Ramadan—The Month of Fasting

Ramadan—The Month of Fasting

M. W. Gazdar

The root meaning of Ramadan is “Excessiveness of heat” derived from Ramadan. Muslims named this month according to the seasons in which they fall. It is the ninth month in the Muslim year, which consists of 354 days, being based upon lunar movement. That is why this month falls sometimes in summer and sometimes in winter. Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Do not fast until you see the new moon and do not break fasting until you see again. “Jews, Christians and Hindus have a solar year, while Muslims follow a purely lunar calendar, consequently their month Ramadan rotates gradually in all the seasons of the year.

Fasting, the third of the five pillars of Islam is of profound significance to Muslims all over the world. The Holy Qur’an says: “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you—that haply ye may ward off (evil)." (2:183). According to the writer in the Encyclopaedia of Britannica: “The Practice of fasting has been recognized well nigh universally in all the higher, revealed religions though the same stress is not laid on it in all, and the forms and motives vary. “Its modes and motives vary considerably according to climate, race, civilization and other circumstances but it would be unrecognized.” Moses fasting for forty days previous to the receipt of revelation (Exodus 24:18), and Jesus keeping fast for forty days before he was called upon to take the office of prophet-hood (Mat.4:2) shows that the gift of revelation comes in fasting. According to St. Mathew, ‘Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance. . . But then, when thou fastest anoint thy head and wash thy face.’ (6:16-17).

The writer of Encyclopaedia of Religions and Ethics writes: “The early Christians observed Lent. i.e. six weeks (Sundays exempted), that is 36 days were devoted to fasting and penitence in commemoration of Jesus Christ in the wilderness (Vol: V, p. 769). That is why Crudax remarked in his Bible Concordance that fasting in all nations was restored to in times of morning, sorrow and afflictions is born out by facts. Among the Jews generally David is mentioned as fasting for seven days, during the illness of his infant son, and as sign of mourning, fasting is mentioned in I Samual 3:13 and elsewhere. Besides the Day of Atonement which was prescribed by the Mosaic Law as a day of fasting, the people being required to “afflict” their souls to cleanse them of their sins, various other facts come into vogue after the Exile “in sorrowful commemoration of the various sad events which had issued in the downfall of the kingdom of Judah.” It appears that the idea underlying this voluntary suffering in the form of a fast in times of sorrow and affliction seems to have been to propitiate angry and excite compassion in Him. Some fasted for the expiation of their sins; some as part of self immolation, which was regarded necessary for God realization; some as a thanks giving if what they attempted, was achieved. The fast in these religions, like Jews, Christians and Hindus, is based on rites and rituals. The fast (Apas) in Hindu religion is allowed to take everything but should not eat cooked, articles during fast. It was in Islam that the practice received a highly developed significance. It rejected the ideas of appeasing Divine wrath or exciting Divine compassion through voluntary suffering and introduced in its place regular and continuous fasting, irrespective of the condition of the individual or the nation, as a means like prayers to the development of the inner faculties of man. Though, the Holy Qur’an speaks of expiatory of compensatory fasts in certain cases of violation of the Divine Law, yet there are quite distinct from the obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadan. Fasting is one of the five basic tenets of Islam. The Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Islam is raised on five pillars: the witness that there is no god but Allah, the witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His servant and His messenger, offering prayers, giving of Alms, fasting and performing the Pilgrimage.” Fasting is a form of worship in Islam as such, it is exclusively for Allah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) says: “All man's work belongs to him, but fasting belongs to Me and I repay.” During the period of fasting from dawn until sunset, one must abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse. Smoking, chewing or swallowing anything, or taking medicine through the mouth or nose breaks the fast. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) has said: “Allah prefers the smell of the mouth of the who fasts, to the smell of musk,” and, “whoever breaks the fast for one day in Ramadhan, without any legitimate reason, cannot compensate for it by a period of fasting at another time during the year.”

Islam gave a new and definite meaning to this religious institutions of fasting. Before Islam, the fasting meant the suffering or some privation in times of mourning and sorrow, in Islam it became an institution for the improvement of the moral and spiritual condition of man. Fasting in Islam does not only mean abstention from food but from every kind of evil. Most persons are of the opinion that if they miss their food for a day they are in danger of contracting some disease as a result of the lowered resisting powers of the body thus induced; therefore they say one must eat to keep up one’s strength. They talk glibly about the need to keep up one’s strength and generally speaking, they give the impression that the miss of a few meals is a step towards starving to death. Communist paper of Tashkent writes “those who fast cause danger to their health. They upset their eating and sleeping habits and contract disease of the intestines. If a man does not eat at the right times he becomes weak. Such people despise their health. As a consequence they lose their capacity of work. They fall ill quickly and some older people even go blind through fasting. Pregnant woman cause damage to their children.”

But in the study of the body and its needs and of foods and their purpose, scientists have long since proved that food energy is not immediately utilized, some of this is stored in the body and that this storage may be called upon to supply the body when needed. So no one need fear taking the fast of Ramadhan, no matter how weak, thin or emaciated he may be. Instead of being weakened by abstinence of food, it is common experience that there comes greater strength and energy. In fact abstention from food is only a step to make a man realise that if he can, in obedience to Divine injunctions, abstain from that which is otherwise lawful, how more necessary it is that he should abstain from the evil ways which are forbidden by God.

The organ of the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan Tashkent writes: “Religion prevents the Soviet Citizen from becoming sensible and active members of communist society. Communism and religion are enemies. Similarly, religion and science are enemies. In addition, the religion of Islam with its traditions and customs, is the enemy of Socialism and Science.

One of the traditions and customs of Islam is Ramadhan. This was already in existence before Islam, within the ancient Arabic roots. The lands of the ancient Arabs consisted of mountains and sandy. The summers were very hot and the temperature rose to very high. Plants withered through the heat. Cattle remained without fodder. Human beings died of famine and illness. Rivers dried up. Therefore the ancient Arabs were forced for a definite period to give up food and drink. Thus fasting by day and living at night became the custom. The Arabs hoped to Win their god’s forgiveness by this through fasting, they asked their gods for rain and to grow plants. In addition, it was impossible during the heat of the summer to do agricultural work. The Arabs carried out their work during night.”

The above is a misleading statement which is made because of abysmal ignorance of the teachings of Islam. The Holy Qur’an says:

“Ramadhan is the month, in which we sent down the Qur’an, as a guide, to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment, (between right and wrong). So everyone of you who is present (at his home), during that month should spend it in fasting. But if anyone is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. He wants you to complete the prescribed period. And to glorify Him. In that He has guided you; And perchance you shall be grateful. (aI- Qur’an II:23)

There is a moral discipline underlying fasting, for it is the training ground where man is taught the greatest moral lesson of life as self restraint and piety are among the gifts of fasting. It teaches man to refrain from acts which may displease Allah, and to develop a sense of responsibility towards his fellowmen. When fasting, man comes to appreciate the clemency and grace of his Lord, and he learns to realize the need of the poor and the miserable. The charity towards the needy on Eid-ul-Fitr, at the end of Ramadhan, is necessary and is done joyfully and gratefully. Shah Waliullah (d. 1762 A.C.) in his work known HUJJATULLAH al—BALEGHAH (حجۃ اللہ البالغہ) writes: “Since the excess of animality hinders the emergence of the angelic aspects it was necessary that one should try to dominate one’s animality. Since the excess of animality and the accumulation and abundance of its stratas have their origin in food, drink and indulgence in carnal pleasures, a fast accomplishes what abundant food cannot. Therefore, the method of dominating the animality is the diminishing of the causes (of the excess of animality). That is why there is unanimity among all those who desire the emergence of the angelic aspect in man about diminishing and reducing these (eating, drinking etc.). There is no difference in this prescription among the peoples of the world inspite the difference of their religions and the distance between their respective countries. Moreover the ultimate goal is that the animality of man should become submissive to man’s angelic side, so that his animality acts according to the inspirations and dictates of his angelism, takes colour from its colour and his angelism prevents his animality from taking mean and lowly colours and getting object impressions—like a wax getting the impression of a seal. To attain this, there is no method other than this. The angelic side of man should select something according to its own exigencies and should inspire and suggest this to the animal side of man: and that the animality should submit to this inspiration not act obstinately or rebel against it. Angelism should continue again and again to inspire its exigencies to the animality, and the animality should continue to submit to these exigencies, so that it becomes accustomed to them and proficient in them. The said exigencies which the angelism imposes and which the animality enforces willy-nilly, belong (1) either to the category of things which expand (delight) the angelic side and contract (depress) the animal one, such as the effort to resemble—so to say—world of god‘s super kingdom (malakut) and to regard (meditate) His super domination (Jabarut) which is an exclusive peculiarity of the angelism, the animality being away, far away, from it; or (2) to the giving up of things which are the exigencies of the animality, whereby it is delighted and wherefore it carves in its extravagance. It is this latter category which constitutes the fasting.

