Saturday, August 22, 2026

The Excellence of Hunger, Fasting and Halal Sustenance: Spiritual Lessons from the Prophet ﷺ and the Pious Saints

Gold equal to earth

The Prophet of Raḥmaĥ, the Intercessor of Ummaĥ has stated, 'If a person keeps a Nafl fast, his reward will not be complete even if gold equal to the size of the earth is given to him. His (complete) reward will only be given on the Day of Judgement.'

(Musnad Abī Ya'lā, vol. 5, pp. 253)

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

A dining cloth made of gold

Sayyidunā Abū Dardā has stated, 'On the Day of Judgement, dining cloths made of gold will be spread below the Divine 'Arsh for those who used to fast in the world. These dining cloths will be embroidered with pearls and diamonds. There will be heavenly fruits, drinks and other types of delicious foods on them. The fasting Muslims will eat from these dining cloths, gaining immense pleasure, while others will be facing severe accountability.

(Al-budur-us-Sāfirah fil-Umūr-il-Ākhirah, pp. 260)

Condemnation of those who eat three times a day

Once, someone asked Sayyidunā Sahl Bin 'Abdullāĥ Tustarī about eating once a day. He replied, 'This is the food of the Siddīqīn¹.' He was further asked about eating twice a day. He replied, 'This is the food of the Mūminīn².' Then he was asked about those who eat three times a day. He replied, 'The family of such a person should keep him with livestock (so that he could eat like animals the whole day).'

(Risāla-tul-Qushayriyyaĥ, pp. 142)

Dear Islamic brothers! Sayyidunā Sahl Bin 'Abdullāĥ Tustarī was one of the saints from the ranks of the Siddīqīn. He himself would not eat anything for twenty days, but did not object to eating twice a day for common Muslims because working throughout the day with a single meal is not possible for everyone. However, he extremely disliked the habit of eating three times a day.

¹ The highest level and category in sainthood.
² The believers, the Muslims.

Mujĥ ko bĥūk-o-piyās seĥnay kī Khudā taufīq day
Gum Tayrī yādawn mayn reĥnay kī sadā taufīq day

Bless me with the strength to bear thirst and hunger
May I always remain engrossed in Your remembrance

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Survival on dates and water

Sayyidunā 'Urwaĥ has narrated that once Sayyidatunā 'Āishaĥ told him, 'O my nephew! We used to see one moon and then the next. In two months, we used to see three moons (and during all this time), fires would not burn (for cooking food) in the houses of the Beloved Prophet .' Sayyidunā 'Urwaĥ then asked, 'O dear aunt! How did you manage in those days?' She replied, 'We would survive on two dark things, dates and water. Besides this, the Holy Prophet had some Anṣār¹ neighbours who had specially allocated the milk of some of their she-camels or goats for the Holy Prophet . Whenever they sent milk to the Holy Prophet , he would give the milk to us to drink.'

(Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. 7, pp. 232, Ḥadīš 6459)

Better than whole night's worship

Ḥujjat-ul-Islam, Sayyidunā Imām Muhammad Ghazālī has narrated that Sayyidunā Abū Sulaymān has stated, 'To reduce one morsel from my dinner is dearer to me than spending the entire night in worship.' He has further stated, 'Hunger is one of the treasures of Allah and is given only to His chosen servants.'

(Iḥyā-ul-'Ulūm, vol. 3, pp. 90)

¹ Anṣār were the companions in Madīnaĥ who welcomed and helped the companions who migrated from Makkaĥ.

Du'ā ĥay kucĥ na kucĥ luqmay Khudā kay wāsiṭay chořūn
Rizā-e-Ḥaq kī khāṭir laźźat-e-dunyā say munĥ mořūn

May I leave at least some morsels for the pleasure of Allah!
May I stay away from carnal desires for the pleasure of Allah!

Dear Islamic brothers! If only we would be blessed with the treasure of adopting intentional hunger by eating less and applying a Madanī guard on our stomach. , for the saints, hunger is a treasure of divine mercy that is given only to the pious people. Those who acquire this treasure express gratitude as the following account shows.

Treasure of hunger and gratification for it

In his early life, Sayyidunā Ibrāĥīm Bin Adĥam was the king of Balkh, but he gave up kingship and adopted the life of poverty and simplicity. Once, he remained hungry for seven consecutive days as he did not have anything to eat. He offered 400 Rak'āt Nafl Ṣalāĥ each day as gratitude during those seven days. Weakened by extreme hunger, he pleaded in the court of the Almighty, 'O Allah! If You bless me with a small amount of food so that I could gain the strength to worship You, I would be extremely grateful.' In no time, a young man approached and invited Sayyidunā Ibrāĥīm Bin Adĥam to his house for a meal. He accompanied the young man to his house. When the young man looked closely at the great saint, he said spontaneously, 'Your Eminence! I am your escaped slave, whatever I own actually belongs to you.' The great saint replied, 'I free you and grant you whatever you possess.' Then, taking permission from the young man he departed. After this, he expressed his feelings in the court of Allah, 'O Allah! I will never desire anyone but You. I asked You only for a piece of bread but You put a lot of world in front of me!'

(Tażkira-tul-Auliyā, pp. 96)

Kaṡrat-e-dawlat kī āfat say bachānā Yā Khudā
Day mujĥay 'ishq-e-Muhammad kā khazānaĥ Yā Khudā

Save me from the nuisance of excessive wealth, O Allah!
Bless me with the treasure of devotion to Muhammad , O Allah!

Perils of a doubtful morsel

It is extremely dangerous to devour whatever you get without considering its permissibility. Sayyidunā Ma'rūf Karkhī has stated, 'A doubtful morsel can, at times, spoil the condition of one's heart to such a degree that the heart does not accept any guidance for the rest of one's life. Sometimes, a doubtful morsel deprives the eater of performing Ṣalāt-ut-Taĥajjud for an entire year. Furthermore, sometimes looking at any impermissible thing deprives a person of reciting the Holy Quran for a very long time.'

(Minĥāj-ul-'Ābidīn, pp. 157)

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Ṣalāĥ rejected for 40 days

Dear Islamic brothers! Those who do not have the privilege of concentration and satisfaction of the heart while reciting the Holy Quran and offering Ṣalāĥ, those who do not have touching emotions when listening to a Na'at or making Du'ā and those who do not succeed in offering Ṣalāt-ut-Taĥajjud despite making ardent efforts should certainly learn a lesson from the wise words of Sayyidunā Ma'rūf Karkhī. It is necessary to avoid Ḥarām sustenance, or else, one will face nothing but horrific consequences. The Beloved Rasūl has stated, 'Whoever consumes a single morsel of Ḥarām food, his Ṣalāĥ will not be accepted for forty days and his Du'ā will be rejected for forty days.'

(Firdaus-ul-Akhbār, vol. 4, pp. 243, Ḥadīš 6263)

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