Don't Fall Back After Ramadhan -- Eat to Live, Not Vice Versa

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Last Ramadhan was a training ground for disengaging from unproductive things and engaging in productive things. In Ramadhan, we couldn't eat during the day and so we have more time to concentrate on other things in life. In the evening we couldn't eat much because the stomach had shrunk and so we sufficed ourselves with a few morsels of simple foods. We didn't have much time to repeat eating because the night is short and we had to catch the Maghrib, 'Isha and taraweeh prayers at the masjid, continue with qiyamulail and get a little sleep.

Allah has blessed us with Eid after a month of fasting in which we can splurge a little during those open houses. But it is over. We are not free to splurge until next Ramadhan. Don't unshrunk your stomach now. If you are finding yourself eating too much, or spending too much time thinking about food, or preparing food, go back to your good Ramadhan habits. The best way to do this is to pick up the various sunnah fasting, especially the Mondays and Thursdays fasting.

Engaging in something excessive is unproductive and it is wrong. Eating beyond your fill is excessive and thus unproductive. Spending too much time thinking about food or what food to cook today or where to eat is unproductive. Having more than one or two-course meal is excessive because not only you will wind up eating more than you need, someone will have to cook more and clean more. This is unproductive for everybody.

Though food is essential, we were not created to eat. A Muslim eats to live; not vice versa. Heedlessly indulging in blessings, in complete oblivion to the purpose of our life and the wisdom in being given these blessings, turns blessings into a curse, and barrier to Allah. Moderation is essential. Restaurants thrive because people love to eat and dine. There is so much waste in the food industry and a ridiculously high demand in food products because of the consumers' excessive eating habits. If we are one of those who frequent the restaurants and love to eat out, we should start cutting it down, and suffice ourselves to simple foods at home.

If we embrace the Islamic value of eat to live, we free ourselves from one of the most unproductive things we do in life so that we have more time to do more important things and those things that we have kept putting off or finding no time for, like reading and memorizing the Qur'an or learning Arabic.

Eating and drinking come under the following categories:

(1) Obligatory -- This is the amount needed to ward off death and to enable us to offer the prayers standing [and fulfill our other obligations].

(2) Recommended -- This is the amount that enables us to undertake recommended acts of worship, and teaching and studying sacred knowledge.

(3) Permissible -- This is the eating up to our fill to increase our strength.

(4) Disliked -- This is eating above the fill slightly to a degree that does not harm us.

(5) Forbidden -- This is eating above our fill unless it is for the intention of strengthening ourselves for a fast or so that our guest is not ashamed to eat or the like.

May Allah remove our blameworthy traits and protect us from wastefulness and being unproductive, and make us of those who are grateful and productive. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam