Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 57
57 The same is the case with religion. One aspect of religion is nutritional and one aspect is functiona l. Just as the body needs nourishment from bread, rice, vegetables etc. , and just as we eat four to five times a day, God Almighty has made a few things neces sary to keep the soul alive. For example , prayers, fasting, Zakat , almsgiving, and the remembrance of Allah ; these are all sources of nutrition for one’s soul. And just as the body cannot survive without bread , similarly the soul cannot survive without t hese things. You woul d never say that a person had gone without eating for sixty days and is still a live. If s omeone said that a particular person had been locked inside a room for six months and was not given any food or water, and is very agitated, and would like for someone to let him out of there, you would say, “C an anyone remain alive after six months without eating or drinking?” On the contrary, you very readily sa y that such and such person has not practiced Sal ā t for the past ten years , yet his soul is still a live ; o r that a person has not fasted for the past ten years , but his soul is still alive. Or, that a person has not given Zakat in the last ten years , but his soul is alive. Such and such person is obliged to perform Hajj but he does not go, but his soul is still alive. Such and such person does not remember Allah at all, but his soul is still alive. It is surprising that regarding the physical body’s nutrition, you think a person will die on the fourth or fifth day without food, but regarding spiritual nutrition, the soul c an remain alive even after ten years. Just as t he physical body dies without physical nutrition, the soul also dies without spiritual nutrition. Human beings eat and drink, however, remember that this is not the sole purpose of their life. The outward appearance that you see is merely a body. Horses , cows, and goats also eat but they are not c onsidered human beings ; similarly, one is not considered a human being solely b ecause they eat and drin k. Human beings are considered to be such because of their ability to attain a relationship with God Almighty. The word I nsaan [ human ] is derived from U ns which means love. According to the rules of the Arabic language when Alif [the first letter in the Arabic alphabet] and Noon [one of the lette rs in the Arabic alphabet] are added at the end of a noun, th at noun becomes dual. For example, momin , or believer , is one man. A nd mominaa n means two believing men. Muslim stands for one Muslim man and M uslimaa n stands for two Muslim men. Likewise, U ns means love, and when you add Alif and Noon at its end , it