By bread and salt we are united.
Moroccan proverb
Bread signifies all God given provisions, the abundance in simplicity, the Giver and gift of life in its continuous flow, first things in the day, essential priorities.
A traveler on the mystic path
is content with a loaf of bread;
By its light he may be turned
towards the Light of God.
Rumi
Aish, "life," is one ancient Arabic term for bread; accordingly, it is treated with reverence throughout the Muslim world. Before kneading dough, the baker blesses it with "Bismillah," and again before putting it in the oven. Mistreatment of bread is a sign of disrespect toward the Source of all sustenance. If a piece of bread is found on the ground, little time will pass before someone picks it up, kisses it, says "Bismillah," and sets it in a safe, clean place. In most homes bread is served at every meal, and is used to scoop up food; dunk into soup, stew or tea; or roll up with cheese, olives or herbs.
Mevlana describes a journey that begins with death and ends in Love:
Buried in the earth, a kernel of wheat
is transformed into tall stalks of grain.
Crushed in the mill, its value increases and it becomes bread, invigorating to the soul.
Ground in the teeth, it becomes spirit, mind, and the understanding of reason;
Lost in Love, that spirit delights the sowers after the sowing.
Rumi
Fermentation is the catalyst for dough's ultimate transformation — wheat dies and is brought to life by the breath of the yeast, as all creatures die and are brought to life by the grace and breath of God. This process of transformation of wheat into bread is a microcosm of the process of spiritual development in the Sufi tradition — inshallah, the death of concern with individual desires, resulting in the alignment of human will with Divine will, and the evolution of a human life into one well capable of consciously fulfilling its purpose of service to creation.
Salt is one of the most ancient preservatives, signifying incorruptibility, perpetuity, and purification; it is an emblem of the intention which gives significance to action.
The lovers of God go into the salt and are made entirely pure —
This spiritual salt made Muhammad more refined than all others...
This salt survives in his heritage; his heirs are with you. Seek them!
Rumi
When the dead ass fell into the salt-mine,
it left behind its asininity and mortality.
Rumi
Free will is the salt of devotion; otherwise, it would have no merit.
Rumi
The symbolic significance of salt runs deep in the traditions of the People of the Book. The covenant between God and the Jews was a covenant of salt, ritually remembered with salt.
Until recently, salt has been a precious commodity, rare and irreplaceable. Retrieved from the sea and from the depths of the earth, only a little is needed to transform and bring life to the flavor of food. No more than a little salt is needed to keep a living organism alive — and that little is absolutely necessary. Water constitutes close to 75% of the human body, salt less than 1%. That salt carries an electrical charge that maintains homeostasis, the fluid balance of the cells. Without it, water would flow through cell membranes uncontrolled, and they would burst.
This microcosm of cellular life reflects a subtler reality. All creatures are emanations of the creative power of God, the boundless ocean of Unity. The salt that we share with the earth — physical existence — gives rise to the compelling illusion of separation which the Sufi seeks to overcome, yet at the same time it is a gift, a mercy, and a creation of God. It is the boundary without which we cannot be whole in the physical world or in our human interactions.
...I am the drop that contains the ocean.
Its waves are amazing. It's beautiful to be a sea
hidden within an infinite drop.
Yunus Emre
Together, Mother bread and Father salt encompass the work of civilization — sowing, harvesting, milling; leavening and baking of grain; seeking and gathering salt from the sea and earth; trade and commerce in salt. Together they symbolize effort, creativity, intelligence and wisdom, and the cooperation that is necessary to bring them to the table and to keep peace in the world.
Islamic traditions of the esoteric bonding power of bread and salt date back to the early days of the Qur'anic revelation. It is said that a shared mouthful of bread was the meal shared by disciples of Jesus, in answer to their prayer for a sign of God's acceptance of their faith.
The hadith al-luqma was a tradition in which the knowledge of God was transmitted by means of a mouthful of bread, passed from Hasan al-Basri through a line of early Sufis down to Mansur al-Hallaj:
I entered the house of my shaikh who gave me a mouthful, saying I entered the house of my shaikh who gave me a mouthful, saying I entered the house of my shaikh who gave me a mouthful... Eat this which we give you for your well-being, for we may have partaken of the meal of the holy people, the custodians of graces; we have therefore shared in this blessing; you share, too, therefore, in their blessing.
Mansur al-Hallaj
Due to its consecrated nature, bread traditionally carries with it the blessing power of baraka, particularly when, as above, it is offered by one of exceptional spiritual merit. The traveler Ibn Jubair described a scene from 12th century Damascus:
When the pilgrims returned to the city, a vast concourse of men and women went forth to meet them, shaking their hands and touching them, giving dinars to the poor amongst them, and offering them food. One who witnessed it told me that many women met pilgrims and gave them bread which if they bit the women would snatch from their hands and hasten to eat it in order that they might be blessed in the pilgrims' having tasted it.
Ibn Jubair
Whenever Nizamuddin Auliya was asked for a token of baraka, he offered morsels of the bread baked in the kitchen of his khanqah; such bread came to acquire a phenomenal reputation. It is said that when Qazi Muhiyuddin Kashani was imprisoned, he sent the Shaikh a message asking him to pray for his release. The Shaikh sent him three loaves of bread, instructing him to eat one each day. On the third day, Muhiyuddin was released from the prison.
The sharing of bread and salt is a traditional basis of hospitality, a rite of friendship which nullifies antagonism and creates an indissoluble mutual obligation of protection.
In gratitude for your bread and salt,
I must preserve you from all danger.
Rumi
