Why fast?
Fast–noun 4.
an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, esp. when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.
•Religious fasting tests a believer’s strength in exercising self-control.
•It teaches the believer to be content with little.
•To develop an appreciation for the sufferings of the poor
•To restrain oneself from transgression of the law
•To focus on becoming a better human being through abstinence from carnal desires
•Withstand the dictates of the baser self.
We, verily, have set forth all things in Our Book, as a token of grace unto those who have believed in God, the Almighty, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
•And We have ordained obligatory prayer and fasting so that all may by these means draw nigh unto God, the Most Powerful, the Well-Beloved.
•We have written down these two laws and expounded every irrevocable decree.
•We have forbidden men from following whatsoever might cause them to stray from the Truth,
•and have commanded them to observe that which will draw them nearer unto Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Loving.
Say: Observe ye the commandments of God for love of His beauty, and be not of those who follow in the ways of the abject and foolish.
All praise be unto God, Who hath revealed the law of obligatory prayer as a reminder to His servants, and enjoined on them the Fast that those possessed of means may become apprised of the woes and sufferings of the destitute.
One who performeth neither good deeds nor acts of worship is like unto a tree which beareth no fruit, and an action which leaveth no trace. Whosoever experienceth the holy ecstasy of worship will refuse to barter such an act or any praise of God for all that existeth in the world.
Fasting and obligatory prayer are as two wings to man's life. Blessed be the one who soareth with their aid in the heaven of the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.
Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting.
Verily, the religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its sun, and obligatory prayer is its moon.
In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous are distinguished from those who transgress His commandments.
We entreat God, exalted and glorified be He, that he may graciously enable all to observe that which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book.
…prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests.... ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith - 'Abdu'l-Bahá Section, p. 368)
Fasting is of two kinds -- spiritual and material.
The spiritual fasting comes first, and is the soul's refusal or denial of all kinds of evil actions and habits -- this is the important fasting.
The bodily fasting or abstinence from food, is a sign or witness to the inward fasting, and is of no value by itself.
But when both kinds of fasting go together, then the effect upon the soul is as "light upon light.“
(Compilations, Bahá'í Prayers 9, p. 48)
The Universal House of Justice, in reviewing the further applicability of the laws of Bahá'u'lláh in the course of the past four years, determined that it is imperative for all Bahá'ís "to deepen their awareness of the blessings conferred by the laws which directly foster the devotional life of the individual and, thus, of the community.”
Be not neglectful of obligatory prayer and fasting.
He who faileth to observe them hath not been nor will ever be acceptable in the sight of God.
Follow ye wisdom under all conditions.
He, verily, hath bidden all to observe that which hath been and will be of profit to them. He, in truth, is the All-Sufficing, the Most High.
We, verily, have commanded all to observe the Fast in these days as a bounty on Our part, but the people remain unaware, except for those who have attained unto the purpose of God as revealed in His laws and have comprehended His wisdom that pervadeth all things visible and invisible. Say: By God! His Law is a fortress unto you, could ye but understand. Verily, He hath no purpose therein save to benefit the souls of His servants, but, alas, the generality of mankind remain heedless thereof. Cling ye to the cord of God's laws, and follow not those who have turned away from the Book, for verily they have opposed God, the Mighty, the Beloved.
PRAYER IS INDISPENSABLE
O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked the wisdom of prayer. Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally unsound, or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him. The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion. The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing; that is why with every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God, his greatest hope is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate before his Beloved, appeal for His mercy and grace and be immersed in the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity.
Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests..
('Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith, p. 368)
The pillars that sustain the individual's spiritual life in the Bahá'í Faith are similar to those in Islam and the other world religions. Prayer, fasting and pilgrimage nourish believers throughout the planet.
These spiritual disciplines are deeply interconnected. They form one seamless web to impel the believer along the path of growth and maturity. The fasting period
The Bahá'í fasting period takes place between March 2-20 inclusive. During this time, Bahá'ís do not drink or eat between sunrise and sunset.
is intimately connected to prayer and pilgrimage. In the temporary denial of the body's demands, awareness of conversation with God is heightened. The soul is urged along the roads of a spiritual pilgrimage that is the inward mirror of the outward voyage each pilgrim undertakes toward the sacred heart of his or her faith.
‘Abdul-Bahá, in response to an inquirer, said that that the wisdom of fasting was manifold and mentioned a few of its elements.
The gist of His remarks follows:
1.‘Abdul-Bahá said when the Manifestations of God are engaged in revealing divine verses, formulating the laws and setting forth the teachings of their faiths, the pressure of the task at hand and the ecstasy they feel is so intense that it leaves no room for food or drink.
He cited the example of Moses, who fasted for 40 days while revealing the laws, and of Jesus, who abstained from food and drink when He began working to establish Christianity. As for the Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that He was so affected by the intensity of revelation that for many days He did not partake of any food; His only means of subsistence was a little tea.
