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Ismaili Ta'wil of al-Siyam — The Fast: Why Quranic Fasting Commands Are Primarily About the Soul's Abstention From Claiming Self-Sufficient Religious Knowledge, and How 'So That You Become Conscious of God' (2:183) Points to Walayah With the Imam

التَّأوِيلُ الإِسمَاعِيلِيُّ لِلصِّيَام — الصَّومُ: لِمَاذَا يَتَعَلَّقُ الصَّومُ القُرآنِيُّ فِي جَوهَرِهِ بِامتِنَاعِ الرُّوحِ عَن ادِّعَاءِ الاكتِفَاءِ الذَّاتِيِّ بِالمَعرِفَةِ الدِّينِيَّةِ وَكَيفَ تُشِيرُ عِبَارَةُ 'لَعَلَّكُم تَتَّقُون' [2:183] إِلَى الوَلَايَةِ بِالإِمَام
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In Ismaili ta'wil, al-Siyam (الصِّيَام — Fasting; from *s-w-m*: to abstain; the Quranic command in 2:183 'O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you, so that you may become conscious of God [tattaqun]'; zahir: abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn [fajr] to sunset [maghrib] during Ramadan; the spiritual purpose stated in 2:183: *la'allakum tattaqun* — so that you become muttaqin [people of taqwa — God-consciousness, God-fearingness]; in Ismaili ta'wil: the purpose of fasting stated in 2:183 is the key — the fast's goal is taqwa, and taqwa in ta'wil is walayah with the Imam; the fast that achieves taqwa in its batin meaning is the soul's fast from the zahir's self-sufficiency — abstaining from the claim that literal religious practice without the Imam's ta'wil is sufficient; batin siyam levels: [1] lisan [tongue]: abstain from speaking ta'wil without the Imam's permission; [2] qalb [heart]: abstain from settling the heart on zahir-only certainty; [3] ruh [spirit]: the spirit's complete abstention from any source of religious knowledge other than the Imam — the deepest siyam; the zahir of Ramadan fast is affirmed and required; the batin adds the layer that the fast from food/drink is a symbol and school for the deeper fast the muttaqi practices with the soul all year) is the Ismaili reading of Islam's most widely practiced spiritual discipline.

The Goal of Fasting: La’allakum Tattaqun

The Quran does not merely command fasting — it states its purpose: la’allakum tattaqun — “so that you may become conscious of God” (2:183). This telos (purpose-statement) is the entry point for ta’wil.

What is taqwa in its batin? The Imam’s ta’wil teaches that taqwa — the state of being God-conscious, God-wary, guarded against transgression — is achieved and sustained through walayah. The soul that has living walayah with the Imam in its age is the soul that is truly muttaqi (God-conscious). The soul’s orientation toward the Imam is what “guards” it against spiritual error.

Therefore: the fast’s stated goal (taqwa) points to walayah (walayah is taqwa). The fast is a practice that should produce this orientation.

Three Levels of Batin Fasting

The fast from food and drink is the outer training. The inner fast:

Tongue (lisan): Abstain from speaking ta’wil — from claiming to explain the Quran’s batin — without the Imam’s teaching. The tongue that speaks unauthorized ta’wil has broken the batin fast.

Heart (qalb): Abstain from settling the heart in zahir-only certainty — the conviction that the literal surface of the Quran is all there is. The heart’s fast is the heart’s openness to the batin.

Spirit (ruh): The spirit’s complete abstention from any source of religious knowledge other than the Imam’s ta’wil. The deepest fast — the spirit fasting from every alternative claimant to Quranic authority.

The Zahir Affirmed

Ismaili ta’wil does not replace the physical fast of Ramadan with an inner fast. Both are required. The zahir fast is the school in which the soul learns the discipline of abstention — a discipline it must then apply at the batin level throughout the year.

See also: Ismaili Tawil Of Al Tawadu, Ismaili Tawil Of Al Zuhd, Ismaili Tawil Of Al Dhikr, Bayah And Walayah, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation

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