Hi, I’m Sadia. I write through the ugly stage of motherhood, as a mom of young children trying to make space for creativity and the pursuit of spiritual knowledge. I write about topics like theology, culture, gratitude, and trying to live a prophetic life in modern times. This Ramadan Learning Series is free for everyone.
Please start with Lesson 1: A Small Intention, which describes the launch of this Ramadan Learning Series. If you’re new here, here’s a primer on Ramadan: A Guest That Stays a Month. If you like or learn something, please share it with a friend!
Today is Day 3 of Ramadan.
Lesson 2: There are 3 levels of fasting.
The basic level of fasting is the fasting of the stomach. The stomach is the symbol for physical desires of all types: food, drink and physical intimacy. For the fast to be "religiously correct," a person must abstain from things that are forbidden while fasting.
This type of fasting is like level 1. It trains our bodies to develop restraint and self-control at least over our physical needs and passions for a portion of the day. It may result in headaches, dry mouth, and overall crankiness in the first few days because the body hates going without what it wants.
The next level of fasting, level 2, is the fasting of Tariqa, ethical or moral fasting. The concept is that the specific organs of the tongue, the eyes, the hands, the feet, etc. are fasting from deeds or actions.
At this level, the believer becomes much more conscious about engaging in things that do not technically invalidate the fast. This includes behaviors like gossiping (tongue), binging on Netflix (eyes), going to doubtful places (feet), etc. This is the level that is hard in modern society given the easy comforts we turn to every day to numb ourselves from thinking or feeling too much.
For example, when my kids were younger, my main goal during Ramadan was “Do not yell today.” On top of fasting of the stomach, I exercised restraint of my tongue. It was so challenging, I created a rewards sticker chart for myself. Just like the kids got a star sticker for sharing a toy, or making their beds, or flushing the toilet, I also got a sticker for not raising my voice.
Now that the kids are older and in school, this is no longer the goal. I don’t have a sticker chart right now, though it’s not a bad idea.
But this level 2 is still quite pertinent for me.
I’m trying to restrain my hands from purchasing things I don’t really need. In fact, the culture of American suburbia is steeped in consumerism and materialism. Shopping malls, big-box stores, and chain restaurants are common features of suburban landscapes, reflecting a culture of convenience and consumption. There are subtle social pressures on suburban residents to conform to certain standards of material status. Keeping up appearances is part of social acceptance, like having to get the landscaping maintenance done even though I don’t care about my landscaping. There are constant marketing messages promoting goods and services on all social media channels for stuff I don’t want to buy. Marketers and algorithms often target suburban moms with campaigns that emphasize convenience, luxury, and lifestyle aspirations. Do I really need “Ramadan pajamas?” Nope. My kids found white t-shirts and drew their own matching jammies. Currently, I am fasting from social media (except for Substack because there is nothing sold here except great writing). I no longer feel this sense of “needing more.”
Level 3 Fasting is called the fasting of Al-Haqiqat (mystical or spiritual fasting). This sort of fasting involves the heart which focuses only on God and refrains from focusing on the mundane issues of this world. For working professionals and parents, this is pretty hard to do when there are projects to manage, conflicts to resolve, dinner to prep, and meetings to prep for. In Level 3, love of God is the only thing that preoccupies you. This level of fasting might be for the elect, the shaykhs, and spiritual teachers, not the entrepreneurs worried about making payroll for their employees. But who knows? Maybe there are instances in which people can reconcile the profane and the sacred.
A Question for You
What is your experience with fasting? Have you ever tried to fast from a bad behavior? Maybe you’re fasting from a person as a path to enlightenment? Let’s meet in the comments section.
A Thank You
Thanks to Dr. Rania Awad who reminded me about these different levels of fasting, among a million other things about career, life and family. She’s one of my favorite teachers. She’s prolific on social media.
Yes, I have tried to get to level 2, specifically not yelling at the kids part, and have failed miserably this year. The genocide and ethnic cleansing of our people has definitely not helped.
This was amazing, Sadia! I really enjoyed hearing about "level 2" and "level 3" fasting. I've done a fair amount of level 1 fasting, completing a handful of the 72-90 hour water-only fasts. Funnily enough, the longer I fasted my stomach the less I fasted in the other ways you describe here. In trying to block out my hunger I would do anything to distract myself the deeper I got into the fast.
After having coincidentally been in Egypt for Ramadan last year, it's been great to learn more about it over the past year. Thanks for sharing this!