The Sunnah of Eating Less: Intentional Hunger, Fasting and the Blessed Practice of Eating Once a Day

Eating just once every two days

The hunger of our Holy Prophet ﷺ was intentional. The Beloved and Blessed Rasūl ﷺ has stated, 'My Creator presented me with the option of turning the mountains around Makka-tul-Mukarramaĥ into gold for me but I said, "O Allah! I wish that I eat one day and remain hungry the next so that when I am hungry, I plead and remember You, and when I eat, I thank and glorify You."

(Jāmi' Tirmiżī, vol. 4, pp. 55, Ḥadīš 2354)

Salām un per shikam bhar kar kabhī khānā na khātay thay
Salām un per gham-e-Ummat mayn jo ānsū baĥātay thay

Salutations for him who did not eat to his satisfaction
Salutations for him who wept for his nation

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Eating once a day

It is a Sunnaĥ to eat once a day. Sayyidunā Abū Sa'īd Khudrī has narrated that when the Noble Prophet ﷺ would eat in the morning, he would not eat in the evening and when he ate in the evening, he would not eat in the morning.

(Kanz-ul-'Ummāl, vol. 7, pp. 39, Ḥadīš 18173)

How is it to eat three times a day?

Dear Islamic brothers! It has become a routine to eat three times a day. Although this is not a sin, it is not a Sunnaĥ either. This habit has developed due to the desire of eating and drinking. Keep in mind that the more one eats, the more accountable he will have to be on the Day of Judgement. To eat only once a day is the habitual Sunnaĥ of our Beloved Prophet ﷺ. By the grace of Allah, acting upon this Sunnaĥ, many pious saints routinely ate just once a day. If one does not adopt this habit, he is not blameworthy. However, there is a matter of concern for such devotees of Rasūl who yearn to follow and propagate Sunnaĥ. Regretfully, some people consume food four or five times a day. Such people often have stomach ailments. Sayyidatunā 'Āishaĥ Siddīqaĥ has narrated that the first Bid'aĥ (innovation in religion) which took place after the apparent demise of the most Honourable Prophet ﷺ was that people started eating to a full stomach. When people fill their stomachs, their Nafs becomes rebellious towards worldly things. (Bear in mind that here Bid'aĥ refers to Bid'aĥ Mubāḥaĥ, i.e. permissible innovation).

(Qūt-ul-Qulūb, vol. 2, pp. 327)

Satanic deception:

On the one hand it is described as a Sunnaĥ to eat once a day, but on the other, Saḥarī and Ifṭārī which consist of two meals are also considered Sunnaĥ. What is the answer to this?

Cure for satanic deception:

There is no doubt that Saḥarī and Ifṭārī are both Sunnaĥ. The literal meaning of Ifṭār is 'to break fast.' Therefore, if one swallows only a chickpea, his Ifṭār is valid. Stuffing oneself with food at Saḥarī and Ifṭārī is not a Sunnaĥ. Instead, one can do Ifṭārī and Saḥarī with a mere date or with a few sips of water. If a person consumes one meal during the day such as a curry with bread and then drinks three cups of tea at different times during the same day or eats a single date three times, he would still be considered to have taken just a single meal that day. Similarly, if a person eats a few dates or drinks some water during Ifṭār and consumes a meal at Saḥarī, he would also be considered to have eaten only once that day. In this manner, one would be able to fulfil not only the Sunnaĥ of eating once a day but also that of doing Saḥarī and Ifṭār. However, if a person eats many fruits and other things at Ifṭār, it will be considered a complete meal. Now, if that person eats in Saḥarī too, then he would be considered to have eaten twice that day. Nowadays, the Jamā'at of Ṣalāt-ul-Maghrib is often delayed in Masājid during the sacred month of Ramadan. Listen to the ascetic manner in which A'lā Ḥaḍrat, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān would perform his Saḥarī and Ifṭārī.

Eating once and fasting

The honourable Shaykh Muhammad Ḥusayn Sahib Mīraṭhī has stated, 'I once attended I'tikāf from the 20th of Ramadan. When A'lā Ḥaḍrat came to the Masjid, he said, "I also wish to perform I'tikāf, but I cannot find time (due to my religious responsibilities)." At last, on the 26th of Ramadan, he also joined in I'tikāf.' Maulānā Muhammad Ḥusayn Mīraṭhī goes onto say, 'Although A'lā Ḥaḍrat would break his fast with a few dates, he was not seen eating any meal. At Saḥarī, a small bowl of Firnī (a sweet dish) and that of Chaṭnī (a sauce) would be served to him, and he would eat them. One day, I asked him, "Your honour! What is the combination between Firnī and Chaṭnī?" He replied, "It is a Sunnaĥ to begin and end the meal with salt; this is why the Chaṭnī is served."'

(Ḥayāt-e-A'lā Ḥaḍrat, vol. 1, pp. 41)

! The reviver of Sunnaĥ, Sayyidī A'lā Ḥaḍrat used to eat a salty sauce before and after the sweet dish to act upon Sunnaĥ. To eat a little salt or a salty sauce before and after eating food protects against seventy diseases.

Yā Ilāĥī! Mujĥ ko bĥī kar bĥūk kī ne'mat 'aṭā
Az tufayl-e-Sayyidī-o-Murshidī Aḥmad Razā

For the sake of my spiritual master, Imām Aḥmad Razā
Bless me with the favour of hunger, O Allah!

Fasting with one meal

Sayyidunā Imām Muḥiyyuddīn Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā Sharaf-un-Nawawī , who compiled the famous book of Ḥadīš entitled 'Riyāḍ-uṣ-Ṣāliḥīn', would fast continuously and eat only once a day, after Ṣalāt-ul-'Ishā. He would perform Saḥarī with only water and slept for only a few moments at night.

(Riyāḍ-uṣ-Ṣāliḥīn, pp. 12)

Fast with enthusiasm

Dear Islamic brothers! If there is no obstacle in carrying out religious and important worldly activities, and parents are not displeased as well, then one should keep as many Nafl fasts as possible. Many of our pious saints used to do so. Due to fasting, every moment of the day will be spent in worship, and one will be saved from excessive eating. In addition, it would also become easier to apply the Madanī guard on the stomach. To gain these benefits, one must ensure that he eats less during Saḥarī and Ifṭārī. In order to develop enthusiasm and passion for Nafl fasts, listen to or read the chapter (about Nafl fasts) from 'Blessings of Ramadan' as acquiring the knowledge of the punishments of sins and that of the excellence of good deeds is very effective in refraining from sins and carrying out good deeds. Here is an excellence of fasting.