Fasting the “White Days” of the Lunar Month

1 Oct

The holy Prophet (s) recommends fasting during the blessed days of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the lunar month, and it is said that Ibrahim (s) fasted them as well. The early Arabs called these days the “White Days” (al-ayyam al-biḍ) because the moon is brightest during this period and it achieves its most complete perfection. The moon glorifies its Lord and is among the most intense signs of the divine reality. The disciple who seeks direct knowledge of God (maʿrifa) must learn to observe courtesy with the traces of God’s self-disclosures. For indeed, God made “the sun and the moon for reckoning. Such is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing.”

The Messenger of God is himself a “luminous lamp” (siraj munir) like the “luminous moon” (qamar munir). Yet the holy Prophet was born on the twelfth of the lunar month of Rabiʿ al-Awwal, not the thirteenth night. For he is the Master of Creation, and his luminosity precedes the luminosity of the moon by virtue of the perfection and plenitude of “no god but Allah” (la ilaha illa Allah).

The Prophet (s) states that the believer shall see his Lord on the Day of Resurrection “just as he sees the moon on the night when it is full, and nothing will be mixed with his vision.” The Sunna is “lunar,” and the believer’s behavior is thus marked by the mansions of the moon. The holy Prophet (s) fasted on the thirteenth day of the lunar month, thereby showing us how to welcome the “White Days.” So fast on the thirteenth day out of joy in seeing the full moon, and fast on the fifteenth day out of sadness for its departure. Learn to honor the moon, for it is among the waymarks of your Lord, and in so doing you will hear its glorification (tasbih).

At the physical level, there is a correlation between the moon’s relationship to the ocean’s tidal ebb and flow, and its relationship to the human body. Like the earth, your body is composed of 70% water, and 30% “land.” Fasting during the “White Days” enables the tidal ebb and flow of your body to achieve a state of equilibrium. The moon’s gravitational pull can influence when a mother will go into labour, because the moon’s pull affects the waters on earth, just as it affects the amniotic fluid in the woman’s womb. The full moon is also beneficial for women who are trying to conceive, and for the sick who are recovering from illnesses.

Furthermore, travelers in the old days undertook their journeys during nights of the full moon. For travel is easier, safer, and quicker when there is an abundance of light. Similarly, the full moon is a support in the spiritual journey. The divine light shortens your journey to God, and guides you upon the straight Path. Your vertical ascent (miʿraj) through the seven heavens of your soul is preceded by a night journey (israʾ) that is illuminated by the light of the moon.

Thus, O poverty-stricken seeker of God, you are needful of God’s light as you journey to your Lord. Observe the fast during these days and remain in a state of remembrance. Search for the blessings of the lunar month during these days and nights, just as your search for the blessings of the year during the Night of Power, and the blessings of the week on Fridays. Abstain from food and speech, and consecrate your day to God. Refrain from evil thoughts, and refrain from eating the flesh of your brethren. Fasting these White Days will purify your month and prepare you for your nocturnal ascent.

Adapted from Q&A with Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi (qs)

More Teachings

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Choose a Path for yourself. You can be an Adamic human being by virtue of the inblowing of the Spirit within you…or a bestial human being by virtue of the dominance of your bestial body, so that the Spirit’s influence weakens within you. You will then become ignorant of your reality, and you will not draw out the treasure that is buried within you.

The Path and the Name

The seeker must journey from the Haʾ of the Name back to the Alif, bearing in mind their differing levels. Entering unto the singular Alif is achieved through the attributes of the saint, not through those of the believer. Attaching to the elevation of the Alif enables the knower of God to taste the reality of servanthood.

God’s Light is Real — Not Metaphorical

When you strive against your lower self, the reality of this world becomes evident to you, you know that it is non-existent; that it has no existence except through God. Then God provides you with light, and through that light you come to know how close He is to you.

The Mantle of Divine Majesty

A mantle conceals the upper part, whereas a garment conceals the lower part. The higher part of the divine mantle is an allusion to Lordship (rububiyya). This mantle of Lordship comprises two sides: the outer side is the aspect of Lordship, and inner side is the pre-cosmic reality of the Cloud (al-ʿamaʾ).

Three Levels of Being within the Microcosm and Macrocosm

the sensorial human being is the one whose heart is stamped by the forms of the sense-objects. He is marked by a dominant love for the herebelow. Moreover, the spiritual human being is the one whose inward vision (basira) has opened up so that he perceives what lies beyond the sensorial realm.

Fasting the “White Days” of the Lunar Month

The Prophet (s) recommends fasting during these blessed days, and it is said that Ibrahim (s) fasted them as well. The early Arabs called these days the “White Days” (al-ayyam al-biḍ) because the moon is brightest during this period and it achieves its most complete perfection.

Finding a True Master

With manifold arguments and no shortage of nagging, my teachers, father, family, friends, and loved-ones, sought to hold me back from cutting my worldly ties and setting off alone in search of God and a true master; and in their efforts to do so they would attempt to clinch the matter with various rational and religious objections.

Why is the Divine Name the Mirror of the Spiritual Traveler?

The spiritual traveler’s journey through the Name, however, must begin at the last letter Haʾ, which we call the Haʾ of Divine Identity (haʾ al-huwiyya).

Knowledge of God Inspires Reverential Fear of God

Reflective thought that is devoid of the remembrance God (fikr duna dhikr) is a transgression. For true reflection only occurs in the wake of long periods of remembrance (dhikr tawil), once your time has been filled with the invocation.

“I am the Dot”

And this is the dot that is ascribed to the all-inclusive names and divine realities because it is through the basmala that God takes charge over the servant who has realized the station of servanthood and upon whom His names and attributes have become manifest in both his knowledge and his state.

Yousef Casewit