The Eating of the Common Person with Their Nafs, and the Believer with Sharia
Sustenance is a divine bestowal that every living being in the universe needs to survive. However, the way one receives and consumes this sustenance changes fundamentally according to the spiritual level of a person. The common people (the heedless), enslaved by their nafs, eat endlessly solely for pleasure, ostentation, and satisfying their desires. But a believer who possesses faith eats “in accordance with the command of religion,” observing what is halal and haram, intending only to gain strength for their worship, eating moderately and with gratitude. They do not eat to be full, but to remain vigorous in the presence of their Lord.
The Manners of Eating of the Saint and the Qutb
The sustenance of saintly servants and Abdals, who have ascended to even higher spiritual stations, is on a completely different level. “The saintly servant adds to this the Divine and spiritual command; they also listen to the prohibition that comes from their heart… The Qutb is the vizier of the saint, eating in accordance with the manifestation of divine action,” 13. They do not extend their hands even when halal sustenance is placed before them unless a revelation from God saying “you may eat” comes into their hearts. Their eating and drinking, and even their silence, are entirely under the control of Divine will. Their selfish appetites have died, and they become nourished by the action of God.
Prophetic Succession and Following the Sunnah
The perfect human being in the highest position within the hierarchy of sainthood, the “Qutbs,” performs this task in its purest and most perfect form, directly according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). “The Qutb is like the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in his eating and in all his actions.” 13 He neither complains of hunger nor indulges in abundance. Because he considers himself a strange traveler in this world, he accepts every morsel with gratitude, concerned for the troubles of the ummah, and entirely within prophetic etiquette.