جمعه: 1403/01/10
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Fasting - The Divine Call
A series of articles by His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Saafi Golpaygani regarding the Holy Month of Ramadan.

 

(یا ایھا الذین آمنوا کتب علیکم الصیام)[1]

O you who have faith! Prescribed for you is fasting.

 

O faithful men and women! Listen to the word of Allah. It is you and only you who has been addressed in this verse by the Lord of the Universe. Allah invites you; He calls for you.

It is narrated from his holiness, Imam Sadiq (a.s.), that he said:

            “It is the taste and sense of pride that Allah has proclaimed the believers and has called for them, which takes away all the difficulties and hardships of worship”.[2]

 

The Divine Call

یا ایھا الذین آمنوا                                                        

O Believers! O Muslims! O men and women who have faith in Allah and His Messenger (p.b.u.h.)!

O Followers!

You are the addressees; Allah is speaking to you. Be aware!

Allah has called for you!

You must answer Allah’s call!

You are the ones who will respond to Allah’s invitation!

You are the ones who have accepted the command of Allah, the Halal and the Haram, and all the other rules and orders of Islam!

You are those who know Allah as the Guardian of all affairs and the One with complete Authority, and the One who sent down the Sharia and constituted the rulings; and you do not ascertain for Him a partner in the constitution of rulings, the do’s and don’ts, the Haram and Halal, in the creation of regulations, and the passing of laws.

You are the ones who are, by the order of faith and belief, obligated to abide by the rulings of Islam and the teachings of Quran. And you consider the obligation according to every program, method, every system and law, and every process which is different from the divine orders and outside the boundaries of Quranic teachings, as misguidance, deviation and sin.

It is you who have accepted Islam as your faith, creed and system of life, governance and nation, social law, peace and war, and have considered it everything for yourselves. You do not answer to any call which is from outside the boundaries of Islam and is not the voice of Islam; and you do not respond to any other invitation.

It is you who have attained the actual freedom with the blessings of faith in Allah. You have entered the society of freemen, who do not have a supreme Authority and Lord apart from Allah.

It is you humans who have tasted the sweetness of Islamic freedom; who have freed themselves from the bondage and slavery of the false rulers and authorities; who have delivered themselves from the humiliation of serving as a slave to the false religions and tyrant governments, and the rules which have been constituted by weak thoughts and incapable brains; you have attained dignity and honor by worshiping the Unique Lord and abiding by His orders, and complying to his laws and commands.

Allah has addressed you and said:

(یا أَیهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَیكُمُ الصِّیامُ)[3]

Now witness the bounties of Allah, the Merciful.

 

He is the Lord who has created us and all the other human beings, all the small and big living objects of this universe. The Lord who has gifted us with endless blessings, both inside and outside our existence.

The creational and legislative hand of the Lord (s.w.t.) has extended towards everyone, so that each one of them progresses from his deficiencies towards completion. He has prepared his special and pure servants for the performance of their duties and obligations, for their fasts, mortifications and intended training; it has encouraged them towards obedience, so that they can obey more and more of His commands with happiness, cognition and perception; and the deprivation from the animalistic pleasures, foods and drinks, and the perseverance from this divine regime does not become difficult for them. In the verses 183, 184 and 185 of the second chapter of Quran, 19 addresses and in the 187th verse, he has honored us with 20 addresses in this regard. In these verses, such favors and graces have been shown, which is both a proof of its miraculous eloquence as well an evidence of its excellent attention paid towards the self and psychological aspects, and nurturing points.

The expressions present in these verses depict that the rules of Islam are not just a series of dry and soulless laws, or the programs for safeguarding and managing the social and political relations of individuals with the government, which does not have any other guarantee of implementation apart from mere bayonet power, terror, fear of punishment and retribution.

Islam establishes inside ones inner self, the systems of obedience and honor of the law, keeping in mind all the welfare issues and inner and outer aspects of human existence. And more than anything, it wants us to follow and believe in a God, who is the constitutor of the laws and rules, and a Prophet who has brought these things, from the depth of our hearts.

In the Islamic rulings, attention has been paid towards the aspects of faith and belief, intellect and conscience, emotions and sentiments, welfare and betterment, relief and easement, and also towards the spiritual and physical capabilities of human beings; so that everyone shows interest in its execution and regards its opposition as the opposition of faith and belief, guidance and governance, intellect and the voice of conscience, and the opposition of the common good and interest.

  Islam has laid the foundation of executing its laws on the hearts and faith of human beings. This is because a majority of rules and Islamic programs cannot be enforced forcibly or by means of military power; it is not possible to control the human system for continuously moving forward on the right path without deviating from the correct course, by relying on physical weapons and power. That which can be possibly executed through physical and military powers does not go beyond the safeguarding of the apparent boundaries. In the end, force and power cannot act as the political factor and the pillar exclusively for an individual in a systematic, sequential and lawful society.

Even then, Islam has not neglected this issue and it has not ignored the circumstances where it is compulsory to use power for the progress of welfare and the enforcement of rules. In order to maintain peace and social justice, it has predicted punishment and retributions for the implementation of rights and removal of oppression and injustice. Its execution is the duty of the noblest and strongest executory and defensive powers.

One of the best signs and evidences on the excellence of the Islamic nurturing methods and programs for obligating the society, is the honor of the laws and rules in the present social conditions of the Islamic world.

