The Spiritual Fast, the True Fast

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q.s.) said, “The fasting prescribed by the religion is to abstain from eating and drinking and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, while spiritual fasting is, in addition, to protect all the senses and thoughts from all that is unlawful.  It is to abandon all that is disharmonious, inwardly as well as outwardly.  The slightest breach of that intention breaks the fast.  Religious fasting is limited by time, while spiritual fasting is forever, and lasts throughout one’s temporal and eternal life.  This is true fasting.”


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