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Salaam sister

I would highly recommend reading the following advice from Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (RA):

2. Eating Less



Allah Most High says:

Eat and drink, but do not waste. Verily He does not love those who transgress the limies (7:31)

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

‘’Tasbih and Taqdis, which suffice the people of heaven, will suffice them too’’ i.e. the believers

This hadith shows that, as tasbih and taqdis suffice for the Angels in the heavens, so will it suffice as nourishment for Muslims. It is narrated that certain saints remained without food for long periods in solitude engaged in glorification and hallowing. It is clear from this hadith that at times, remembrance and glorification are sufficient as nourishment.

However, it is not possible to adhere to the methods of food reduction practiced in former times. The people of those days were endowed with great physical strength, and despite the great reduction in food consumption they suffered no ill effect and maintained full concentration in their acts of worship....

..In reality, the Prophet Sallahu Alayhi wassalam did not prescribe reduction in food, but altered the routine times of eating and in this way made the intervals between eating times longer. This change in habit and the longer intervals which are difficult upon the lower self, have been considered by the sharia to be representative of reduction in food. Among the various forms of struggle, fasting is the best. Hence, the sharia has given reduction in eating the form of fasting. The other forms of reduction in food adopted by the people of spriritual struggle have no original basis in the sharia. Eating meagre amounts and remaining hungry are not forms of struggle of the Sharia. The significance of hunger mentioned in hadith does not refer to self-imposed huner, but refers to involuntary hunger – hunger that comes one’s way uninvited. The hadith consoles such impoverished persons by explaining the virtues of hunger so that they do not worry and suffer unduly.



Patience in the face of such divinely imposed hunger occasions reward and elevation in spiritual ranks. The significance of hunger is similar to the significance of illness explained in the hadith. The hadith even mentions reward for illness, but this does not mean that one should voluntarily induce illness. The method of reduction in food mentioned in the book Tabligh al Den [Al-Arba’in] by Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) has been forbidden because the reduction in food is not the intended purpose in the sharia and because the physique of people today is unlike that of the people of earlier times.



Reduction in food is not an end in itself, but a means of acquiring a specific aim. This aim is to weaken the animal urge in man, and thereby prevent the lower self from sinning. Therefore, if the self can be controlled and restrained from sin without reducing food then reduction in eating is not necessary. Furthermore, cheerfulness and joy in worship are experienced if the body is in the state of health and strength. Experience shows that nowadays health, in most cases, suffers as a result of reduction in food. At the same time, one must abstain from excessive eating and adhere to moderation. The capacity of people differs; hence, moderation will differ for different persons. The guideline in this matter is to eat when hungry and to stop eating when you feel that you can still eat a few more morsels. In other words, one is allowed to eat to one’s fill, but not to satisfy one’s craving.