The
Spiritual and Health Benefits of Ramadan Fasting
Muslims all over the world will fasting from dawn to dusk
daily for 30 days of Ramadan month as ordained in Quran. Ramadan-tea-and-dates
"O you who
believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you
so that you can learn Taqwa" (Quran 2:183)
The Arabic word Taqwa is translated in many ways including
God consciousness, God fearing, piety, and self restraining. Thus we are asked
to fast daily for one month from dawn to dusk and avoid food, water, sex and
vulgar talk during that period.
But why do we need to fast? It is our experience that
temptations and ways of the world tend to spoil our purity and austerity. Thus we
indulge in food all of the time, snacking and nibbling the whole day, heading
to obesity. We drink too much coffee, or tea, or carbonated drinks. Some
sexaholics can not stay away from sex unless they do it at least once or more a
day. When we argue, we leave our decency aside and resort to vulgar talk and
even physical fighting.
Now when one is fasting, he or she cannot do all of that.
When he looks at the mouth watering food, he cannot even taste it and he has to
give up snacking and nibbling as well as smoking cigarettes if he does. No
constant coffee, tea or Coke drinking either. Sexual passions have to be
curtailed and when he is provoked to fight, he says " I am fasting that I
cannot respond to your provocation". To achieve God consciousness or God
nearness, a better word, we are advised to do additional prayer and read the
Quran.
Medical benefits of Ramadan
Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits which are of
a secondary nature. Fasting has been used by patients for weight management, to
rest the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse
effects of total fasting as well as of crash diets. Islamic fasting is
different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no
malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. The calorie intake of Muslims during
Ramadan is at or slightly below the nutritional requirement guidelines. In
addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed
imposition from the physician.
Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self training,
with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the
lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or
righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, there effects will be long
lasting. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any
selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit
only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate
quantities.
The difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the
timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early
breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water for 8 to 10 hours is
not necessarily bad for health and in fact, it causes concentration of all
fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own
water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight
dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their
longevity.
The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of
blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood
pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the
treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential
hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and
Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 extensive studies on the medical
ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted;
however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or their baseline
medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from sever
diseases, whether type I diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones,
etc., are exempt from fasting and should not be allowed to fast.
There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is
a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan.
Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. Muslims take
advice from the Prophet who said, "If one slanders you or aggresses
against you, say I am fasting." This psychological improvement could be
related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia
after eating, aggravates behavior changes. There is a beneficial effect of
extra prayer at night. This not only helps with better utilization of food but
also helps in energy output. There are 10 extra calories output for each unit
of the prayer. Again, we do not do prayers for exercise, but a mild movement of
the joints with extra calorie utilization is a better form of exercise.
Similarly, recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and
mind, but improves the memory.
One of the odd nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan is
called the night of power when angels descend down, and take the prayer of
worship to God for acceptance.
Fasting is a special act of worship which is only between
humans and God since no one else knows for sure if this person is actually
fasting. Thus God says in hadith qudsi that "Fasting is for Me and I only
will reward it". In another hadith, the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon
him) has said "
Wallahu’lam.
Written by
Dr. Shahid Athar
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