fasting still further—continuously. He said this as a form of discipline, so that they might feel the pangs of hunger and thirst and thereafter give up wisāl on their own.

In short, he forbade them to practise continuous fasting out of mercy for them. They replied, “Yet you fast continuously, and we take you as our example.” He answered, “I am not like you; my Lord feeds me and gives me drink.” That is, the Prophet ﷺ is not like the rest of the ummah; he spends the night with his Lord, who provides him with food and drink. In practical terms, he would rise for prayer at night, withdraw to commune with Allah in remembrance and in the recitation of His words—activities that sufficed him, making him forget food and drink. When a person becomes absorbed in something he loves and finds pleasing, he can indeed forget to eat or drink.

For this reason a poet said of his beloved:

“She has conversations inflamed by thoughts of you,
that make her forget her drink and distract her from her food.”

In other words, when she sits talking about that man, her repeated mention of him diverts her from eating and drinking—something anyone can observe. A person immersed in demanding work may likewise forget to eat or drink. A student of sacred knowledge, avid and passionate, might stay in his library from morning until night, forgetting his meals and even his sleep. By the same token, a worldly aspirant, insatiable in his greed, may remain poring over his ledgers and accounts, oblivious to food and drink.

It is related that a wealthy man, absorbed in his bookkeeping, correspondence, and wealth, had a wife. He also had a poor neighbor who was married, and people noticed that this poor neighbor would