Free Yourself from the Superficial Meaning of Fasting
In Islam, fasting is defined as outwardly abstaining from eating, drinking, and carnal desires from dawn to sunset. However, in Sufi ethics, fasting is not merely about keeping the stomach empty; it is a superficial act of worship. True perfect fasting is when a person keeps all their organs, thoughts, and heart away from every kind of evil that Allah does not approve of. Geylani (peace be upon him) advises this profound level as follows: “Accustom yourselves to perpetual fasting against evil. To free yourself from unsound actions, accustom your very being to perpetual prayer.” If a person keeps their stomach away from even halal food while gossiping with their tongue, looking at what is forbidden with their eyes, and harboring malice in their heart, then only hunger and thirst remain of that person’s fast.
Spiritual Fasting of the Organs
A person’s spiritual health depends on every limb in the body obeying Allah. The fasting of the tongue is to avoid lies, slander, idle talk, and gossip. The fasting of the eye is not to look at what is forbidden and at people’s faults. The fasting of the ear is not to listen to hearsay and words full of evil. And the fasting of the hand and foot is to refrain from oppression and sin. “Do not open your eyes to what is forbidden. Do not push your soul into bad things, restrain it. Get used to feeding your existence with what is permissible, and also try to monitor Allah in your inner world.” A believer who cannot control his limbs in this way has become a slave to his own desires. This discipline of the organs makes a person pious and beautifies their morals.
The Fasting of the Heart: Purifying from Other Than God
The pinnacle of fasting is the fasting of the heart. The fast of the heart is to uproot everything other than Allah (everything besides Him), worldly greed, love of status, and transient sorrows from the heart. For the heart is the manifestation place of Allah, and allowing worldly impurities to enter it is the greatest rudeness. A person who protects their heart from hypocrisy, pride, and envy experiences a spiritual awakening and intends a true fast that will last a lifetime. The iftar of a servant who reaches this exalted station continues until the day he beholds the beauty of Jannah (Paradise) in the hereafter. Those who keep this relentless fast against their own desires and Satan while still in this world will be rewarded with endless blessings in the afterlife.