Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) has been sent as a perfect role model for human beings, both in deeds and behavior. This is emphasized in the Quran (33:21) and the sayings of Infallible Imams (AS): “Certainly, in the Prophet of Allah (PBUH and HP) was sufficient example for you and a proof concerning the vices of the world, its defects, the multitude of its disgraces and its evils” [1]. Being mercy to all humans, Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH & HP) compassion included not only Muslims but every human being. This fact is evident in his manner towards opposers and how he dealt with the followers of other religions that we reviewed some of them in the first part of the topic and the rest will be introduced here.
As mentioned in the Quran, Islam is a religion for the people all around the world: “We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and warner to all mankind” (34:28). Hence, it was a duty over the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) to promote Islam in other parts of the world, too. As soon as his message had been spread in the region of Hejaz, and the Islamic government had been established after the settlement of conflicts among parties in dispute, Prophet (PBUH & HP) received the divine order to universalize his mission (9:33-48:28). Accordingly, he sent several messages to the governors of various countries. In these messages, he neither threatened to war nor obliged them to obey him. Instead, he used kind words to invite them to monotheism (Tawhid). About 185 messages are reported that had been sent to the leaders of countries, heads of tribes, and emperors, which all shared a peaceful approach [2].
All the messages he sent to Al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, Heraclius, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, and Al-Najashi, the king of the Kingdom of Aksum, started with salutations and greetings. Then, they were asked to let their people hear the divine message that Prophet (PBUH & HP) had and decide freely whether they want to follow it or not. The reason behind sending letters to the heads of countries and tribes was that, if the leader of a group were convinced to change his\her mind and accepted Islam, then he\she would let his\her people hear the message of Islam and invite them more easily to Islam; like what happened with Al-Najashi. Hearing the Surat Maryam and realizing the truth, he let those Muslims who had moved from Mecca to Aksum to save their lives and settle down safely in his realm. This permission caused Islam to be spread readily in that land, and many people accepted Islam willingly.
This matches the principles of “peaceful coexistence” and “religious coexistence” that are encouraged in Islam [3]: “Say, ‘O People of the Book! Come to a common word between us and you: that we will worship no one but Allah, that we will not ascribe any partner to Him, and that some of us will not take some others as lords besides Allah.” (3:64).
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) always encouraged Muslims to justice, fairness, respecting the rights, and avoiding harassment in dealing with the followers of other religions [2]. He said: “Whoever oppresses who is in agreement with Muslims and imposes a burden on him more than his tolerance, I will be against him on the judgment day.” [4] and “whoever offends who is under the protection of Islam, has offended me.” [4]. Those who were under the protection of Islam were the Jews and Christians who participated in providing the expenses of the Islamic government in return for being protected by paying money called “Jizya.” This shouldn’t be confused with paying for the right of life, but it means that the Jews and Christians were considered as common citizens who lived in a friendly ambiance with Muslims in the society, and no one was permitted to hurt them.
Moreover, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) cared about the living conditions of non-Muslims such that he ordered Muslims to give charity to the People of the Book (Jews, Christians, Sabians, and Zoroastrians) who were in need [5]. This was an act of humanity, and not a religious obligation, that originated from Prophet’s (PBUH & HP) exemplary character.
He respected non-Muslims such that once he was among his companions that people brought the corpse of a Jew. Prophet (PBUH & HP) stood up as a sign of respect. The companions told that the dead one was a Jew. He answered that one should stand up to respect the dead body, whether it belongs to a Muslim or a non-Muslim [6].
From what has been discussed above, one can see that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) has truly represented the peaceful essence of Islam through his words and acts. And actually, many of his enemies and non-Muslims embraced Islam due to his lovely noble character.
References:
- “Nahjul Balaqa,” Sermon 160.
- A. Ahmadi Miyanji, “Makatib al-Rasul,” p. 261-263.
- M. A. Amini, “The principle of peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims in Islam,” Ma’rifat Journal, no. 165, p. 35-52.
- S. Balaqi, “Justice and judgment in Islam,” p. 57.
