Hadith: The Most Evil Container Man Can Fill

The Messenger of God ﷺ stated, “Man does not fill a container more evil than his belly.”

In this brief post and in light of this noble tradition, or hadith, I will share the importance of learning to refrain and restrain our very selves from the ever increasing temptations that seek to consume us in the modern world which is progressively being built to indulge the lower self, and which is thereby leading to increasing subservience to the lower self and the gravity of the lower world, or dunya.

In failing to limit and discipline our selves from indulgence and excess, the body, mind and soul increasingly become ill and dense. We thus become increasingly bound by gravity and the inevitable depression and disease that result.

Yet by learning to strengthen the self with restrain and with discipline, particularly through fasting, we develop greater independence from the outer world of form and increasingly become capable of true servanthood in the Presence of our Lord and Creator.

Hadith: The Most Evil Container Man Can Fill

Man does not fill a container more evil than his belly.

— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ [Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah]

The Dark Side of Abundance

We in the modern world are suffering from what may be called the dark side of abundance, which I would explain as a state of abundance and plenty that inevitably leads to indulgence and excess, and that increasingly has a deleterious effect on human health and happiness.

This dark side of abundance becomes particularly pronounced with the prevalence of ever available and increasingly tempting foods. While access to food (at least for a majority of the world’s population) is a blessing to be grateful for, the reality is that the human system is actually designed for and thrives in a state of hunger.

The abundance that has been created in the current age has led to an epidemic of obesity and disease that must be addressed, particularly now that these have taken root and become prevalent within the Muslim community.

Perhaps the primary reason for obesity is in seeking to manage emotional regulation with food. This is especially a danger for Muslims who if seeking to keep the faith will do their best to avoid alcohol, drugs, smoking and other vices, leaving food as the drug of choice to manage increasing feelings of stress, anxiety and loneliness that are coming to define the modern age.

Physical health and wellness are especially important for they who seek to live healthy, whole, balanced and spiritually guided lives, for each aspect of our system affects all others. The body-mind and the soul-spirit are two dimensions of the same fundamental being and vehicle we have been granted through which to live, grow, develop and awaken.

Both aspects of our being are interconnected, and both the body-mind and the spirit affect one another. Your physicality affects your spirituality, which is the clarity of your consciousness, and vice-versa. Hence, it is of utmost importance to seek excellence in both the physical and spiritual dimensions of our lives.

The Curse of Constant Consumption

Constant consumption compromises both health and consciousness. The Prophet ﷺ advised to leave at least one third of the stomach for air, i.e. for breath, an additional third for water, and but one third for food.

The body and mind function best and most efficiently when in a fasted state, and become overwhelmed when continually inundated with with food to process. Overconsumption compromises the entire system, and hence the maxim, “eat to live, do not live to eat.”

It is essential to remember that strength is developed through discipline, restraint, demand and requirement. The miraculous body temple adapts and adjusts according to the demands placed upon it, and if strength and resilience are required, it will adapt to develop strength and resilience.

Conversely, if their is no demand placed upon the body, it will likewise become weak and inefficient. It is for this reason that Allah Almighty states a principle that is so imperative, it is repeated twice in the Holy Qur’an, in which He Almighty affirms, “with difficulty comes ease.”

For verily, with hardship there is ease. Verily, with hardship there is ease.

— Surah ash-Sharh [Holy Qur’an, 94:5-6]

The Way of Excellence

The spiritual path of al-Islam requires excellence in all aspects and dimensions of one’s life, and faith is not complete if we are negligent in this regard. It is not sufficient to but engage in “spiritual” practices such as prayer, remembrance and meditation, yet while ignoring excellence in exercise, diet and nutrition, in addition to all other domains of life and living.

It is essential that we also seek to discipline, perfect and purify the body, for such is an integral part of the path and our development remains incomplete and inadequate otherwise. We must remember that such was the way and path of the Prophet ﷺ who lived with excellence in all aspects of the human experience, and placed tremendous importance on restraint and discipline with regards to the body.

In reality, the path of total life excellence was the way of all of the great prophets and messengers of God, in addition to they who followed in their footsteps. The righteous, true, awakened and illuminated were not people of indulgence, comfort, luxury, ease or excess. To the contrary, they were people of strength, discipline and belief. Such true believers were spiritual warriors of light, excellence and beauty.

The spiritual path is by definition a path of discipline and restraint. Strength results in strength, and a strong body-mind contributes to a strong soul-spirit, and vice-versa. You cannot have one without the other, and focusing on one aspect of life while neglecting the other results in imbalance that lacks of the excellence both the path and life require.

Islam is not a “religion” in the common usage of the word, but rather is a complete, whole and integrated way of life that includes and encompasses all aspects of life and living. Al-Islam calls for and necessitates excellence in all dimensions and domains of the human experience, and such includes excellence in one’s body, health, appearance, environment, relationships, work, and so on.

Fasting for Strength and Health

With fasting and asceticism, healing begins to take place, and such healing is not just of the body, but also of the mind, heart, emotions and state.

Learn to enjoy hunger, being empty and with but air and light within, sustained directly by divine life energy, or qudra. Thus we experience the progressive diminishment of density of the ego-self.

