What is the meaning of fasting (ṣawm)?
Al-Ghazali distinguished three fasts: the fast of the ordinary, of the elect, and of the elect of the elect. Each is harder than the last. Each is a door.
10 passages from 5 books in the library
Fasting (ṣawm) in the classical tradition is far more than abstaining from food and drink. Al-Ghazali's Iḥyāʾ warns, citing the hadith, that 'many who fast gain nothing from their fast but hunger and thirst' when the inner fast is neglected. He distinguishes three levels: the fasting of the general public, the fasting of the elite, and the fasting of the elite's elite. The deeper purpose is to subdue the appetites and draw near to Allah, for those nearest to Him on the Day of Judgment are those who endured hunger and thirst for His sake.
- The fasting of the general public (restraining the stomach and private parts)
- The fasting of the elite
- The fasting of the elite's elite
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 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 →
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"The hadith, many who fast gain nothing from their fast but hunger and thirst, is narrated"
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"fasting thirty days from another month, and fasting one day of Ramadan is better than"
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"public, the fasting of the elite, and the fasting of the elite's elite. The fasting"
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"Abdullah ibn Amr about fasting, where he advised, fast one day and break the fast"
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 →
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"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 →
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"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 →
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"stating those closest to Allah on the Day of Judgment are those who prolong their hunger and thirst,"
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"level is fasting for three days or more. Some seekers of spiritual discipline fast for extended"
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"the pain of hunger and thirst and avert their harm, rather than indulging in worldly pleasures."
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 →
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"hunger, for hunger is more common and widespread, necessitating bread more, making it superior."
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