Why do Muslims fast?
You might notice your Muslim colleagues and classmates staying put in their seats and being less enthusiastic for lunch time. This is because the month of fasting has begun again. For non-Muslims, this means its 30 days to the next public holiday! Yay!
Muslims from around the world are preparing themselves for the Islamic month of Ramadan. So what is Ramadan and why do Muslims fast?
What is Ramadan?
Muslims believe Ramadan is the holiest month in the year, when the Islamic holy book Qur’an, was revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
It is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, based on the lunar cycle, which began in 622AD when the prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina.
When is Ramadan?
The month begins this year on the evening of the Sunday 5 June, which means Muslims will begin their first day of fasting at dawn on Monday 6 June.
The month of fasting will end on either Tuesday 5 July, and Muslims will celebrate Aidil Fitri or what we call Hari Raya on Wednesday 6 July as they welcome the new month of Syawal.
Following the lunar calendar, the month of Ramadan begins about 11 days earlier every consecutive year, which means it might sometimes fall in winter months when the fasts are short, or in summer months when the fasts are long.
Why do Muslims fast?
For a whole month, Muslims observe a fast, which means they do not eat or drink during daylight hours. Fasting, being one of the five pillars of Islam. The other acts of worship are
declaration of faith or shahadah;
five daily prayers;
almsgiving or zakat; and
a pilgrimage to Mecca called hajj
Fasting, or sawm in Arabic, literally means “to refrain” – which means that it does not only include abstaining from food and drink, but also actions such as sexual relations, smoking cigarettes, talking about others behind their backs, or using foul language.
However, fasting does not mean Muslims are obliged to retreat from their daily routines. Neither is it an excuse to refuse any work. Instead they are encouraged to continue their work and activities as per normal. In fact, this is where the challenge of patience and endurance comes in.
Muslims also believe fasting is not merely a physical ritual, but is primarily a time for reflection and spiritual recharging. During the fast, Muslims believe that their desires are curbed and that they can gain understanding of how those who are less privileged than them feel. It is considered to increase one’s patience, closeness to God and generosity towards others.
Who fasts?
Healthy Muslim men and women are required to fast during the month according to Islamic teachings.
Children, people who are sick or who have mental illness, elderly people, travellers and women who are menstruating , postnatal , pregnant or breast-feeding do not have to fast. People exempt from fasting during Ramadan can make up the missed fasts later.
Is it healthy?
Fasting is not 24 hours, for the whole month. They eat before dawn and break their fast at sunset each day.
Scientists have found that short periods of fasting – if properly controlled – can have a number of health benefits, from detoxification, reduction of cravings/addiction to food/cigarettes, or even potentially helping overweight people. Muslims also refrain from bingeing on less healthy foods during Ramadan.
“A detoxification process also occurs, because any toxins stored in the body’s fat are dissolved and removed from the body.”
Dr Razeen Mahroof, an anaesthetist from Oxford
Can Muslims fast in places with no sunset?
It’s a good question. Around the globe, some countries experience long daylight times, whereas others do not have much daylight at all.
As a result, Islamic scholars in the UK, much like others around the world have said it is permissible to follow more reasonable dawn and sunset times of another country. The Islamic Centre of Northern Norway, issued a fatwa – a ruling by a scholar of Islamic law or Muslim judicial authority – that gives local Muslims the option of following the fasting hours of Mecca, when the fasting day in Norway exceeds 20 hours.
What happens at the end?
Muslims worldwide celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (sometimes known as Eid al-Fitr, Choṭī ʿĪd in Urdu or Şeker Bayramı in Turkey). According to tradition the angels call it the day of prize-giving because all those who fasted are rewarded by God on this day. It falls on the first day of the new Islamic month of Shawal and it is forbidden to fast on this day.
It is Islamic custom to celebrate Hari Raya with a small breakfast, and to give to charity before the Hari Raya prayers. Muslims in Singapore celebrate the day by giving packets of money to children and elderly, seeking forgiveness from elders, while wearing new or clean clothes, and visiting friends and family.
Do people of other faiths fast?
Jews fast for about 25 hours on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, to ask for God’s forgiveness. Orthodox Christians can spend up to half a year in various forms of fasting, which they believe brings them closer to God. In Buddhism, fasting is recognized as one of the methods for practising self-control. The Buddha advised monks not to take solid food after noon. Lay people who observe the eight Precepts on full moon days also abstain from taking any solid food after noon.
Article adapted from Guardian article 17th June 2015
