Ways and means of chastening
or fighting the soul
For answering we say that strive has ways and means, they help man to reach perfection or Allah's grants, it is by decreasing and increasing.
Decreasing four things and increasing and keeping to one thing.
Decreasing food, talk, sleep and being with people and increasing and keeping to remembrance of Allah and contemplation. Imam Abul-Aza'em collected some of these means when he said:
"Be hungry to weaken it, beware of its error, disparage your eyelids and beware the destruction of ambush."
Firstly: Decreasing food
When man fills his stomach with food, the soul moves at once to push him to sins and faults, so Sayeda Aa'isha said:
"The first heresy that happened after the apostle of Allah (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is satiation (fullness), when people filled their stomachs their souls led them to this life."
When the belly is filled with food, man thinks of doing sins by his organs and he doesn’t feel the pleasure of worship, but if the belly is empty he can't afford doing sins, instead, his spirituality gets stronger and he loves worship as we all do at the days of Ramadan, this is the greatest strive.
This strive is degrees and degrees, that who seeks Allah keeps striving and promoting until he reaches marvels. Some righteous people have amazing and surprising conditions; my sir Ahmed Al-Badawy used to stand forty days and nights in the cave of Heraa' worshipping Allah without food, drink or sleep, forty days. Imam Al-Jonayd who is the master of these people, used to fast and break fasting every forty days only by one date, don’t say how? Because he reached this after strive and he was granted the inheritance of the prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), from the secret of what the prophet said:
"I stay nights with my Lord, He feeds and waters me."
I repeat again, don’t ask how? Because these people are as Allah says:
"GOD blesses whomever He wills, without limits." (Surat Al-Bakarah, verse 212)
This talk about these high conditions is when they are at the time of striving, but at the time of guiding they should eat to teach people how to eat like the master of mankind (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
One day a man went to Al-Jonayd and said to him: "I want to feel submission in prayers but I can't, what should I do?" He said to him:
"Oh brother, you fill your stomach by food, you put a feedbag between you and your Lord and you want to feel submission in prayers!"
He wants to return him to higher positions like the days of the age of the apostle of Allah (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). When did they use to eat? Three inevitable times? No, they used to eat when they feel hungry, they didn’t use to fill their stomachs and they used to leave food while they still want to eat, this is the way of righteous people.
When man feels hungry, motives of desire in his soul are less, he needs less sleep, he tends to silence, he doesn’t like to listen to much talk and never moves much here and there.
Righteous people found that hunger is among the best means that help man to reach this degree, so they raced and competed in fasting not for counting days or getting more and more rewards but for destroying the power of lustful soul until the angelic soul got stronger and leads the body according to the orders of Sharia and the way of the chosen prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
Here the intention is completely different, the worshipper fasts to take rewards for his fast, but the righteous man fasts to help his soul to break desires and to stop unlawful wishes to ask for higher things from Allah, as Allah says:
"What is with GOD is far better, and everlasting." (Surat Al-Kasas, verse 60)
So some of them concentrated, while they were striving in this degree, on lessening food, they didn’t say to leave food but to lessen and decrease food. Because leaving food totally affects man and makes him not normal and he might get mania, but decreasing means if he is used to eat three loaves in one meal, he makes them two and half, then two, then one and half, then one and so on, even some righteous people said about this:
"To lessen a mouthful of my dinner is better to me than staying up in worship for a night."
I.e. if I could decrease a mouthful from my dinner, it is better than staying up for a night because staying up maybe a desire for man, but when he lessens food, he has determination especially if he left food while he still wants to eat.
Did our sir the apostle of Allah need food? No, but he used to eat to teach us how to eat and drink to teach us how to drink, he was at the degree of: "I stay nights with my Lord, He feeds and waters me."
There are lots of righteous people who controlled their souls and their souls never controlled them and they directed their souls according to the orders of Allah, so they said:
"The real man is that who controls his soul not that controlled by his soul."
