Book of Healing - Healing Through Knowledge - Hunger - A Divine Cure
Hunger - A Divine Cure
1. Although God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the Creator of the universe, has created innumerable things in the world of humanity, yet by His profound wisdom He has selected five things to try His servants in the field of patience and steadfastness. These five things are: every kind of fear, every kind of hunger, every kind of loss of wealth, every kind of loss of life, and loss of every kind of fruit (2:155). You must study verses (2:153-159) minutely and carefully, so that it may be quite clear to you that, where "God is with those who have patience", what kind of act is patience? What are the states and conditions under which the existence of patience is created and what are its means, sources and occasions?
2. Some of the wisdom-filled purports of the above-mentioned blessed verses are: First of all, it is patience and prayer which are the source of heavenly help; then the greatest virtue of patience is mentioned, which is that God is with the patient. And for those with whom God is, there is no real bounty which they do not have. Now reflect and ask: What real bounty is lacking from those with whom God is? Then the clear meaning is mentioned that a higher stage of patience is to give life in the path of God in an intoxicated and enraptured state, then are mentioned the above five kinds of trials by God and also the glad tidings and His favours to those who have patience. It is extremely amazing that hunger is praised by the wisdom-revealing tongue of the Qur'an on such a high level and to such a lofty degree. It is in the sense that, those mu'mins who bear the hardship of wisdom-filled hunger, become among those who have patience.
3. The Sustainer of the world has granted the hunger of Muslims and mu'mins such a high rank and such a great excellence, that the human intellect is astonished. Here this appropriate question arises: What is the reason for giving hunger such great importance? The answer is that hunger has three basic benefits:
- it is an excellent `ibadat
- it is piety and austerity
- it is a healing cure externally and internally,
and each of these three benefits is a fountainhead of countless bounties and benefits.
4. Gluttony and a full stomach are the cause of many defects of human health. The easiest and best way of its recovery is to fast or starve, so that the defective digestive system may function properly again, as the holy Prophet says: "Fast! so that you may be healthy". In this noble Hadith not only is physical health mentioned, but also ethical and spiritual health. The wisdom-filled words of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Traditions are extremely comprehensive, complete and perfect in meaning, purport and logic.
5. One kind is called nasihat in which someone is advised directly concerning his well being and the other is called `ibrat, in which someone is advised indirectly through the examples of others. The wise Qur'an abounds in both nasa'ih (pl. of nasihat) and `ibar (pl. of `ibrat). In verse (47:12) it is said: "And those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as the beasts eat". In this verse, on the one hand, there is nasihat (exhortation) and on the other there is `ibrat (warning). The example of animals, such as cow, goat, camel, horse, donkey etc., is given, and layer upon layer of marvellous wisdoms are hidden in this wisdom-filled example, which cannot be fully explained. Nonetheless, a brief exposition of this example, from the viewpoint of Qur'anic medicine, is as follows:
6. It is worth pondering on the following: Can the wise Qur'an object to the many shameless habits of animals? Certainly never, for the animal acts exactly according to the domain of its nature. If that is the case, who are the ones mentioned in this sacred verse? They are the disbelievers. If the disbelievers are mentioned, what is the main reason for doing so? The reason is that they have turned their face away from real and gnostic pleasures and have confined themselves only to the animal ones, due to which they suffer from many internal diseases, such as intellectual diseases and spiritual diseases, etc. It is obvious that disbelief and hypocrisy is nothing but a disease of the heart.
7. How can the disbelievers, whether they belong to the time of Prophethood or to the present day, be considered intellectually sick and man-like animals, while with respect to knowledge and wisdom or intellectually they are not backward? Although apparently wisdom is of two kinds: one real and religious and the other, metaphorical and worldly, yet according to the Qur'an, anyone who does not accept Islam (5:50) is foolish and ignorant. Take the example of the time of Ignorance (jahiliyyah, 3:154, 48:26). Were many of the people before Islam considered ignorant (jahil) because they did not have worldly knowledge? It is not so. In no way were they left behind their contemporaries in the knowledge of worldly matters. But it is true, that they were deprived of the everlasting wealth of the intellect, through which the supreme rank of the recognition of religion (din-shinasi) and the recognition of God (khuda-shinasi) is attained.
8. The digestive power of animals is extremely strong and fast, which works constantly day and night. Indeed, one main reason for this is that some animals regurgitate, and those which do not regurgitate, such as the horse or donkey etc., do extremely hard work. However, it is amazing that when an animal is allowed to eat some human food excessively, such as grain, bread etc., then the poor animal can neither regurgitate, nor do hard work. It suddenly falls sick and sometimes such an animal may also die. It can be deduced from this how delicious and powerful human food is! Thus for every wise mu'min, it is extremely necessary to always follow the path of caution and balance concerning food, and to consider the wisdom-filled hunger of intervals an `ibadat and a Divine mercy for oneself.
9. The importance and usefulness of hunger among the religions of the world is such that, it is given the status of a supreme `ibadat (2:183). The dire need of hunger is also felt in medical science, in the form of diet, starvation, prevention, etc. In addition, so long as there is no comfort or rest and silence in the stomach of a person, he can neither do any mental work peacefully, nor any successful `ibadat.
10. By observing in the light of the Qur'an, it appears that man does injustice first to himself and then to others. The reason for this is that man is composed of three things: intellect, human soul and animal soul. Thus everyone is enjoined by God and His Prophet to always do justice to all three parts of his personality, according to their ranks. Each one of them should be given a due share and be nurtured according to the nourishment which is fixed and appropriate for it, so that he may attain complete health. That is, he should provide the intellect with knowledge and wisdom, the soul with dhikr-i `ibadat and the animal soul with limited lawful subsistence. If someone forgets the noble and sublime things, such as the intellect and soul, or he does not give them any special importance and always follows the command of the animal soul, then this is the greatest injustice to oneself.
11. According to an example, there are three creatures hidden in every human being. One is an intractable horse, namely the arrogant animal soul, the other is a man (human soul), and the third, an angel (intellect). In this regard, the greatest attention and services should be devoted to the angel, for he has come to teach the man who is hidden in you, to fly to the higher world. But so long as you are involved in the intricate problems of your intractable horse, you will not be able to learn a lesson of wisdom from the angel of intellect therefore, as soon as possible, try to cure the rebelliousness of your intractable horse. The cure is that you should reduce its fodder to a great extent. If it still does not become tractable, then keep it hungry and thirsty, and see how intractable it can be!
12. There are great wisdoms hidden in the great act of God, that He has created all things in pairs (36:36, 51:49). The wise Qur'an, in its different examples, has also repeatedly drawn attention to the importance and advantage of the law of contraries (3:27, 39:5). This means that satiety and hunger are integral parts, like husband and wife. Thus for perfect health, pleasure, happiness and to accomplish the purpose of life, it is not enough to eat food, but complete hunger before and after it is also necessary, so that according to the law of pairs, every kind of external and internal happiness and every kind of benefit may be attained from both.
13. Finally, regarding hunger I would like to repeat that it is an excellent `ibadat, as well as piety and prevention, and also a healing cure both externally and internally. The collective benefits of it are countless. May God, the Blessed, the Exalted, illumine the world of Islam and the world of humanity by the light of the Qur'an!
The humble servant,
Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai,
27/8/87
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