What did al-Ghazali say about the inner meaning of fasting?
Al-Ghazali distinguished three grades of fasting: the fast of the common people, the fast of the elect, and the fast of the elect of the elect. Most Muslims, he wrote, only reach the first.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
Al-Ghazali distinguished three grades of fasting: the fast of the common people, the fast of the elect, and the fast of the elect of the elect. Most Muslims, he wrote in his Book of Fasting, reach only the first. He also relayed prophetic guidance on voluntary fasting, advising to fast one day and break the next, and noted the Prophet would fast at times and break his fast at others outside Ramadan.
- The fast of the common people
- The fast of the elect
- The fast of the elect of the elect
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"fasting thirty days from another month, and fasting one day of Ramadan is better than"
-
"public, the fasting of the elite, and the fasting of the elite's elite. The fasting"
-
"Abdullah ibn Amr about fasting, where he advised, fast one day and break the fast"
-
"except Ramadan. Rather, he would sometimes fast and sometimes break his fast. For"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"Abu Musa relayed, I said, O Messenger of God, a person loves those who pray but does not pray, and loves those who fast but does not fast, listing many things."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"I completed the fast of the month of Ramadan in Mecca and performed Umrah every day following the Shafi'i school."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"level is fasting for three days or more. Some seekers of spiritual discipline fast for extended"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"Regarding timing, the least is once in twenty-four hours, as in fasting, the medium is fasting"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"This preacher is one of the righteous, fasting perpetually and breaking his fast every three"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"Do not call it Ramadan, for it is one of the names of Allah, but say the month of Ramadan."
Want a different angle?
Type your question below — JM Scholar will ground its answer in the same sources.