They used to versatile and innovate in treating it until it follows the master of mankind as it was narrated after him that he used to eat what he found. Let me ask you a question to clarify the matter, tell me by Allah oh brothers, when you sit for food, which of your organs eat the food? Is it the mouth, teeth, tongue and lips? Is it the stomach? Or is it the soul?
The soul is the organ that eats, when you look at the food and the soul likes it, all the other organs move and start to eat, but when you look at the food but you don’t like it, does any organ move? No, the saliva never flows, the mouth never opens because it is the soul that moves the organs, so when you are ill, sad or concerned, your soul never tends to food, so eating is by the soul.
Man continues striving his soul until food according to him is like medicine that cure the illness of hunger as righteous people said: "Food is a medicine for hunger, only put in your stomach what is needed to make your body move, extra food is stored in your body; stomach gets bigger, the belly gets bigger, man gets fatter and he becomes sick." We all know that fatness is the cause of all diseases of the age, that who wants to chasten his soul never eats for his desire but he eats to treat the disease of hunger, he is always occupied by his Lord, saying as Imam Abul-Aza'em said:
"We are hungry, feed us certainty oh our God, and water all by the love of the chosen (Prophet Mohammed)."
He wants you to eat certainty from the knowledge of Koran, divine knowledge and divine secrets; this is the secret of this verse of Koran: "Let us have lunch." (Surat Al-Kahf, verse 62).
The spiritual sign or meaning in lunch here by our sir Moses is not for the fish or food, it is a sign for longing for the food of spirit and knowledge from Allah by meeting the righteous servant (Al-Khedr), food of divine facts that sustain the soul and makes it adore these beauties and always love these perfections and Allah grants it these grants and favors.
Oh brothers, you must lessen food and drink, spiritual life is only promote by this, so anyone who follow this way should have his share of fasting, listen to what he (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) answered his companions when one of them asked about what is useful for him:
"I said: Oh apostle of Allah, tell me something that is useful for me, he said: Keep to fasting, nothing equals it."
Whoever wants to have a higher degree with Allah, he shouldn’t confine fasting the month of Ramadan only, but he should for example fast six days in Shawal or fast Mondays and Thursdays like the beloved (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or at least fast three days a month and this is the least amount, the prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Fasting the month of patience (Ramadan) and three days a month equals fasting the era (the whole year)."
When he eats, he only eats when he is hungry as we said before about their golden age, as the prophet said:
"We are people who eat only when we are hungry and if we eat we never get satiated or full."
So you don’t see a fat righteous man, Sheikh of Imam Al-Jonayd was his uncle As'ser As'sakty, he used to say:
"I told her that I love her, she said (you lie to me, I can see your bones fleshed, no real love until bones are stuck to leather and you are silent not to answer a caller."
They mention the proof of a man who loves a woman and occupied by her, does he have appetite for food? No, what you think of that who loves Allah, wants to come to Him by all his organs, feelings, dejectedly and devoutly keep to His door, he is in need for hunger.
Before leaving this type of striving and before anyone starts to apply and fast, we remind you, oh who want to fast and decrease food, you should know that there is fasting for counting and there is fasting for victuals or grants.
Fasting for counting is that which is for rewards, whoever fasts by his body, he took his rewards, and whoever obeyed Allah beside fasting by body and organs, he took big grants from Allah.
Fasting that is for grants is fasting of people of striving to reach aims and goals and to be among the people of adjacency and suppliance, Allah mentioned this in His book and says about them:
"I have made a vow of fasting (silence); I am not talking today to anyone." (Surat Mariam, verse 26)
She (Mary) was fasting not to talk with people, with whom were she talking? With those of the Kingdom, with those whose spirits were promoted so they were like them or those who became divine higher spirits although they were like other people moving apparently among them in this life but their hearts and spirits tour the higher Kingdom of Allah without trouble, sadden or pain.
The beginning of fasting for those who seek Allah's satisfaction; firstly to fast from all kinds of fun and amusement that busy or occupy striving man away from his aim and his target, Allah says to us:
"Do not be distracted by your money and your children from remembering GOD." (Surat Al-Monafekoon, verse 9)
Imam Ad'darany said about the attractions that mouse to hearts:
"Everything busies you away from Allah even if it is your money or your children, it is baleful for you."