- A. A. F. Thibarah, "Ruhuddin al-Islami," p. 276.
- Jafar Sobhani, “Introduction to principles of Islam,” p. 528-529,
When it comes to fasting, many questions might come to mind. Is it even healthy? Is it safe? Does it benefit my fitness goals? Those are the very most typical questions that are asked by the public about fasting. The purest form of fasting, as I am sure you have heard of it, is that of intermittent fasting (IF). Which happens to be good for your health, apt to your fitness goals, and safe.
Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular health and fitness trends nowadays, except that it `is´ not, but `has been´ for thousands of years, practiced by different societies and cultures for a wide range of variable causes. Whether a Zen monk, yogi, Tibetan monk about the Himalayas, or a participant of any Abrahamic or dharmic faith, they all have one thing in common; and that is that they all have fasted. [1] As mentioned in the Holy Quran, “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous(2:183) and as Imam Baqir (AS) has said “Islam has five pillars, and those are: the Prayers (Salat), the alms-tax (Zakat), the holy Pilgrimage (Haj), fasting (of Ramadhan) (Sawm), and the leadership (Imamate),” further centering on the importance of Fasting [2]. Moreover, as the Prophet (PBUH&HP) bids, “All that it is due of Zakat, and Fasting is that of the body´s” [3].
Fasting in Islam is a symbol of freeing oneself from false earthly desires to a more grandiose world, in which possibilities are limitless and power is infinite. In fact, we are too driven by day-to-day life that we never contemplate the things that matter anymore, or at the very least, we do not get to do so. Imam Sadiq (AS) has bid, “Allah has manifested fasting as an obligation to bring equality between the poor and the rich” [4].
Such spiritual undertakings such as fasting and praying have a single most important thing in common, and that is the essence of the present moment. The more engaged one is with the high vibrational energies of the moment, the less compulsive and unconscious one becomes. Now we can say that acts like prayers (which brings awareness and facilitates brain and heart coherence) and meditations separate us a little bit from the compulsive and sub-conscience-driven life style of the modern society.
But, imagine you were introduced to a life style of letting go of compulsive behaviours, thoughts, and actions; and deeply become more integrated into the present moment in which high vibrational energies reside. Ramadhan provides this opportunity for over a billion Muslims and the people of other faiths who fast because of the fun it brings, and all fasting acts for that matter. It is very important to know that we are being so driven by life that we don’t know what fun is anymore. We are so reactive nowadays, that we are no more proactive towards our lives, being triggered left and right by what the scholars call super-stimuli (over-stimulating aspects of the modern society, which our cave-man brains have not adapted to its bursts evolutionary-wise) , which our ancestors did not dispose of until as late as late twentieth century. With the rise of super-stimuli, and the further adaptation, but not evolution, of the human brain to the dopamine (the motivation, and reward neurotransmitter) hits, we live a life of chasing phantoms(reliefs) and not challenges.
One of the hot topics of modern productivity is the deactivation of the brain´s reward centre for a period of time. Our brain´s reward centre has become very reactive, and non-proactive, and keeps on rewarding us a little shot of dopamine, whether craving a cigarette, a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, or even as far as watching pornography and binge eating for several hours. Activities which have been proven to deliberately deteriorate our physical state [5]. Yet, our brain´s reward centre keeps hitting us with feel-good chemicals. This process goes on and on as far as lowly losing the initial sensation to the initial amount, bringing up the threshold, hence; the excessive habit loop. During Ramadan, though, we break the bad old habits, we become new, as whole as a little baby, as though we have had our serotonin (wellness neurotransmitters) re-set button pushed. Fasting is not only about freeing oneself from food, but rather from all other super-stimuli, such as; negativity, excessive sexual activities, and spilling stimulating liquids down our throats all day long.
