Fasting and Moral Discipline CONTENTS

FASTING AND MORAL DISCIPLINE who is the one who gives us the blessings of food and drink. Those men and women who are aware of this, will feel that all greatness belongs to God and they will come to understand their trial of helplessness. The feeling of helplessness (ijz) that one experiences when one fasts, is not simply a feeling but is rather the greatest motivational force in the life of a person. Ijz revolutionizes one’s entire personality. It shakes one’s whole being and brings about a complete revolution in one’s mind. The feeling of ijz one receives when fasting relates to God. But when this feeling of ijz is produced in man in the real sense, it finds expression in human relations. One who becomes truly modest before God, finds this same spirit making him modest before human beings. In relation to God, this feeling is called ijz, while in relation to man this feeling is called modesty. Fasting, in essence, is a training in humility. FASTING AND MORAL DISCIPLINE According to Abu Huraira, the Prophet of Islam once observed: “When any one of you is fasting, he should refrain from all indecencies. He should not raise his voice. If anyone fights with him or abuses him, he should not retaliate, but simply say that he is fasting.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1894) This tradition tells us that fasting does not entail merely abstaining from food and drink, but rather demands that man should renounce all evil. If he is to shun his evil ways, he should not shout at people or allow himself to be provoked by each and every