It is not correct that the fasting is the enemy of science. Fasting as a remedy is fully in harmony with the philosophy of the causes of disease. Avicenna, the celebrated Muslim physician of the eleventh century often prescribed three week’s fasting for his patients. He regarded fasting as specific cure in syphilis and small pox. At the time of the French occupation, the Arabian hospitals of Egypt were reported to be securing radical cures of syphilis by fasting. Dr. Dewey writes: “Take away food from the sick man’s stomach and you have begun to starve not the sick man but the disease.” So the institution of fasting, achieves the almost impossible miracle, from a scientific point of view—of enforcing a primary scientific health measure under the spiritual observance.

Besides, the fasting of Ramadhan is the key to social emancipation. The person undergoing the fast is naturally inclined to spend most of his daytime in deep thinking and meditation. He is consciously forced to realize the teeming millions who are without food and drink. It also enables us to feel the sorry state of those who suffer pangs of hunger throughout the twelve months of the year. Thus the social conscience of the fasting man is awakened, his love and compassion are moved for his miserable brethren.

According to Dr. Mirza, Ramadhan did not merge suddenly in Arabia, but developed slowly and in the second century of Hijra, took the form of a institution. Ramadhan arose out of the extremely primitive agricultural work of production elements of the ancient Arabs and out of their weakness in the face of the forces of nature. Islam reformed Ranadhan.

A resume of the speech of Mr. Habib Bourgciba, President of the Republic of Tunisia, on Fasting during the month of Ramadhan, and a plea for extension of “classical” exemption from fasting under modern conditions is most surprising. The burden of his theme was: the fast diminishes the economic potential capacity of the Tunisian nation and, for tl1at matter, of all the Muslim countries, it lessens the physical effort and is harmful to economic struggle for existence. He rebutted his critics by saying: “It has been said that wish the civil servants not to fast. I have never done such a thing.”

It is disheartening to note that the head of a Muslim country made such a misleading statement.

There are two forces in man, the forces of good and the forces of evils. They fight for supremacy over man. If the forces of good gain the upper hand, there is peace, harmony and happiness. But if the forces of evil gain the upper hand, there is discord and misery. Islam means peace. But so long as man is torn by internal conflict there can be no peace. This internal conflict can cease only when the forces of evil are suppressed and the forces of good are sublimated. Fasting is one of the methods by which this can be achieved, mere abstinence from food is not fasting; it is starvation. Fasting according to Islam, is abstinence from all that is evil. Fasting has a more physical value. The man who cannot face the hardship of life, who is not able to live, at times, without his usual comforts, cannot be said to be even physically fit for life on this earth. The moment such a man is involved in difficulty, as he must be every now and again, his strength is liable to give way. Fasting accustoms him to face the hardship of life, being in itself a practical lesson to that end and increases his powers of resistance.

There are even possible military advantages from the habits of fasting, for the soldier sometimes does not get food or drink and still he has to fight during the whole day and even late into the night.

One who has the habit of fasting the whole month of Ramadhan, gets naturally greater aptitude for social structure imaginable. Its members, trained by such disciplines as fasting, represent the noblest character humanly possible. According to Dr. Rahat: “Fasting is practically the most powerful of all remedial measures. It enables one to get rid of taxins which may have accumulated within the body; it purifies the blood stream and renovates the entire system. While purifying and cleansing the body, fasting, at the same time, adds to the actual vital strength of the body by removing taxic material which, through its poisoning effect, is weakening the nerves of the body and the cells of the various organs. Therefore, when one is fasting during the month of Ramadhan or otherwise, one must remember that these processes are taking place within the body during the fasting, giving a rejuvenating and revitalizing effect. “It is therefore not correct to say,” it lessens the physical effort and is harmful.

The glory of Ramadhan is enhanced by the fact that it was in this month that the first verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed to the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) on Mount Hira. Holy Qur’an says: “The month of Ramadhan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of guidance and the criterion.” (2:185)

The night in which the first Message was received in Ramadhan is specified as one of the odd nights in the last third of Ramadhan viz. 21^st to 29^th. This night is called “Lailat-ul-Qadr” and is very holy for prayers and. blessings. The Holy Qur’an says: “Verily We! We have sent it down on the night of power. And what shall make thee know that which the night of power is? The night of power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the spirit descend therein by the command of their Lord with His decrees for every affair, (xxx: 25).