Now, we are freed of compulsive unconscious behaviours, and embrace the true happiness of life, the state of blissfulness and joy which is what we are born with. We can sit down not eating, not drinking, not engaging in highly stimulating activities and still feel joy, and a continuous state of happiness, what had since long been robbed of us by the advancements of the modern society. We can feel great now, with the strongest paradigm of manifestation, as mentioned by David R. Hawkins, the one and only superior paradigm to all others: being. [7] Not having, not doing, but simply letting go of the earthly, and connect to the great source of all consciousness that is “God”. As Imam Ali (AS) said “Fasting is as much staying aloof of the taboos as it is staying away of eating” [6].
Studies have shown that the time restricted feeding (TRF) or intermittent fasting (IMF) leads to more weight loss, which is clearly manifested in the Islamic approach to fasting. Consuming more calories in the morning has shown to be more effective than that of evening, as far as metabolism, weight loss, and prevention of obesity-which has come to be a major epidemic in the developing nations. There are self-reports of significant decrease in the volume of the fat tissues under skin which distort the good looks of our bodies. Referred experiments prove that the TRF significantly decreases the body fat, but does not affect the weight in short period of 15 days. Although more weight loss upon hitting a 30 days threshold is expected. [8]
Although cutting calories from everyday diet has quite similar effects like the IMF, Small reductions in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose and insulin with IMF have been reported in several studies. The greatest decrease of which is in bad cholesterol contributing to a lesser chance of suffering from heart diseases.
Conclusion
Health benefits of fasting encompasses far greater areas than that of the physical health. It mentally alleviates the individual, and activates a new set of body-substances , which grants us to focus on long-term goals and areas of our lives, and become more process-oriented than result-oriented, and adapts our brain´s reward centre to long-term rewards rather than short-term pleasures. Fasting is very complex, common people have been observed achieve the uncommon by long-term fasting; in fact, so complex that by all advancements in medical science, delving deeper into the topic is an area of future investigations.
References:
- Armutcu, Ferah. (2019). Fasting may be an alternative treatment method recommended by physicians.
- Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni al-Razi , Forou Kafi, vol. 4, Pg. 62, 1.
- Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni al-Razi , Al-Kafi, vol. 4, Pg. 62, 3.
- Muhammad ibn Babawayh , Man La Yahdaraho al-Faqih, vol. 6, Pg. 43, 1.
- de Zwaan, M. Binge eating disorder and obesity.
- Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 93, Pg. 249,
- Erik H. Cohen, Rachel Sagee et Rivka Reichenberg, « Being, Having and Doing Modes of Existence
- Effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Feeding Compared to Continuous Energy Restriction for Weight Loss.
Mankind is kept in a constant state of trying to understand and achieve happiness. Friends, love, family, success, recognition, material escapes, and sensual pleasures are among the avenues that humanity has explored in its quest to attain this elusive phenomenon. But what exactly is happiness, and how can we even, achieve it, if at all?
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle coined the term 'eudaimonia' to define 'happiness'. According to Aristotle, eudaimonia involves not only reason but also the practical application of reason to achieve excellence or 'arete'. He famously stated, “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
In the 97th verse of Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), Allah tells us:
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
To whoever, male or female, does good deeds and has faith, We shall give a good life and reward them according to the best of their actions. (16: 97)
So, it appears straightforward: all we have to do is to believe, do good, and Allah will reward with a fulfilling based on our deeds. However, a dilemma arises: why does it feel that this concept seem to elude us, even when we believe we are doing right? Why do many experience persistent unhappiness?
This quandary is due to our adversary, Satan, also known as Shaitan. He perpetually attempts to misguide us and disrupt our equilibrium -the righteous path that messengers were sent to guide us along.
In Surah An-Nisa, verse 120, Allah exposes Shaitan’s tactics:
يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا؛
Satan only makes them ˹false˺ promises and deludes them with ˹empty˺ hopes. Truly Satan promises them nothing but delusion. (4:120)
Thus, as soon as we attain a sense of contentment through achievements- be it material gains, intellectual accomplishments, or life or overcoming hardships- Shaitan sets to work, aiming to deceive us, disrupt our equilibrium, and draw us away from our state of balance and inner goodness (fitra) through deceit and temptations. Instead of turning back to Allah (the straightway) and expressing gratitude, recognizing that He has granted us the opportunity (tawfiq) to do good and enjoy His blessings, which would lead to happiness, this gratitude transforms into greed, ego, pride, and any other negative trait associated with accomplishment. These are the false deities, the “ungods,” warned about by Allah, to which we might turn to in moments of vulnerability and deception.
