Asceticism in Islam

The methodology of this journey is embodied in the term dhikrullah, or dhikr for short. Dhikr, which may take many practical forms such as simple recitation of God's name, is the intake and assimilation of a form of Divine energy that completely nourishes the human soul as mother's breast milk completely nourishes an infant baby. The masters are tributaries of the Prophet, the main river through whom the dhikr flows to each community. The masters dispense it to their students, and this is why in Sufi imagery the master is likened to a wine giver and his monastery to a pub, and he dispenses to his students a beverage that alters their consciousness towards a state in which their consciousness of the Divine is enhanced. Dhikr is a powerful source of self-discovery, through which come knowledge and strength. Without knowledge, strength is not perfect; and without strength, no one can achieve much worth achieving. We are taught how to suffer so as to remain unaffected by suffering, to increasingly detach from all attachments other than God (thus the import of no god but God: La ilaha illallah), a teaching embodied in the Sufi aphorism to "know how to die before you die" so as to embrace immortality; to know how to achieve and detach so as not to be affected by the acquisition of possessions. These are the main secrets of a new life for which we are to be prepared by means of our tests.

Along his pilgrimage the Sufi is required to serve the Truth (this is the definition of the term "dervishhood"), for Truth is an attribute of God. This, however, takes time for the young spiritual journey-maker to understand. To begin, he will have to learn to control his senses so that his spirit may be free and thus rewarded with a clear insight. This is the value of ascetic practices. They contribute to necessary steps of spiritual realization that help to push the young soul seeker along the path to understanding his service to God.

Fasting as an Example of Ascetic Practice

Muslims are commanded to fast for the thirty-day month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset, the fast defined as avoidance of food, drink (even water), smoking and sexual activity. In verses 2:183-185 of the Qur'an, God commands the Prophet's followers to fast in order to gain piety or a state of God-mindfulness, adding that He desires ease for them, not difficulty, and that they should complete the period required of the fast, and that they should magnify God for having guided them, so that that they may learn how to be grateful.

Like the Zen Buddhist sitting silently for hours in a state of stillness, fasting stills the mind, slows down the emotional and psychic processes and calms the body. It allows the fasting person to observe himself from the vantage point of the soul, and to discern the distinction between soul, body, mind and emotion. Often a fasting person will experience an emotional stimulus--say, to anger--but will perceive the lag (due to fasting) between the stimulus and the ability to respond. During the time of this lag we discern the locus of the observer, who is the soul, and the locus of the part stimulated: the body if it's a physical stimulus, the emotional "body" if it's an emotional stimulus, or the mind if it's an intellectual stimulus. This experience provides the seeker with an important step in his or her spiritual development--an important lesson in self-discovery.