'Abdu'l-Bahá then spoke of Bahá'u'lláh, recounting that on those days when He was constantly engaged in the revelation of divine verses, the ecstasy of revelation and the intensity of His heart’s rapture prevented Him from eating. Consequently, on such days He ate very little.
After describing the experiences of the Manifestations of God, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that as a symbolic act of emulation and as a means of obtaining a glimpse into their emotional state, fasting for a specific number of days was enjoined upon their followers. He further explained that true lovers long to share in the way their Beloved feels. He concluded that since the Báb fasted most days of His life and Bahá'u'lláh had very little food and drink, on some days not partaking of any food at all, it became necessary for the friends to do likewise. He then quoted a phrase from the Tablet of Visitation: ‘I beseech God, by Thee and by them ... who, for love of Thee, have observed all whereunto they were bidden...’
2. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said fasting is conducive to awareness and vigilance; it causes the heart to be tender, increases one’s spirituality and helps one’s thoughts to be focused on remembering God. This kind of awareness and remembrance, He said, is the cause of spiritual growth.
3. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said there are two kinds of fasting: one is physical, the other spiritual. The physical fast consists of abstaining from food and drink and controlling the body’s desire to indulge in things which it craves. The spiritual fast, He said, helps the believers to desist from carnal desires, to avoid heedlessness and keep in check those characteristics which are animalistic and evil. He added that just as one’s body during the fast is freed from lustful tendencies and the need to eat and drink, so too the individual beseeches God to free his or her heart and soul from the love of all else except God and to protect him or her from indulging in carnal desires and unbecoming attributes.
Those who reach home during the Fast must commence fasting from the day of their arrival.
b. Those who are ill.
c. Those who are over 70.
d. Women who are with child.
e. Women who are nursing.
f. Women in their courses, provided they perform their ablutions and repeat a specifically revealed verse 95 times a day.
g. Those who are engaged in heavy labour, who are advised to show respect for the law by using discretion and restraint when availing themselves of the exemption.
6. Vowing to fast (in a month other than the one prescribed for fasting) is permissible. Vows which profit mankind are however preferable in the sight of God.
Hold ye fast unto His statutes and commandments, and be not of those who, following their idle fancies and vain imaginings, have clung to the standards fixed by their own selves, and cast behind their backs the standards laid down by God. Abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book. (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 25)
The definition of a journey is nine hours by the clock. Should the traveler stop in a place, anticipating that he will stay there for no less than one month by the Bayan reckoning, it is incumbent on him to keep the Fast; but if for less than one month, he is exempt from fasting. If he arriveth during the Fast at a place where he is to stay one month according to the Bayan, he should not observe the Fast till three days have elapsed, thereafter keeping it throughout the remainder of its course; but if he come to his home, where he hath heretofore been permanently resident, he must commence his fast upon the first day after his arrival. (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 114)
QUESTION: If the anniversary either of the Twin.Birthdays or of the Declaration of the Báb occurreth during the Fast, what is to be done?
ANSWER: Should the feasts celebrating the Twin Birthdays or the Declaration of the Báb fall within the month of fasting, the command to fast shall not apply on that day.
QUESTION: Should a person wish to fast at a time other than in the month of Ala', is this permissible or not; and if he hath vowed or pledged himself to such a fast, is this valid and acceptable?
ANSWER: The ordinance of fasting is such as hath already been revealed. Should someone pledge himself, however, to offer up a fast to God, seeking in this way the fulfilment of a wish, or to realize some other aim, this is permissible, now as heretofore. Howbeit, it is God's wish, exalted be His glory, that vows and pledges be directed to such objectives as will profit mankind.
QUESTION: Concerning the limit of fasting for someone travelling on foot.
ANSWER: The limit is set at two hours. If this is exceeded, it is permissible to break the Fast.
QUESTION: Concerning observance of the Fast by people engaged in hard labour during the month of fasting.
ANSWER: Such people are excused from fasting; however, in order to show respect to the law of God and for the exalted station of the Fast, it is most commendable and fitting to eat with frugality and in private.
QUESTION: Concerning fasting and obligatory prayer by the sick.
ANSWER: In truth, I say that obligatory prayer and fasting occupy an exalted station in the sight of God. It is, however, in a state of health that their virtue can be realized. In time of ill-health it is not permissible to observe these obligations; such hath been the bidding of the Lord, exalted be His glory, at all times. Blessed be such men and women as pay heed, and observe His precepts. All praise be unto God, He who hath sent down the verses and is the Revealer of undoubted proofs!
Fasting and obligatory prayer constitute the two pillars that sustain the revealed Law of God. Bahá'u'lláh in one of His Tablets affirms that He has revealed the laws of obligatory prayer and fasting so that through them the believers may draw nigh unto God.
Shoghi Effendi indicates that the fasting period, which involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset, is ...essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.
(Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 176)
Bahá'u'lláh has commanded exemptions to the fast for those whose health, physical growth, or safety might be compromised by adherence to it.