Even though the misguiding propagations, factors deviating and weakening faith, and the obstacles that hinder the intellectual progress of Islam, are numerous; and almost in all the Islamic societies, Muslims are free to disobey the religious order without any obligation, but their majority has still safeguarded the rules and signs of Islam and are obligated towards it, even after the immense pressure put on them to abstain the religious traditions.

For instance, majority of Muslims offer Salaat and keep fasting. They perform pilgrimage (Hajj); they respect their transactions and bilateral deals; they greet by saying Salaam; they participate in the congregational prayers; they pay Zakat and all the other Sharia alms; they donate heavy amount of money to the charitable organizations, for building mosques, schools, hospitals and clinics, libraries etc.; they do not drink alcohol; they do not commit adultery; they do not take interest; they do not gamble; they do not commit theft; they do not commit oppression or tyranny; they do not usurp other’s wealth; they do not disrespect other’s rights; they do not sell underweight or cheat; they do not tell a lie; they do not accuse others; they do not do flattery; and they do not leave the path of piety, devoutness and chastity.

The cause of this compliance and obedience towards the rules and laws is the law making method of Islam. It is issued from the source of revelation and all the aspects have been observed by it. It has brought into use the faith, belief, nature, intellect, logic and true emotions and sentiments of human beings in order to create the sense and inclination towards the respect and honor of laws and rules.

As regards the points, precisions, subtlety and eloquent expressions of the noble verse:

The Address of {یا ایھا الذین آمنوا}, attention paid towards faith and belief, acting upon the demands of belief in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and remembrance, is the dignity of a believer who has become suitable for specific define address due to his position of faith.

Faith in One God, prepares a person for the obedience of rules; makes the noble and wicked, good and bad, evident for the servants; and fills the soul of a believer with self-respect, dignity and nobility, and it keeps him from going near wicked acts and disobedience of Allah’s command.

A faithful and god-knowing servant honours Allah’s law more than all the other laws and principles.

The rules and laws created by human beings can never replace Allah’s rules. Knowledge, propagation and governing power cannot grant it such dignity and recognition.

For example, international laws or the constitution of United Nations and the likes of them, are the part of such laws which are apparently honoured by governments and a few nation heads to some extent, and they introduce themselves as its supporters. But do they really respect and support it? Or is this respect due to the political helplessness and for the sake of safeguarding their individual or national benefits and profits? If these profits weren’t expected, or were endangered, would anyone pay respect and attention towards these laws for their own sake?! The nations who consider themselves a member of such international societies, or who themselves are the founders of these organizations, do they not stampede its principles when their personal benefits demand it?

Probably it is not yet seen or heard that at sensitive and dangerous times, rightness and justice is observed by these organizations, or that they might have answered the call of their conscience!

It is only the faith in Allah which creates the sanctity and holiness of the rights and laws automatically in the eyes of the faithful, and demands him to take the right from all the aspects. And it tells him:

[4](وَلَایجْرِمَنَّکم شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُواهُوَأَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى)

{And ill feeling for a people should never lead you to be unfair. Be fair; that is nearer to Godwariness}

Or on another instance:

[5](یاأَیهَاالَّذِینَ آمَنُواكُونُوا قَوَّامِینَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْعَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِالْوَالِدَینِ وَالْأَقْرَبِینَ)

{O you who have faith! Be maintainers of justice and witnesses for the sake of Allah, even if it should be against yourselves or [your] parents and near relatives}.

Wherever the factor of faith comes into being, the law will be executed.

In front of the divine law, the faithful men do not pay attention towards its philosophy, benefit and wisdom, instead, their extensive and strengthened faith bounds and obligates them to abide by the religious etiquettes; while they are unaware of most of the interests and philosophies behind the rules.

One of the example for this topic, is the command of fasting itself. Certainly, fasting has its health and physical benefits towards which indications have been made in the traditions also: (صوموا تصحوا)“Fast and become healthy”.

The expert and world famous doctors have also confirmed the clinical and sanitary benefits of fasting. The way of curing a group of diseases is almost dependent on abstention from food. Excessive eating becomes the cause of numerous diseases. There are several diseases which are cured by fasting and many sick peoples have achieved cure by means of fasting programs.

Fasting is beneficial from economic aspect as well. Therefore, fasting is understood as an act of common good.

Keeping in mind all these benefits of fasting and much more than what we are aware of, how many people are ready to fast for the sake of these benefits and hygienic, physical purposes etc. in one single year, irrespective of divine obedience? How many people can forsake all the edibles, drinkables and physical pleasures for one whole month? If this fasting program was prescribed by expert doctors, how many people would have performed this act every year?

Certainly, very few people would have acted upon this prescription. The number of people acting upon this suggestion would be very few if compared to the number of people who fast in the month of Ramadan only for the sake of obeying their religious obligation and for seeking the nearness of Allah and His reward.

All Muslims, obligated or non-obligated ones, pardoned or non-pardoned, and even the immature children, keep fasts under extremely difficult weather conditions only for the sake of obeying Allah. It has been fourteen centuries that the tradition and programs of the month of Ramadan, has affected the individual and social life of Muslims, and it unifies them in this month. This is an example of the impact of faith on individuals.

In this way, we can understand the miraculous beginning of this verse with the address (یا ایھا الذین آمنوا) and the realities and sublime meaning it carries.

 

[1]Chapter Al-Baqara, verse 183.

[2]Majmaul Bayan, Tafseer of verse 183, chapter Al-Baqara

[3]Chapter Al-Baqara, verse 183

[4] Chapter Al-Maida, verse 8

[5] Chapter An-Nisa, verse 135

Friday / 29 March / 2024