Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I October 19, 2014
The Quran refers to divine food in these words: "Do not regard with envy the worldly benefits We have given some of them, for with these We seek only to test them. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting" (20:131). The provision referred to here was not material food, it was divine food or spiritual food. Without receiving this food, a person cannot develop his or her personality.
The fact is that in this world everything has two components: material and spiritual. You have to develop your mind to such an extent that you are able to extract the spiritual content from material things. Then you will be able to receive spiritual or divine food. If material food maintains your physical health, then divine content of material things develops your personality on spiritual lines.
For example, let us consider a glass of water. When you hold a glass of water in your hand, the material content that you extract from this observation is that water is a combination of two gases — hydrogen and oxygen. The spiritual content of this observation is to ponder over the fact that in the external world water is a combination of two material elements, but when water enters the human body it becomes part of it and helps in maintaining its functions. When you discover this compatibility between water and your body, you will be able to discover the spiritual food for your thinking. Because this discovery will lead to the realisation and appreciation of God's wisdom, in that He created water in such a way that it is completely compatible with our body. Discoveries of this kind from various material events around will give you unlimited solace and contentment.
If you want to live as a spiritual person, learn the art of extraction. You have to extract the spiritual content from material things.