True freedom is freedom from the self, and the worst and most insidious form of slavery is slavery to the self and its lower desires. Belief, or iman, is fundamentally about overcoming gravity, and this is the purpose of both religion and spirituality. Only thus with true faith can human potential be awakened and liberated, and only thus is it possible for the human spirit to rise and return to its Source, the Divine Presence.

It is important to note however that the religion is the middle way and the path of balance, and that one must not to tend to extremes in anything, for extremism is neither healthy nor sustainable. Change is most effectively achieved when created incrementally.

Islam is Health

Islam is whole and complete, and can best be described as a complete way of life. It is a way of life that in every way requires us to be consistent with its fundamental principles, and in particular the principle of health.

The word Islam originates from the same root as the word saleem, which means to be healthy, whole, healed, sound and complete, and thus to be holy.

In the Qur’an, Allah Almighty states that ultimately, nothing will avail and benefit a human being other than a sound, whole and healthy heart, qalb saleem, [26:88-89].

Fasting is a fundamental key to human health and wellness. Yet it is important to note that fasting must be practiced with excellence and not as it is commonly observed in the Muslim community wherein practitioners will simply restrain from food and drink during daylight, yet succumb to excess and indulgence in the evening and night, in effect gaining very little benefit from fasting other than limited hunger and thirst, and even at times going so far as to harm the self as a result of unhealthy choices.

More than anyone in history, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ advocated fasting as a key to human health in addition to this noble discipline being a primary means for spiritual growth, development and awakening.

It is only now some 1400 years later that the rest of the world is awakening to this truth as a result of modern science and the study of human health and longevity. In fact, new insights and realizations with regards to the unique health benefits of fasting are being progressively revealed, and intermittent fasting is being increasingly practiced by they who are seeking to live conscious and intentional lives of wellness and balance.

Fasting has been demonstrably shown as the single most effective measure and protocol in positively affecting health and wellness for virtually any condition, and more so than nearly any pharmaceutical. Such a revelation is not surprising, for it is inherently obvious that manufactured chemical drugs can in no way compete with the body’s own and miraculous healing power and potential.

The Power of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting involves abstaining from food for ideally 16 hours or more, however positive health benefits have been shown with even as little as a 12 hour fasting period.

If you are beginning a fasting protocol and unaccustomed to going long periods without food, I suggest starting here with an intermittent fasting protocol of 12 hours, and then gradually increase your period of abstinence to 16 hours or so.

Somewhere at about 14 hours of fasting, the body experiences a metabolic shift into ketosis, which means that the body has burned through its glucose stores and now begins burning stored fat for fuel.

Beyond this at about 18 hours, a process known as autophagy awakens and becomes activated within the body. This means that the body begins breaking down, cleaning out and recycling damaged and compromised cells for energy, leading to ever increasing health, wellness and vitality as the system is literally healed, purified and balanced from within.

Note that with intermittent fasting, water is permissible, unlike in full spiritual fasting, also now referred to as dry fasting, in which one fasts from all food and drink, in addition to abstaining from intimacy.

The Prophetic Path

Fasting was the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and of all prophets and messengers of the Divine, and it is for these reasons that a significant aspect of the Eternal Warrior Way Program, which is expressly based on developing strength, health and effectiveness, includes a significant number of training modules on the power of fasting.

The modern world now makes it far too easy and without resistance to indulge in excess. Such a reality requires increasing levels of discipline and restraint, and zuhd is necessary now more than ever. Thus, the way of the warrior is necessary now more than ever before, for we as a species have become softer than ever before, and this is having catastrophic effects not only on the health of our bodies and spirits, but naturally also upon our society and culture.

The single best and most effective way to develop discipline is by instituting a consistent fasting protocol. Personally, I am finding a combination of intermittent fasting and spiritual fasting to be profoundly beneficial.

My Current Fasting Protocol

Typically on most days, I am now observing intermittent fasting with an eating window of 8 hours, currently between 11am to 7pm. However, I am continually seeking to evolve and improve this, and I will post more details in future updates. Thus, I am generally not eating anything between 7pm and 11am, resulting in a total of 16 hours in a fasted state.

Additionally, I will normally do a longer fast on Mondays and Thursdays in which I will keep a full spiritual fast, which means that in addition to not eating anything, I will not take in any water either from dawn until sunset. These days now in the current season and locality result in a total fast of approximately 22 hours, with a significant portion of that in a state of dry fasting (at least 12 hours).

With Allah Almighty’s divine grace, will and power, I am beginning to experience profound benefits physically, mentally and spiritually, and I will share more regarding my personal fasting protocol and its evolution in the near future.

Conclusion

Your body has profound healing potential, and you can awaken it through the sacred path of discipline and restraint, or the prophetic path of zuhd, which was the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his noble companions (ra).

Strength and power lie within, and now more than ever, it is necessary to liberate the self from its lower desires, which are more easily indulged without restriction, resistance and the natural limitations of environment.

With regards to human potential, more is possible now than ever before. Yet concurrently, temptation and distraction are also greater now than ever before.

For believers and people of excellence, it is time to rediscover the sacred way of the warrior, and to awaken your inherent divine potential.

To your divine and eternal success.