So far, I've been thinking of the fast as a way to break habits and attain freedom or to take control of our lives. But as we saw in the discussion of gratitude, this is only a preliminary. The next step is to decide who we want to become. That is too overwhelming. So, we can decide in what respect we want to be a better person, as a spouse, as a parent, as a teacher, as a citizen, and all of these, at the same time, as a servant of God. The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:
رُبَّ صَائِمٍ حَظُّهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ الْجُوْعُ وَالْعَطَشُ، وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ حَظُّهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ السَّهَرُ.
“How often is the share of one who fasts, [nothing save] hunger and thirst, and how often is the share of one who stands in prayer [nothing but mere] vigil.[75]”In order to make it more than this, we have to try to improve ourselves. I can improve myself by getting rid of some faults, or lessening them; but I can also improve by acquiring new habits, and hoping to make them into virtues. According to Imam Khomeini:شدهايد، اگر به حق تعالى معرفت پيدا نكرديد يا معرفت شما زيادتر نشد، بدانيد در ضيافة اللّه درست وارد نشديد و حق ضيافت را به جا نياورديد...
“In this noble month, in which you have been invited to the divine banquet, if you do not gain insight (ma’rifah) about God the Almighty nor insight into yourself, it means that you have not properly participated in the feast of Allāh and failed to observe the etiquette of the feast...[86]”
Therefore our aspirations should be high, and we should struggle to attain the position which would enable us enter the Divine Feast. In the supplication of Abū Hamzah al-Thumāli, which Imām al-Sajjād (‘a) taught to his noble companion, we are taught to pray in the following way:
...وَلَدَيْكَ أَرْجُوْ ضِيَافَتِي...
“…And I aspire to be a guest near You…”[87]
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