10 Fasting Ethics that must be considered
Abu Nasr al-Sarraj al-Tusi died in 378, he was a great Sufi Naisabur, in the book al-Luma ‘, about adab and fasting ethics that must be considered.
In the book Al-Sarraj, al-Luma ‘, page 217 At least there are ten in number, including:
First, straighten his intentions.
The intention here is the purpose of a person fasting. The fasting person should make his fast solely for the sake of Allah. Because, with a straight intention, a person not only avoids useless fasting, but also he will tend to enjoy it more and be lighter when doing it.
Second, stay away from his lust.
What is meant by lust here is all negative impulses from within that can lead to immoral acts. Fasting itself is a means for a person to train himself in controlling his lust.
Third, take care of the limbs.
It means guarding the limbs from disgraceful acts, such as guarding the eyes from bad eyesight, guarding the ears from hearing dirty words, guarding the tongue from saying words that can hurt others, and so on.
Fourth, pay attention to the sanctity of food.
The sanctity of food includes the sanctity of the food itself, the sanctity of the process of making food, and the “holiness” of obtaining it. Because, the food that goes into the stomach and becomes flesh in our bodies, has a significant effect. In a hadith it is said that bad food can prevent prayer from being answered.
Fifth, take care of the heart.
The heart is easily swayed. When fasting, an empty stomach during the day can make the heart more difficult to control, easy to get emotional, and so on. Moreover, plus heavy work or hot weather, of course the patience of fasting people is increasingly being tested.
Sixth, always dhikr.
Dhikr in addition to making our hearts always adrift with Allah swt., can also make it calm. For example, we may have often heard the suggestion to pray for forgiveness when we start an emotion in order to relieve it.
Seventh, do not worry about the sustenance that has been guaranteed.
However, keep in mind that sustenance is not always in the form of material, maybe it is in the form of health so that we are able to fast, maybe like now where the spread of the Covid-19 virus has subsided so that we can pray tarawih together again.
Don’t worry about sustenance doesn’t mean we don’t try to get it. Efforts are still being made, but the results we leave to the Giver of Sustenance.
Eighth, don’t boast about fasting
It means not praising his own fast so that he can make him feel better than others just because of the fast he is doing. This actually injures the value of fasting itself.
Ninth, be aware of limitations.
Being aware of one’s limitations can lead to humility and avoid being arrogant. One proof of this limitation is that when fasting, energy is reduced. As for when you have more strength while fasting, it is only because of Allah. bestows power on that person.
Tenth, ask Allah for help.
in fasting. In addition to trying to improve the quality of fasting, we should not forget to pray that Allah will always give us istiqomah so that we can continue to worship, especially in this month of Ramadan.
Thus the ten adab in fasting according to Al-Sarraj. Hopefully all our prayers and efforts in maintaining fasting can lead us to the degree of pious people.
May all our fasting deeds be accepted by Allah swt.
amenyarobbalaalamiin.
