In the name of God the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
“O you who believe! Prescribed for you is the Fast, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may deserve God’s protection (against the temptations of your carnal soul) and attain piety.”
Holy Qur’an Sura 2, v. 183
The fasting month (roza) has been a test for the powerful and the lowly,
Don’t ask, ‘How?’ (chun) For it has come from the Incomparable (be-chun).
It is a day (roze) that has come from beyond the heavens,
Blessing (roz-behi) comes from it that is increasing day by day (roz-afzun).
Hz Mevlana –from his Ruba‘iyat (Quatrains)*
The Islamic fast is like a sieve that sifts the soul,
For it brings hidden particles (of gold) into view.
It is a ‘goblet’ that darkens the shining moon,
And when it is unveiled, it gives light to the seventh heaven.
Hz Mevlana –from his Ruba‘iyat (Quatrains)*
What hidden sweetness is found in this empty stomach! Man is like a lute, neither more nor less:
When the lute’s stomach is full, it cannot lament, whether high or low.
If your brain and stomach burn from fasting, their fire will draw constant lamentation from your breast.
Through that fire you will burn a thousand veils at every instant – you will ascend a thousand degrees on the Way and in your aspiration.
Keep your stomach empty! Lament like a flute and tell your need to God! Keep your stomach empty and speak of the mysteries like a reed!
If you keep your stomach full, it will bring Satan to you at the Resurrection instead of your spiritual intelligence, an idol instead of the Kaaba.
When you fast, good character traits gather round you like servants, slaves, and retinue.
Hz Mevlana - Divan-i Kebir**
*from The Quatrains of Rumi by Ibrahim Gamard and Rawan Farhadi **from The Sufi Path Of Love by William C. Chittick
Whirling Dervishes of Australia 