SPIRIT OF ISLAM JUNE 2O18

43 Spirit of Islam Issue 66 June 2018 ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered Abstaining from food and water is a physical act. How does this benefit a believer in the spiritual sense, or what spiritual qualities does this abstinence help one inculcate? In the month of Ramazan, a believer abstains from food and drink from dawn till dusk. It is only after sunset that he satisfies his hunger and quenches his thirst. When a person goes through this process, he trains himself in the art of desire management and so builds up his self-control. This trait of restraint or abstinence does not remain restricted to one’s intake of food, rather by exercising restraint for one month in a year, one is able to lead a life of self-discipline in all matters for the rest of the year. The practice of fasting is also largely aimed at saving a person from distractions. It produces sincerity in him. It draws a person’s attention away from the external world and into the internal world. This helps one rise from trivial issues and become more centred on higher and deeper issues of life. The main aim of fasting is to lessen a person’s dependence on material things and strengthen his spiritual resolve, so that he may enter the higher realms of piety. Fasting is thus a stimulus for spiritual and intellectual development. Once made aware of his own helplessness, he connects to God with sincere prayer. The Quran began to be revealed during the month of Ramazan. Can you please explain the special relation between the Quran and fasting during Ramazan? The Arabic word for fasting is sawm meaning abstinence or restraint from desires. The abstinence from food and water is symbolic of saving oneself from all kinds of distraction, including basic needs, for a temporary period of time. The main purpose of fasting is to go through the Quran with complete focus and dedication. This is a very serious study. So, believers are required to keep away from all other activities, and concentrate their minds totally on the study of the Quran so that they are able to discover the deep meaning in the Quran. According to a Hadith , “The wonders of Quran shall never cease.” (Mishkat) Just as taking more and more water from an ocean does not dry it up, similarly, continually reflecting on the Quran only allows its deeper meaning to unfold. Materialists think on the lines of “more and more