These exemptions are as much obligations as is the abstention from food and drink.
The Lord of the Age does not compel us to harm ourselves by excessive zeal in fasting.
We may believe that our well-being and salvation depends on a punctilious observance of the most stringent and rigid requirements of Bahá'u'lláh's commandments.
Such an attitude leads us to attempt to fast even when we are ill.
We may develop an excessively critical eye toward the attempts of our fellow believers to observe the obligation, including their use of the exemptions.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States reminded us in a feast letter that we live in a society in which people "pride themselves on being bitterly critical in order to justify their conflicts with others.“
Bahá'u'lláh's purpose in ordaining the fast goes well beyond our puny conceptions.
It was not to create a law by which to parade our good works and piety to others,
nor a yardstick to condone the judging of others' sincerity in observance of their private spiritual obligations.
Rather, it is Bahá'u'lláh's map to the moderate path that He so unfailingly recommended. He reveals the following in the Kitab-i-Aqdas:
"Lament not in your hours of trial, neither rejoice therein; seek ye the Middle Way which is remembrance of Me in your afflictions and reflection over that which may befall you in future. Thus informeth you He Who is the Omniscient, He Who is aware Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, no. 43 p. 35.
Whether an individual Bahá'í is fasting fully,
partially or not at all,
the month of Loftiness is a reminder and remembrance.
We remember who we are,
with Whom we must converse,
to Whom we owe our allegiance,
and toward Whom we must journey.
Thus reminded, we see Bahá'u'lláh standing before us, always beckoning us forward into the light.
Oh My Leaf, oh My Leaf! take the Chalice
of Immortality in the Name of God, the Lord
of the Kingdom of Names! then drink thereof
in His Name, The Commander, the Omnipotent.
Verily I say, there is a great station before
God for fasting and prayer, but the favour
therein exists when in health; when in feebleness,
this action is not allowed. This is the
Commandment of the True One (Whose Glory
is Exalted) both in the past and in the future.
Blessed are the hearers and doers, both men
and women. Praise be unto God, The Revealer
of the Scriptures!
(Compilations, Bahá'í Prayers 9, p. 15)
I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy Name through which Thou hast hearkened unto the call of Thy lovers, and the sighs of them that long for Thee, and the cry of them that enjoy near access to Thee, and the groaning of them that are devoted to Thee, and through which Thou hast fulfilled the wishes of them that have set their hopes on Thee, and hast granted them their desires, through Thy grace and Thy favors, and by Thy Name through which the ocean of forgiveness surged before Thy face, and the clouds of Thy generosity rained upon Thy servants, to write down for everyone who hath turned unto Thee, and observed the fast prescribed by Thee, the recompense decreed for such as speak not except by Thy leave, and who forsook all that they possessed in Thy path and for love of Thee. (Compilations, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 243)
These are, O my Lord, the days in which Thou hast bidden Thy servants to observe the fast. Blessed is he that observeth the fast wholly for Thy sake and with absolute detachment from all things except Thee. Assist me and assist them. O my Lord, to obey Thee and to keep Thy precepts. (Compilations, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 245)
•These are, o my God, the days whereon Thou didst enjoin Thy servants to observe the fast.
•With it Thou didst adorn the preamble of the Book of Thy Laws revealed unto Thy creatures, and didst deck forth the Repositories of Thy commandments in the sight of all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.
•Thou hast endowed every hour of these days with a special virtue, inscrutable to all except Thee, Whose knowledge embraceth all created things.
•Thou hast, also, assigned unto every soul a portion of this virtue in accordance with the Tablet of Thy decree and the Scriptures of Thine irrevocable judgment.
•Every leaf of these Books and Scriptures Thou hast, moreover, allotted to each one of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.
For Thine ardent lovers Thou hast, according to Thy decree, reserved, at each daybreak, the cup of Thy remembrance, O Thou Who art the Ruler of rulers! These are they who have been so inebriated with the wine of Thy manifold wisdom that they forsake their couches in their longing to celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy virtues, and flee from sleep in their eagerness to approach Thy presence and partake of Thy bounty. Their eyes have, at all times, been bent upon the Dayspring of Thy loving-kindness, and their faces set towards the Fountainhead of Thine inspiration
Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! These are the days whereon Thou hast bidden all men to observe the fast, that through it they may purify their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to anyone but Thee, and that out of their hearts may ascend that which will be worthy of the court of Thy majesty and may well beseem the seat of the revelation of Thy oneness.
Grant, O my Lord, that this fast may become a river of life-giving waters and may yield the virtue wherewith Thou hast endowed it.
Cleanse Thou by its means the hearts of Thy servants whom the evils of the world have failed to hinder from turning towards Thy all-glorious Name, and who have remained unmoved by the noise and tumult of such as have repudiated Thy most resplendent signs which have accompanied the advent of Thy Manifestation Whom Thou hast invested with Thy sovereignty, Thy power, Thy majesty and glory. (Compilations, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 250)
Happy Fast Everyone :)
Nas
