The Right of Stomach (8th): Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right by Mohammad Sobhanie.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَأَمَّا حَقُّ بَطْنِكَ فَأَنْ لا تَجْعَلَهُ وِعَاءً لِقَلِيلٍ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ وَلا لِكَثِيرٍ، وَأَنْ تَقْتَصِدَ لَهُ فِي الْحَلالِ وَلا تُخرِجَهُ مِنْ حَدِّ التَّقْوِيَةِ إلَى حَدِّ التَّهْوِينِ وَذَهَاب الْمُرُوَّةِ، وَضَبْطُهُ إذَا هَمَّ بالْجُوعِ والظمأ فَإنَّ الشَّبْعَ الْمُنْتَهِي بصَاحِبهِ إلَى التُّخمِ مَكْسَلَةٌ وَمَثْبَطَةٌ وَمَقْطَعَةٌ عَنْ كُلِّ برِّ وَكَرَمٍ. وَإنَّ الري الْمُنْتَهِي بصَاحِبهِ إلَى السُّكْرِ مَسْخَفَةٌ وَمَجْهَلَةٌ وَمَذْهَبَةٌ لِلْمُرُوَّةِ

The Right of Stomach
And the right of your stomach is that you do not make it into a container for Haram foods and drinks, whether small or large. Observe moderation even in halal foods; eat enough to gain strength and energy, be courteous to others and refrain from gluttony.

Control yourself whenever you are extremely hungry or thirsty since satiety will cause indigestion, sluggishness, and laziness and, consequently, hinder you from excellent and gracious deeds. And a drink that leads to light-headedness causes frivolity, obliviousness, and loss of virtue.

Commentary:

We maintain our health and gain energy for our daily activities through eating and drinking. Lack of adequate food leads to malnutrition, whereas excessive food consumption causes serious health problems. Hence, in verse 7:31 (Al-A’raf), the Quran says, “Eat and drink, but be not excessive[1].”

After a heavy meal, the body is forced to exert more energy to break down the food, and the digestive organs are on overdrive to store the excess food. Various hormonal processes also happen, altering specific physiological processes that make us feel dizzy, tired, and sleepy[2].

Islamic traditions claim that overeating weakens the mind, makes man careless, cruel, lazy in worship, and unreceptive to take advice[3]. For instance, the Prophet (PBUH) said[4]:

إيّاكُمْ وَ فُضُولَ الْمَطْعَمِ فَإِنَّهُ يَسِمُ الْقَلْبَ بِالْقَسْوَةِ وَ يُبْطِىءُ بِالْجَوارِحِ لِلطّاعَةِ وَ يَصِمُ الْهِمَمَ عَنْ سِماعِ الْمَوْعِظَةِ

Avoid overeating! Overeating brings symptoms of cruelty to the heart, impairs the body from performing worship, and deafens the mind from hearing admonishment.

It is widely accepted in the nutrition science community that the consumption of certain individual nutrients has subtle and occasionally dramatic effects on health and behavior[5]. This important finding has been echoed in Islam by classifying foods as halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden) foods. According to a narration from Imam Sadeq (AS), halal food is healthy for the body and beneficial for the soul, and haram food is toxic for the body and harmful to the soul[6]. The text of the hadith is as follows:

إنَّ الله تعالی لم تَبح أکلاً ولا شُرباً إلاّ لما فیه المنفعةُ والصلاحُ ولم یُحرّم إلاّ ما فیه الضررُ والتلف والفساد.

The Almighty God only made food and drinks permissible and forbidden due to their benefits and harm to us. The allowable food is beneficial, and forbidden food is harmful to the body.

Ayatollah Sobhanie has narrated the following story. He recounted that in 1927 or 1928, one day, I (Ayatollah Sobhanie) was in the service of Ayatollah Boroujerdi (May Allah (SWT) be pleased with him) when the chair of the conference against alcohol visited Ayatollah Boroujerdi and asked him to express his opinion about the use of alcohol in Islam.

At this point, I (Ayatollah Sobhanie) wondered how Ayatollah Boroujerdi would respond to him. The people at the conference were already aware of the health risks, so he had to respond innovatively. As I (Ayatollah Sobhanie) was thinking about how he (Ayatollah Boroujerdi) was going to answer, the late Ayatollah Boroujerdi stated the reason for the prohibition of alcohol in Islam as follows:

Man is privileged with the faculty of logic and reason, and alcohol is the enemy of reason and wisdom. This brief answer was so effective that the conference chair asked another question and said: If alcohol is consumed too much, it is the enemy of wisdom, not in small quantities. Ayatollah Boroujerdi replied: Man has no bound and limit; he starts with a small drink and becomes an alcoholic eventually.

