ON SOME OF THE ASTONISHING SECRETS OF RAMADAN
Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid
The etymological root of the term fasting (as-sawm) means withholding oneself (al-imsaak) as well as elevation (ar-rif`a).
This is essentially true because the religiously prescribed fasting is elevated above all the rest of the acts of worship in rank, for this reason it is called sawm.
Allah ta`ala elevates the fasting by negating resemblance or likeness to it in any of the acts of worship. He ta`ala also strips the fasting from the servants even though they worship Him by means of it.
This is reflected in the words of the hadith Qudsi
كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلاَّ الصِّيَامَ فَإِنَّهُ لِى وَأَنَا أَجْزِى بِهِ
“Every action of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, it is for Me. I am the One who rewards for it. ”
The Absolute Being attributes the fasting to Himself sub’hannahu wa ta`ala, and He finally rewards those who are described as fasting by His own Hand from His Divine assistance.
Allah ta`ala attaches fasting to Himself in the negation of resemblance and likeness, because fasting actually is the avoidance of action, not an action.
And due to the fact that the negation of likeness to fasting is an attribute of negation, it strengthens the relationship between the one fasting and Allah ta`ala.
Allah ta`ala says about Himself:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ
“There is nothing like Him.”
Thus, Allah ta`ala negates all resemblance and likenesses to Himself, for He has no likeness whether through evidences of reason or the Divine Law.
Similarly, Allah describes fasting as being unlike other acts of worship, upon the tongue of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace as related by an-Nasai’ on the authority of Abu Amama, who said:
“I once came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace and said: Command me to do an order that I can take from you. He said:
عَلَيْكَ بِالصَّوْمِ فَإِنَّهُ لاَ مِثْلَ لَهُ
“Obligatory upon you is fasting, for it has no likeness.”
Thus, likeness and resemblance to any of the various acts of worship that have been made lawful have been negated from fasting.
Whoever realizes that this is the description of negation since it is avoiding eating and drinking, knows without doubt that He too is known through negation of likeness and resemblance to all created essences described with the attributes of existence.
It is for this reason that the hadith Qudsi narrated by Imam Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said that Allah azza wa jalla said:
كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلاَّ الصِّيَامَ فَإِنَّهُ لِى وَأَنَا أَجْزِى بِهِ وَالصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ صَوْمِ أَحَدِكُمْ فَلاَ يَرْفُثْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلاَ يَسْخَبْ فَإِنْ سَابَّهُ أَحَدٌ أَوْ قَاتَلَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّى امْرُؤٌ صَائِمٌ . وَالَّذِى نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَخُلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ وَلِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ يَفْرَحُهُمَا إِذَا أَفْطَرَ فَرِحَ بِفِطْرِهِ وَإِذَا لَقِىَ رَبَّهُ فَرِحَ بِصَوْمِهِ
“Every action of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, it is for Me. I am the One who rewards for it. Fasting is a protection. When one of you is fasting he should not behave obscenely nor go into a rage. For when someone curses him or fights him, he should say: ‘I am fasting’. I swear by the One in whose Hand is the sole of Muhammad, the unpleasant smell from the mouth of the one fasting will be more pleasant to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the fragrance of musk. The one fasting will have two joys: when he breaks his fast he will be joyous with his eating, and when he meets his Lord, he will be joyous with his fasting.”
In this prophetic tradition are countless secrets. Among them is that Allah ta`ala attributes an act which is in reality the avoidance of action, or the negation of action to Himself because it is unlike any act of worship, in the same manner that He is unlike any created thing.
This is a tremendous secret because the consensus of the People of the spiritual Path agrees that there are four means through which the servant can come to know his Lord and have intimate gnosis of Him.
The master of our master, Shaykh al-Habib Abdullahi ibn Abi Bakr al-`Aydaruus said in his al-Kibreet’l-Ahmar:
واتفق المشايخُ الصّوفيةُ على أن بناءِ أمْرِهِم على: قلةِ الطّعامِ وقلةِ الكلامِ وقلةِ المنامِ واعتزالِ الأنامِ
“The shaykhs of tasawwuf are agreed that their affair is built upon: decrease of food; the decrease of speech; the decrease in sleep and solitude from people.”
Each of these acts are actually non-actions or the negation of actions, and it is through these that the servants are opened up to direct gnosis of their Lord.
Through negation of action one is able to realize and know the One who negates all created attributes to Himself. In the same manner fasting constitutes the highest gnosis of Allah because it is the negation of action or the withholding of food, drink, conjugal relations, and much talk during the daylight hours.
The one who is fasting is in the essence of slaveness to his Lord do to his lack of action and through the negation of attribution of fasting to himself, for fasting is for Allah ta`ala.
Since Allah ta`ala is known through negation (LAA ilaha illa Allah) and not affirmation, the one who is in negation knows Allah through the highest mode in which He can be known.
Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Abi Bakr al-`Aydaruus said about this is his al-Kibreet:
قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ وَجَمِيعُ الْمَشَايِخِ الصُّوفِيَةِ: أَشْرَفُ كَلِمَةٍ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ مَا قَالَ سَيِّدُنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ الصِّدِيقِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: فَسُبْحَانَ اَلَّذِي لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِلْخَلْقِ سَبِيلاً إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِهِ
“The knowers of Allah and all of the Shaykhs of tasawwuf have said that the most noble word regarding the Divine Unity is what our master Abu Bakr as-Sidiq, may Allah be pleased with him said: Glory be to Him who has not made any way for creation to know Him.”
Thus, the negation of comprehension of Allah is the greatest comprehension of Allah. In the same manner that the lack of action or the negation of action which fasting comprises is the greatest form of worship, thus it is associated with Allah, when He said: “Fasting is for Me.”
This is what was meant when the Messenger of Allah described the one fasting as having two joys: one when he breaks his fast, he is joyous with the breaking of the fast; and the second joy when the one fasting meets his Lord, he becomes joyous due to his fast.
You notice that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace did not say: ‘He will be joyous with the meeting of his Lord.’
The reason for this is that every one who meets his Lord encounters Him through the prism of his volition and deeds, and every deed or volition has at its core one of the Names and Attributes of Allah ta`ala. It is to these Names and Attributes that all human actions and will return.
Allah ta`ala says:
وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
“Allah created you and what you do.”
And Allah ta`ala says:
وَمَا يَشَاؤُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ
“They do not even have volition except that Allah wills it.”
This is so regardless if the actions and deeds are those of beauty comprising the varieties of remembrance, obedience and drawing near to Him or if they are actions and deeds of majesty comprising the varieties of heedlessness, disobedience and rebellion of Allah ta`ala.
Allah ta`ala says:
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ
“Verily Allah leads astray whom He pleases and He guides whom He pleases.”
Thus, all actions and volition has a Name that is its Lord and its source and its Final Return. However, because fasting is the negation of action and is associated with His essence, which as He says:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ
“There is nothing like Him”, it has a unique source of manifestation from the Essence of Allah ta`ala as He said: “Fasting is for Me.”
It is for this reason that the Messenger of Allah said:
عَلَيْكَ بِالصَّوْمِ فَإِنَّهُ لاَ مِثْلَ لَهُ
“Obligatory upon you is fasting, for it has no likeness.”
Fasting has no likeness among the other varieties of worship because it is attributed to the Essence of Allah ta`ala that has no likeness in creation. It is for this reason that the gnosis of Allah ta`ala which emerges from fasting is stronger than the gnosis that flows from the other acts of worship because its witnessing emerges from the negation of likeness. The leader of the Champions of Truth (as-siddiqeen), Abu Bakr as-Sidiq said:
عَدَمُ الإِسْتِدْرَاكِ إِسْتِدْرَاكٌ
“The inability to comprehend is comprehension.”
Since the Essence of Allah ta`ala is incomprehensible because it is unlike anything upon which created comprehension can attach itself, gnosis at this level can only emerge through annihilation and obliteration of the locus, and this can only be attained through the non-action of fasting.
Unlike other acts of worship which emerge from the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah ta`ala and to which these acts return, fasting is emptiness, abstinence and returns to its source which is lack of resemblance.
Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir ibn al-Mustafa clarified this subtle point in his Ma`rifat’l-Haqq, when said:
“This experiential knowledge is the utmost limit and the most exalted form of self-manifestation (aqsaa’l-ghaayaat wa `aalaa’t-tijalliyaat). And there is no way for the servant to attain this level of knowledge except after the spiritual pulverization (as-sahqi) and the spiritual obliteration (al-mahwi) of all the essences.
For the servant first becomes annihilated from himself (fayanfaa awalan `an nafsihi) by the manifestation of his Lord (bi dhuhuur Rabbihi). Then secondly he becomes annihilated from his Lord (yanfaa thaaniyan `an Rabbihi) by the manifestation of the secrets of His lordship (bi dhuhuur sirri rubbuubiyatihi). Then thirdly he becomes annihilated from the relationships and correlations of His Divine Attributes (yanfaa thalithan `an muta`aliqaati Sifaathi) by means of the abundant realization of His Essence (bi dhuhuur bi mutahaqqiqaati Dhaatihi).
At this point the servant realizes spiritual obliteration (al-mahqi), annihilation (al-fana’) and cutting off (al-inqittaa`). For when he realizes spiritual obliteration (al-mahqi), then this is the source of Real Establishment (`ayn ithbaat haqeeqi). For when he realizes spiritual annihilation (al-fanaa’), then this is the source of Eternal Continuity (`ayn baqa’ daymuumi). For when he realizes spiritual cutting off (al-inqittaa`), then this is the source of Sacred Arrival (`ayn ittissaal qudsiyyi).”
The bottom line is that only Allah ta`ala knows Himself in His Essence and the one fasting has gnosis of this fact in this world before the Next. It is for this reason the Messenger of Allah ta`ala says that the one fasting has two joys: one in this life when he breaks his fast and one in the Next Life when he realizes the gnosis of the incomprehensible Essence of Allah ta`ala that could only come through the medium of fasting. And Allah knows best.
I have, with the help of Allah ta`ala revealed a subtle secret and opened a portal to an Astonishing Vision (ar-ru’ya ‘l-mudh’hil).
https://siiasi.org/digital-archive/shaykh-muhammad-shareef/1803-2/