According to Fayḍ Kāshānī (al-Maḥjat al-Bayḍā’) fasting is a quarter of faith, because
according to one narration, fasting is half of patience, and according to another
narration, patience is half of faith.
Fayḍ also mentions the famous hadith qudsi according to which God says, “For every good deed (there is a reward of) ten times the like of it to to seven hundred times, except for fasting, which is only for Me, and I am its reward.” Sometimes the last part is translated as, “and I give
its reward”, depending on the vocalization.
Here is the translation from Arabic: al-siyām (fasting) fa innahu lī (then verily it is
(only) for Me) wa anna (and I) ajzā bihi (am the reward-giver for it) OR ujzā bihi (am the reward for it):
الصيام لي و انا اجزي به
What does it mean that God is the reward for fasting? It does not mean that one
becomes God. Heaven forbid! I think it means that the reward of fasting is getting
into a good relationship with God by breaking the habits of false dependencies and
learning to take control of our lives in conversation with Him.
Friends tell me that those who prefer the reading "I am the reward for it" interpret this to mean some sort of union with God by which one achieves divine powers, and those who prefer the reading "I am the reward-giver for it" take it to mean that God will reward those who fast. I prefer the ujzā bihi reading, but take it to mean having God in a right relationship rather than the mystical union interpretation, unless mystical union is itself reinterpreted to mean having a right relationship to God.
According to another hadith qudsi: “Verily, the patient are compensated with an
immeasurable reward.” Since fasting is half of patience, the reward for fasting should
also be immeasurably good.
According to another hadith, it is reported that the Prophet (ṣ) said that there are two
pleasures granted to one who fasts, one is the pleasure of breaking the fast at ifṭār,
and the other is the pleasure of the encounter with one’s Lord. The first pleasure in its
outward meaning is the enjoyment of food after fasting. A deeper meaning would be
the conquest of one’s desires so as to be able to fulfill them voluntarily, that is, freely.
If we are truly free, we will seek to align our own will with the divine will and fulfill
our desires in accordance with divine law. The second pleasure has also be
interpreted in various ways, but as I see it, the voluntary alignment of our will with
His is at least one of the ways to encounter Him.
Wonderful! Thank you! The following link is a translation of the virtues of fasting by Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani: http://sites.google.com/site/wwwthearcoflondon/thevirtuesoffasting
ReplyDeleteAt A talk I heard last night, the learned speaker mentioned that 1.Fasting kills the desire of the Nafs. 2.Silence was observed by the Ahlul Baite (AS) during Fasting reminding us that: "when you have silence you have wisdom -the result of wisdom is enlightenment, and when you experience enlightenment you attain YAQIN -at that state you will be thankful without ignorance, you will Dhikr Allah without forgetfulness -and you will only love Allah. There will be no space to love anything or any one else.
ReplyDeleteAs quoted by Dr. George Washington Carver: "If you love a thing -it will reveal it's secrets to you." Ramadan is an institution filled with endless secrets encouraging all to embark upon the road as lovers.