السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
The Beloved [s.a.w.] said: "The one who fasts has two pleasures: when he breaks his fast and when he meets his Lord, due to his fasting." [Bukhari, Muslim] Surely, these are not the only two pleasures experienced by a believer, but they are intimately exclusive to the fasting Muslim and no one else.
1) The first pleasure
This refers to the period of Iftar after striving for a full day of hunger, thirst, the exercise of self-restraint, of patience and obedience to Allah [s.w.t.] This pleasure comes every Maghrib prayers as we break our fast with the sumptuous spread prepared by the family.
There are many reasons why this is a moment of joy: firstly, to be able to eat with the dearest people in our lives (our family), but most of all, it is to have succeeded in gaining control over the demands of our own body and ascendancy of our everyday habits - a chance to transform the mundane into a heightened transcendental existence. It is a spiritual joy: a joy of triumph over syaitan, over our own passions and most base desires. Iftar is therefore a celebration of having accomplished in fulfilling Allah's commands.
2) The second pleasure
This occurs when the believer meets his Lord after a lifetime of obediently curbing his desires through the deed of fasting and seeking Allah’s Pleasure by it. It is afforded by his gratitude to his Lord for having blessed him with His Mercy to succeed by fasting.
This is an experience of joy by which all the pains and sorrows that used to burden us in our lifetimes are overshadowed by the ultimate joy of His Rewards. In a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira [r.a.], the Beloved [s.a.w.] said, "Allah, The High and Exalted He is, said, 'I have prepared for My pious servants things which have never been seen by an eye, or heard by an ear, or (even) imagined by a human being.' [Bukhari] And Allah [s.w.t.] says: "No living being knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept hidden from them, as a recompense (in Paradise) for their (righteous) deeds!" [Sajdah 32:17]
We know from the collation of the descriptions of Paradise from the Qur'an, the rewards may range from eternal life of pleasure, gardens, wealth, properties, palaces, servants, rivers of milk and honey to natural springs etc. but above all, we will get the Pleasure and Good Will of our Lord, Most Supreme, Most Majestic! That suffices everything. All our disappointments, failures, broken heartedness, sadness that we experience in this life is eclipsed by this beautiful and hopeful promise.
We must strive to enhance our awareness and appreciation of the greater purpose of what our fast really means. The physical fasting is but a small step toward the bigger dimension of the sum of its parts. The struggle of maintaining the thirst, hunger and tiredness of the day to complete the fast is celebrated by the first bite of dates and water when we break our fast. That is pleasure.
But this worldly pleasure is merely a precursor to a more colossal pleasure that awaits as a result of that strive. As much as we wish to know more for our own certainty, its unfathomably immense nature leads us to accept the promise out of faith, at least for now. The Beloved [s.a.w.] said: "Never mind what Allah has told you; what He has not told you is even greater.” (Muslim)
That should be enough to convince us. That should be enough to spur us. That should be enough to keep us continuously on that path of positive transformation.
Love,
The Alchemist.
The Beloved [s.a.w.] said: "The one who fasts has two pleasures: when he breaks his fast and when he meets his Lord, due to his fasting." [Bukhari, Muslim] Surely, these are not the only two pleasures experienced by a believer, but they are intimately exclusive to the fasting Muslim and no one else.
1) The first pleasure
This refers to the period of Iftar after striving for a full day of hunger, thirst, the exercise of self-restraint, of patience and obedience to Allah [s.w.t.] This pleasure comes every Maghrib prayers as we break our fast with the sumptuous spread prepared by the family.
There are many reasons why this is a moment of joy: firstly, to be able to eat with the dearest people in our lives (our family), but most of all, it is to have succeeded in gaining control over the demands of our own body and ascendancy of our everyday habits - a chance to transform the mundane into a heightened transcendental existence. It is a spiritual joy: a joy of triumph over syaitan, over our own passions and most base desires. Iftar is therefore a celebration of having accomplished in fulfilling Allah's commands.
2) The second pleasure
This occurs when the believer meets his Lord after a lifetime of obediently curbing his desires through the deed of fasting and seeking Allah’s Pleasure by it. It is afforded by his gratitude to his Lord for having blessed him with His Mercy to succeed by fasting.
This is an experience of joy by which all the pains and sorrows that used to burden us in our lifetimes are overshadowed by the ultimate joy of His Rewards. In a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira [r.a.], the Beloved [s.a.w.] said, "Allah, The High and Exalted He is, said, 'I have prepared for My pious servants things which have never been seen by an eye, or heard by an ear, or (even) imagined by a human being.' [Bukhari] And Allah [s.w.t.] says: "No living being knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept hidden from them, as a recompense (in Paradise) for their (righteous) deeds!" [Sajdah 32:17]
We know from the collation of the descriptions of Paradise from the Qur'an, the rewards may range from eternal life of pleasure, gardens, wealth, properties, palaces, servants, rivers of milk and honey to natural springs etc. but above all, we will get the Pleasure and Good Will of our Lord, Most Supreme, Most Majestic! That suffices everything. All our disappointments, failures, broken heartedness, sadness that we experience in this life is eclipsed by this beautiful and hopeful promise.
We must strive to enhance our awareness and appreciation of the greater purpose of what our fast really means. The physical fasting is but a small step toward the bigger dimension of the sum of its parts. The struggle of maintaining the thirst, hunger and tiredness of the day to complete the fast is celebrated by the first bite of dates and water when we break our fast. That is pleasure.
But this worldly pleasure is merely a precursor to a more colossal pleasure that awaits as a result of that strive. As much as we wish to know more for our own certainty, its unfathomably immense nature leads us to accept the promise out of faith, at least for now. The Beloved [s.a.w.] said: "Never mind what Allah has told you; what He has not told you is even greater.” (Muslim)
That should be enough to convince us. That should be enough to spur us. That should be enough to keep us continuously on that path of positive transformation.
Love,
The Alchemist.
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