The conference chair was so impressed that he requested Ayatollah Boroujerdi to send a message to the conference. Ayatollah Boroujerdi asked Allamah Tabatabai (May Allah (SWT) be pleased with him), who was present in the meeting, to write an article to be read in the forum.

In Islam, the money spent on food must be halal; otherwise, it has the same effect as haram food. Forbidden food is like contaminated water, which makes the body sick, spoils the human soul, obliterates the acts of worship, and causes the rejection of supplications. Worse than that, it pushes humans into misery.

On the Day of Ashura, Imam Hussain (AS) preached to the army who came to his battle. Instead of listening to the Imam, they made noise by beating the drums and playing the trumpet. Imam said to them, “Woe to you! Why do you not keep silent and not listen to me while I invite you to the path of guidance? He who obeys me will be guided, and he who disobeys will perish. You do not follow me; you do not listen to me.” Then the Imam said the lack of your willingness to hear me is, “Your bellies are full of haram, and your hearts are sealed with cruelty[7].”

The Prophet (PBUH) said[8]:

مَنْ اَکَلَ لُقْمَةَ حَرَامٍ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ اَرْبَعِینَ لَیْلَةً؛ وَ لَمْ تُسْتَجَبْ لَهُ دَعْوَةٌ اَرْبَعِینَ صَبَاحاً وَ کُلُّ لَحْمٍ یُنْبِتُهُ الْحَرَامُ فَالنَّارُ اَوْلَی بِهِ

The prayers of one who eats a piece of what is forbidden will not be accepted for forty nights, and his calls and supplications will not be answered for forty days. Flesh grown from forbidden food deserves to be burnt in the Fire.

In another narration, the Prophet (PBUH) said[9]:

مَنْ أَکَلَ الْحَلَالَ قَامَ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ مَلَکٌ یَسْتَغْفِرُ لَهُ حَتَّى یَفْرُغَ مِنْ أَکْلِهِ وَ قَالَ إِذَا وَقَعَتِ اللُّقْمَةُ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فِی جَوْفِ الْعَبْدِ لَعَنَهُ کُلُّ مَلَکٍ فِی السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ مَا دَامَتِ اللُّقْمَةُ فِی جَوْفِهِ لَا یَنْظُرُ اللَّهُ إِلَیْهِ وَ مَنْ أَکَلَ اللُّقْمَةَ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ‏ فَقَدْ باءَ بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ‏ فَإِنْ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَیْهِ وَ إِنْ مَاتَ فَالنَّارُ أَوْلَى بِهِ‏.

Angels watch and seek forgiveness for whoever eats permissible food until he finishes eating. When a bit of forbidden food enters a person’s stomach, every angel in the heavens and on the earth curses him, and Allah will not look upon him as long as the bit of forbidden food remains in his body. Whoever eats a bit of what is forbidden has earned God’s wrath. If he repents, Allah (SWT) will turn to him in forgiveness, and if he dies (without repentance), then he is more deserving of the Fire.

In summary, the rights of the stomach are broken down into the following:

Do not make it into a container for Haram foods and drinks, however small or large.
Observe moderation, even in halal foods. Eat enough to gain strength and energy, be courteous to others and refrain from gluttony.
Control yourself whenever you are extremely hungry or thirsty since satiety will cause indigestion, sluggishness, and laziness and, consequently, hinder you from excellent and gracious deeds.
Avoid consuming drinks that lead to light-headedness, as they cause frivolity, obliviousness, and loss of virtue.
Acknowledgment:
The text is based on “Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right” by the Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani.

Notes:
[1] Al-A’raf, 7:31 (وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا)

[2] Why you feel fatigued and sleepy after overeating | TheHealthSite.com

[3] پیامدهای «پرخوری» | آیین رحمت (makarem.ir)

[4] بحار الأنوار – العلامة المجلسي – ج ١٠٠ – الصفحة ٢٧ (shiaonlinelibrary.com)

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/17/garden/how-diet-can-affect-mood-and-behavior.html

[6] مستدرك الوسائل – الميرزا النوري – ج ١٦ – الصفحة ١٦٥ (shiaonlinelibrary.com)

[7] بحار الأنوار – العلامة المجلسي – ج ٤٥ – الصفحة ٨ (shiaonlinelibrary.com) (فَقَدْ مُلِئَتْ بُطُونُکُمْ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ وَطُبِعَ عَلَی قُلُوبِکُمْ)

[8] كنز العمال – المتقي الهندي – ج ٤ – الصفحة ١٥ (shiaonlinelibrary.com)

[9] بحار الأنوار – العلامة المجلسي – ج ٦٣ – الصفحة ٣١٤ (shiaonlinelibrary.com)

Part of a Series:

Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) treaties of right.

Source: en.shafaqna.com