making your interpretation as a foundation while considering the other views to support that? I replied: There is no problem in doing so, but I hate to mix these meanings because I am the most keen of people to keep the pure, unadulterated Qurʾānic meanings foremost.

شهر رمضان

بقلم: محمد أكرم الندوي

قالوا: ما معنى شهر رمضان؟ قلت: هو شهر البركات والخيرات والسعادات والحسنيات، أنزل فيه القرآن هدى للناس وبينات من الهدى والفرقان، ومصدر ما فيه من اليمن صيامه، ومن ثم أمر الله تعالى به: “فمن شهد منكم الشهر فليصمه”. قالوا: اشرح لنا كون صيامه منبعا للهبات الربانية الجليلة والعطايا الرحمانية العظيمة.
قلت: ذهب عامة العلماء إلى أن مرد بركات الصيام إلى الجوع وتقليل الطعام، قال الإمام الغزالي في إحياء علوم الدين:” فروح الصوم وسره تضعيف القوى التي هي وسائل الشيطان في العود إلى الشرور، ولن يحصل ذلك إلا بالتقليل وهو أن يأكل أكلته التي كان يأكلها كل ليلة لو لم يصم، فأما إذا جمع ما كان يأكل ضحوة إلى ما كان يأكل ليلاً فلا ينتفع بصومه، بل من الآداب أن لا يكثر النوم بالنهار حتى يحس بالجوع والعطش ويستشعر ضعف القوي فيصفو عند ذلك قلبه ويستديم في كل ليلة قدراً من الضعف حتى يخف عليه تهجده وأوراده، فعسى الشيطان أن لا يحوم على قلبه فينظر إلى ملكوت السماء. وليلة القدر عبارة عن الليلة التي ينكشف فيها شيء من الملكوت وهو المراد بقوله تعالى “إنا أنزلناه في ليلة القدر” ومن جعل في قلبه وبين صدره مخلاة من الطعام فهو عنه محجوب. ومن أخلى معدته فلا يكفيه ذلك لرفع الحجاب ما لم يخل همته عن غير الله عز وجل.
ويؤكده ما ذكره ولي الله الدهلوي في حجة الله البالغة حيث يقول: اعلم أنه ربما يتفطن الإنسان من قبل إلهام الحق إياه أن سورة الطبيعة البهيمية تصده عما هو كماله من انقيادها للملكية، فيبغضها، ويطلب كسر سورتها، فلا يجد ما يغيثه في ذلك، كالجوع والعطش، وترك الجماع والأخذ على لسانه وقلبه وجوارحه، ويتمسك بذلك علاجا لمرضه النفساني.
ويشبه ما ذكراه كلام ابن القيم في زاد المعاد.
قالوا: فهل توافقهم فيما ذهبوا إليه؟ قلت: لا، قالوا: ففسر لنا ردك لقولهم، قلت: حاصل كلامهم أن الصوم عبارة عن الجوع وتقليل الطعام، ومن ثم نرى الإمام الغزالي يحث في شهر رمضان على المبالغة في تقليل الطعام والجوع ليعظم الانتفاع بالصوم وتتضاعف بركته.
قالوا: فما الذي أنكرت من ذلك؟ قلت: إن تقليل الطعام سنة من سنن الأنبياء والمرسلين وسائر الصالحين والأذكياء، وهم من أشد الناس كراهية للشبع، أخرج أبو عيسى بإسناد حسن عن المقداد بن معديكرب رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: ما ملأ ابن آدم وعاء شراً من بطنه، بحسب ابن آدم لقيمات يقمن صلبه، فإن كان لابد فاعلاً فثلث لطعامه وثلث لشرابه وثلث لنفسه. وأخرج البخاري عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رجلاً كان يأكل كثيراً فأسلم فكان يأكل أكلاً قليلاً، فذكر ذلك للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: إن المؤمن يأكل في مِعيٍ واحد، والكافر يأكل في سبعة أمعاء.
فقلة الأكل من المستحسنات في عامة الأحوال، ولو لم يحقق الصيام إلا ما يستفاد من الجوع لما كان لشهر رمضان مزية، ولو كان صوم رمضان لا يقصد به إلا قلة الأكل لما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يزال الناس بخير ما عجلوا الفطر، أخرجه الشيخان عن سهل بن سعد الساعدي رضي الله عنه، وقال ابن عبدالبر: أحاديث تعجيل الإفطار وتأخير السحور، صحاح متواترة، وعند عبدالرزاق وغيره بإسناد صحيح عن عمرو بن ميمون الأودي قال: كان أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم أسرع الناس إفطارًا وأبطاهم سحورًا.
ثم إن شهر رمضان شهر يزاد فيه رزق المؤمن، فلو زيد الرزق في رمضان لكان الغرض الانتفاع به في ذلك الشهر والتقوي به، ومن ثم ترى المسلمين حتى فقراءهم في جميع بقاع الأرض يستكثرون من المطاعم والمشارب في شهر رمضان، فإنهم يأكلون أكثر وأفضل مما يأكلون في غير رمضان.
قالوا: فما ترى؟ قلت: كنت أميل أن سببه هو ترويض النفس وهو أقرب مما ذهب إليه الذين أنكرت كلامهم، ثم رأيت أن سبب ذلك هو حمل المسلمين على التمييز بين العبادة والعادة وعيا وإرادة.
قالوا: فما ترى الآن؟ قلت: اعلموا أن الله أحد، ومعنى ذلك أنه كامل بنفسه لايحتاج إلى غيره، له الأسماء الحسنى والنعوت العليا منذ الأزل، ما زال بصفاته قديما قبل خلقه، لم يزدد بكونهم شيئا لم يكن قبلهم من صفته، وإنما خلق الخلق رحمة منه، وخلق الإنسان وجعل له إرادة، ومكَّنه من أن يخضع إرادته لمرضاته أو لمرضاة ربه، ومرضاة الإنسان قد تنشأ من فطرته وعقله وذلك مما ينفعه، وقد تنشأ من هواه وذلك مما قد يضره، فإذا خضع الإنسان لإرادته جر إلى نفسه نفعا وضررا، وإذا خضع لأوامر ربه ابتغاء مرضاته لم يعقب ذلك إلا ما ينفعه، فإطاعة الله خير محض لا شر فيه، ونفع صرف لا ضرر فيه، لأن أوامره لا تعود بنفع إليه تعالى، وإنما تنفع العباد وتدر عليهم بالخيرات.
وقلت: إن إخضاع الإنسان نفسه لمرضاة الله (وهو الإسلام) ليس سهلا لما تنازعه الأهواء والشهوات وتشاده مشادة، فلا بد أن يلازم الإطاعة ويتشبث بها، وذلك بتنمية استشعار خوف الله فيه ومراقبته وإتيان أوامره واجتناب نواهيه، وهو المعبر عنه بالتقوى، فالتقوى طريق الإسلام الكامل لله رب العالمين، وفرض الله الصوم على عباده رحمة بهم لعلهم يتقون، فيأكل ويشرب ويأتي شهوته إذا أذن له الله ذلك، ويمتنع منه إذا نهاه الله عنه.
قالوا: هل بين ما ذهبت إليه وما ذهب إليه غيرك من المعاني من تعارض؟ قلت: لا، ولكن هذه المعاني يختلف بعضها عن بعض اختلافا، قالوا: فما يمنعك أن تجعل المعنى الذي فسرته هو الأصل، وأن تجعل المعاني الأخرى تابعة له؟ قلت: لا مانع، ولكن أكره مثل هذا التخليط، لأني من أحرص الناس على أن يقدم المعنى القرآني صافيا غير ممزوج.