Your occupation by your wealth, your children and your wife is legal, you are asked apparently to do it, but occupying your heart by them is undesirable and you are asked to purify your heart from this, so the prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said that your greatest enemies are your wife, your children, your wealth, and your self if they occupy you away from Allah and make you as their slave to do what enrage Allah and stop you following the right path. The beginning of the way is to fast from fun, a follower only considered in the way of these people when he fasts from fun first, then he is promoted and fast from doing nonsense, he is a follower at the beginning of the way of the people of chastening only when he stops doing nonsense all over his life, so they assured the Hadeeth of the prophet that addresses those who seek higher conditions:
"If you are to fast, your hearing, your sight and your tongue should fast from telling lies, doing sins and hurting your servant, you should have dignity and tranquility, don’t make the day you fast equal the day you not fast."
Is it legal to do these things while he is not fasting? Of course not, he strives his soul in fasting to stop doing nonsense until he becomes internally fasting by his behavior even if he is apparently not fasting. He stops doing nonsense all over his breaths because he is careful about his breaths in this life; a single breath is more expensive than life and everything in it.
Fasting from doing nonsense is the beginning of the people of chastening, so they said if your soul rebels and you can't direct it in the way of chastening, keep to the advice of the master of mankind and you will reach your goal and become one of the people of chastening, he said:
"Hold your tongue, keep to your house and weep for your sin."
Your house refers to your heart, you should keep purifying it, repairing it, cleaning it, pickling it and populating it, after that you can start fasting from omission or inattention, what a fasting! That who fasts from omission never forgets his Lord for a moment either he is asleep, awake, doing something for this life or for the hereafter, as Allah says:
"People who are not distracted by business or trade from remembering GOD." (Surat An'Noor, verse 37)
There is fasting from fun.
Then fasting from doing nonsense.
Then fasting from omission.
These are the stages followers go through while they are striving by lessening food and using the prescription of fasting to control the soul and for adjacency to Allah.
Then the true servant strives in his fasting to reach the degrees of Ihsan (benevolence), Eekan (ascertainment), Ma'eyah (simultaneousness - being with Allah), Endeyah (being near Allah), Ladonneyah (at the presence of God), Mak'ad As'sedk (position of honor) and then fasting in order to see Him as the beloved (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Fast to see it (the moon or the crescent) (it refers to Allah too) and break fasting to see it (the moon or the crescent) (it also refers to Allah), if you don’t see it, complete the number of Sha'ban to thirty."
I.e. you fast so that Allah might grant you and you see Him, you should only break fasting after you see Him, if you can't do this, then continue fasting and do different types of striving until you reach your goal, then your reward is to see The Lord of all people, as the hadeeth preaches people of chastening, Allah says:
"All the deeds of man are for him except fasting, it is for Me and I reward for it."
As if He says: "I am the reward of those who fast, I let them see My beauty and My perfection and I make them enjoy My adjacency."
So Allah says in the secret of fasting: "Those who are ill," (Surat Al-Bakarah, verse 185) So they can't strive their souls, "Or traveling," Or he still strives in traveling to his Lord, "May substitute the same number of other days," I.e. he should continue striving more and more to oblige it to do what he likes, if it is too hard for him, "Those who can fast, but with great difficulty," He should start another type of striving by fasting from loving money and piling it, he should give charity, "May substitute feeding one poor person for each day of breaking the fast." (Surat Al-Bakarah, verse 185) You should open the door of spending money for the needy and feeding the poor for Allah's sake.
So Allah finishes the verses of fasting by mentioning to that who reached the highest degrees, he asks for Allah and fasted from everything else, Allah says to His prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and to us:
"When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near.
" (Surat Al-Bakarah, verse 186)
Those who ask for Allah are very few; they are the chosen among people, those who chasten their souls for Allah's sake to continue being with Him (theopathy) and never to be apart from Him by anything.
We beg Allah to make us among them by His kindness and by the blessing of his prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), He always responds to supplications.
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