There's hidden sweetness in the stomach's emptiness.
We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox
is stuffed full of anything, no music.
If the brain and belly are burning clean
with fasting, every moment a new song comes out of the fire.
The fog clears, and new energy makes you
run up the steps in front of you.
Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.
Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.
When you're full of food and drink, Satan sits
where your spirit should, an ugly metal statue
in place of the Kaaba. When you fast,
good habits gather like friends who want to help.
Fasting is Solomon's ring. Don't give it
to some illusion and lose your power,
but even if you have, if you've lost all will and control,
they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing
out of the ground, pennants flying above them.
A table descends to your tents,
Jesus' table.
Expect to see it, when you fast, this table
spread with other food, better than the broth of cabbages.
― Rumi,
The Illustrated Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
“Not even water?” “Not even water.” Muslims all around the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, by fasting from sunrise to sunset. They abstain from all food and drink (including water), sexual activities, and bad habits such as smoking and gossiping during the time of fast. To usher in the month, people seek forgiveness and forgive others as preparation of the emotional ground for the upcoming spiritual work.
While fasting is mandated on all those who can fast, there are exemptions. All children, the elderly and the infirm are exempt from fasting, as are menstruating women. Pregnant and/or breast-feeding mothers may be exempt from fasting. Allah states in the Quran that this mandate is not meant to cause distress or consternation to humankind. It is meant to teach self-restraint, strengthen the spirit, cleanse and heal the body. It is also a window through which to strengthen one’s empathy, to experience the pain and joy of others as our own. Those who are exempt from the fast, participate by feeding the poor or giving money to charity, if they have the necessary means.
But the real reason we offer this illustration in our shop gets to the core of our purpose as an educational nonprofit - "to support spiritual companionship around the world." 
