Physicians have said that Habit is second nature. Anas said: The Prophet
used to eat after the late last
prayer. Abu Nu’aim also says this. ‘Ayesha
relates that he once came into her while she was complaining of something.
He said to her: Man is a medicine and the stomach is a house of Disease.
Let each man eat of what he is accustomed.
‘All said about the stomach that it is a seat of disease and that not
eating is the chief thing in Medicine and that habit is second nature,
AI-Qadi abu Ay’ali relates these sayings.
Is it
necessary then to give up food ? Verily hunger is a cure for a
surfeit.
The saying of the Prophet that the stomach is the seat of disease means
that one should eat less and give up the desire for food. But habit0 like the nature of
man, just as habit is called second nature. It is indeed a
great source of strength to the body and is a pillar in the preservation of
health. For this reason the Prophet commanded that every man should
cleave to his habits.
Abu Nu’aim relates of (Ayesha that shes aid: Whenever the Prophet
took to his tent in the winter time, he liked to sleep inside for the first time
on a Thursday night. And when he came out in the summer, he liked to
sleep out for the first time on a Thursday night.
According to physicians the temperament of the soul should follow
the constitution of the body, as has already been said. When the body is
mid-way between hunger & satiety, sleepiness and wakefulness, and a
balance is
present, then the soul is brisk and agile and eager for what is
good. But when it is loaded with excesses and extravagancies, then the
soul is distraught. And therefore the Prophet said: I sleep and I get up:
I fast and I break
my fast. This is a traditional saying.