Fasting:
A Symbol of Piety
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
The
animal of sacrifice has been called ‘Shaeera’ (Symbol) in the Quran
(22:36). Mention is also made of the fact that neither its flesh nor its blood
will ever reach God: it is human piety, which will reach Him (22:37).
This
shows that in Islam certain things which are significant as symbols and embody
some inward reality. The animal of sacrifice is one of them. The word ‘Shaeera’
refers to a tangible symbol indicative of some profound reality. For example,
God requires His servants to sacrifice - for His sake - all un-Islamic feelings
and ambitions. This is a psychological sacrifice. God has commanded man to
sacrifice an animal as a symbol of that psychological sacrifice.
While
slaughtering an animal a Muslim utters these words: my prayers and my
sacrifices, my life and my death, are all for God, Lord of the Creation. His
doing so expresses the idea that the sacrificing an animal is no more than an
outward symbol of an inward reality. Only those who, while slaughtering their
animals, have it clearly in their minds that they are in fact sacrificing their
very existence for God, have made a true sacrifice. To them the slaughtered
animal becomes a tangible symbol of having eliminating selfish desires and
cravings.
Fasting
is another such symbol. Abstinence from food is in reality a symbol of
abstinence from sins. Food is a prime necessity of man. Refraining from food is
an expression of the willingness of a servant of God to forsake everything, even
food and water, for the sake of his Lord.
Abu
Huraira, a companion of the Prophet, relates that the Prophet said:
Whoever
does not refrain from lying and acting dishonestly while he is fasting is not
required by God to refrain from food and water. (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud)
The
essence of fasting is to abstain from sinful action. Whoever continues to
perpetrate sinful action while on a strict fast is following only its outward
form and ignoring it in essence. God has no need of such meaningless act of
worship.