But when He granted their descendants good offspring, they associated false gods in what He has given them. Exalted is Allah above what they associate ˹with Him˺! (7:190)
Consequently, humankind remains perpetually ensnared in a dichotomy between what their fitra (inner voice), guiding them in feelings, thoughts, and actions, and the voices incited by the enemy of truth and goodness. This results in being misaligned, unbalanced, and distancing oneself from the sole true source of goodness- Allah . How then can we resolve this dichotomy, fated to be face with Shaitan’s ever-present attempt to divert us from our equilibrium, the straight path?
We redirect to pleasing Allah whenever these deceptions infiltrate our minds. What actions, though, pleases Allah?
"Indeed Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves" The Quran 2:222
Purification takes on many forms, paralleling the various strategies of Shaitain's deceptions: seeking refuge from accursed Shaitan, affirming and witnessing the sole existence of the One True God (Allah), avoiding actions that would taint our body, mind, and heart by maintaining a state of ritual and spiritual purity (wudhu), acknowledging our mistakes, rectifying them, and continuing with righteous deeds. Allah assures that good deeds erase misdeeds and replace them with goodness.
The convergence of Islam and Aristotle’s teachings on happiness becomes evident-they both emphasize that it’s not the mere act itself that is excellent or brings happiness, but the habit and the continual process of being aware of ones thoughts, acknowledging imperfections, redirecting one’s thoughts towards Allah, abstaining from evil, and returning to the straight path.
Allah further instructs,
“O believers! Seek comfort in patience and prayer. Allah is truly with those who are patient.” (2:153)
This implies recognizing our inherent imperfection and inevitable deviations, but with Allah's assistance, patience, and prayer, we can always find our way back. Allah, in His compassion, has endowed us with tools to structure our lives in a way that fosters excellence through habitual practices.
These practices stand as the pillars of Islam- the five daily prayers, at a minimum, cleanse our hearts from the corrosive influences of Shaitan's schemes; charity helps us express gratitude for our acquired material wealth; jihad maintains vigilance and pushes us Allah; fasting combines physical discipline with the purification of actions, mind, and heart; and Hajj serves as a reminder (if the means are available) that our final goal is Allah.
However, even if we flawlessly perform our rituals, they can become lifeless motions. Thus, the Holy Quran, the teachings of the Holy prophet (pbuhh), and the guidance of his Holy Household (as) function as nourishment for our minds and hearts, replenishing them when our equilibrium of happiness is disturbed.
Reciting the Quran nurtures our hearts, aligning them with truth. As Imam Zaynul Abideen (as) noted, “Hearing is the gateway through which various concepts reach the heart.” (A divine perspective of rights, Imam Zaynul Abideen (as) Page 90). Reading the Quran replenishes our minds with reminders of Allah’s oneness, the importance of following the Prophet (pbuhh), reflecting on mortality, and staying true to the righteous path. It also presents instances of the consequences faced by those who succumbed to Shaitan’s temptations, alongside examples of those who prevailed- Prophets (as) and virtuous individuals like Lady Maryam, the mother of Prophet Isa (as), Asiya, the wife of Firoun and Yusuf (as). Despite confronting numerous external obstacles, Yusuf (as) exemplified patience and chastity, ultimately emerging as a true victor.
The Holy Prophet (pbuhh) teaches us morality through the laws of all actions in our lives, ensuring our hearts remain untainted while interacting with society, facilitating a state of utmost happiness. The Ahle Bayt (as) carry on this ethical legacy, guiding us to navigate society’s challenges while keeping our hearts pure, until the reappearance of the living Imam (atfs), when he will elevate the entire world to a heightened state.
In conclusion, aligning with the moderate and true path, persistently striving to achieve Allah's pleasure with all our faculties, allows us to rediscover happiness, even in the face of Shaitan's snares.