Fasting

relevance of fasting to the Quran, because of which the month in which the Quran was revealed has been decreed a month of fasting. Some think that the most important thing about fasting is the breaking of it, so the whole day is spent in arranging for a variety of dishes and drinks. Others consider it to mean staying hungry all day, and reciting the whole of the Quran each day without stopping to ponder over its meanings. But such acts only serve to turn a purely Islamic kind of worship into a form of Christian monasticism. As for what is mistakenly called dhikr bil Jahr (loud remembrance of God)—repetitive recitation of this contradicts the very purpose of fasting, which is spiritual seclusion. The true aim of fasting is withdrawal from everything except essential subsistence and vital responsibilities. During this period, one should reduce conversation, social life, and all kinds of worldly activity to a minimum. For a certain time, one should lead a life of quiet devotion, reading the Quran and pondering over its meaning. Abstinence from food symbolizes not only the eschewing of those forbidden things which a believer should give up for his entire life, but also the renunciation of lawful things for the duration of the fast. In seeking nearness to God, the believer must cut himself off from all worldliness. Although fasting, in its specific and definite form, is prescribed just once a year, the fasting engaged in for this one month should be a continuous, permanent stage, if it is to be done in the correct spirit. Fasting is cutting oneself off from the world and turning to God not in a physical sense, but in one’s consciousness, one’s spirituality. The supreme state of faith is for one’s heart and mind to be continually directed towards God, whatever one’s bodily activity. Spiritually, one’s whole life should be a form of retreat at all times. Through not understanding this reality, people have fled to mountains and jungles in order to perfect their faith. But the perfection of faith results from one fulfilling one’s obligations in the turmoil of the world, while remaining in a state of inward “retreat” and remembrance of God. Abdullah ibn Masud, one of