1. FASTING
IN HISTORY
Fasting is not
something new either to human beings or to animals. Human as well as animal
will fast when they are in the times of stress or illness, even at the
slightest uneasiness. The early great philosophers and thinkers, such as Hippocrates
(460 BC – 370 BC), Plato (428 BC-348 BC), Socrates (470 BC – 399 BC), Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC), and Galen (131 CE – 201 CE) used fasting for health and
therapy, and praised the benefit of fasting. Paracelsus
(1493-1541), one of the fathers of Western Medicine said, "Fasting is the
greatest remedy--the physician within."
Fasting in the early religious
and spiritual communities was a part of ceremonies and rites. Traditionally it
was associated with a period of quiescence, namely, being at rest, where most
of physical activities were suspended, and probably symbolically associated
with birth. In ancient times people traditionally fasted at the vernal (spring)
equinox (namely, time of the year at which the sun crosses the equator and when
day and night are of equal length), around 20 March, as well as at the autumnal
(fall) equinox, around 22 September. These fasts were believed to increase
fertility of the land and the human body for reproduction. Among American
Indians they fasted to avert disasters, such as flood, drought, war,
earthquake, etc, and as penance for their sin.
Fasting has been a
religious practice since the beginning of recorded history. Its purpose is to
purify the soul and to prepare for receiving atonement of sins. It is still
being practiced by Roman and Orthodox Catholics, some Protestant sects (such as
Episcopalians and Lutherans), Tibetan Buddhists, American Indians, Jews, and
Muslims. Today it is practiced for various spiritual benefits, such as purification
of the soul, spiritual vision, mourning, penance or sacrifice, as well as to
break the habit of gluttony (eating too much).
In 1920 the Indian Yogi and Guru Paramahansa
Yogananda (5 January 1893 – 7 March 1952) who founded a worldwide spiritual
organization called Self-Realization
Fellowship (SRF) based at Mount Washington, California, Los Angeles, said: "Fasting is a natural method of healing."[1]
The oldest and most comprehensive health care system called Ayurvedic
Medicine includes fasting as therapy. Ayurveda (ayuh means
“life”, and veda means “knowledge”) is “Since od Life” or “Wisdom of Life” deals with
nature and all aspects of life.
In Hinduism fasting is
abstaining from food half a day, one day and even more. The Hindus observe fast in the name of the
deity every once, twice, three times, or more times a week. For example, Monday
is associated with Shiva, and fasting on this day would please him, and on
Saturday would please Hanuman, “the monkey God”, and others say, the god of
that day is Shani or Saturn, whereas Hanuman is “the God of Tuesday”. The Hindus
also observe fast on festivals like Navaratri (when people fast for nine days);
Shivratri and Karwa Chauth.
One
should fast once a week with an empty stomach but can drink water till afternoon.
Then one can drink fruit juice or one or two fruits. Then one breaks the fast
after sunset. The time of fasting is either (a) from sunrise to sunset, or (b)
from midnight (12.00 a.m.) to the midnight (12.a.m.) of the next
day. While Muslims are recommended to break their fast with dates or water, the
Hindus have to break their fast with rice, and meat is not allowed. The meat is
of an animal the soul of which is of human in the process of incarnation. It is
not a good idea to kill someone while fasting for the deity.
Buddhist
monks fast the standard day of fasting eighteen days where they drink a small
amount of water daily. At first they start with three days eating dry bread to
prepare the stomach without food. After eighteen days fasting, they eat small
portions of thin porridge or gruel every few hours for three days, until their
digestive system return to be normal. If this first fast is successful and
beneficial, it can be doubled into thirty-six days, or even seventy-two days,
but it has to be under supervision of an experienced teacher. Buddhist people
are not required to follow vegetarian diet and to avoid dairy products, as they
are only a personal option. Following the practice of Buddha who was said to
have eaten one meal a day, before noon, some Buddhists do the same.
Among Jewish people
there are seven traditionally accepted fast days in a year, commemorating
important events or remembering tragedies of the past: (1) the Fast of the
First Born (observed by the first born males only), on the 14th of Nissan
commemorating that they were the first born saved from the plague of the first
born in Egypt; (2) the Fast on the 17th of Tammuz, commemorating
the breakdown of the wall of Jerusalem by the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar and the
cessation of Temple worship during the siege of the Emperor Titus (the Fast of
the 4th month); (3) The Fast on
the 9th of Av, remembering the tragedies of the Jewish
people, which is the most important fast day after Kippur fast day (the Fast of
the 5th month); (4) the Fast on the 3rd Tishri, commemorating
the murder of the Judean Governor Gedaliah (the Fast of the Seventh Month); (5)
the Fast Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on the 10th of Tishri, the most holy day of the
Jewish year, and where no work of any
kind is allowed; (6) the Fast day of the 10th of Tevet, commemorating
the fall of Jerusalem; on this day Kaddish (Jewish prayer for the dead)
was recited for people whose date or place of death are unknown (the Fast of
the 10th month); (7) the Fast of Ester on 13th of Adar,
before Purim festival which commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people
from the persecution of the ancient Persian emperor.
Fasting among Catholics could
mean: not eating snacks between meals, or by abstaining from all food. The
Church strongly recommends the Catholic to fast forty days before Easter Sunday
called Lenten Fasting and Penance with only one meal per day and without
meat. Then the rule became more lenient, where fasting is only on the first day
of the Lent (i.e. the forty days), and on Good Friday. Although the rule
remains, i.e. one full meal a day without meat, a small amount of food
in the morning is allowed.
Fasting
is not required in the Bible, but highly recommended for Christians to do so
from time to time to become closer to God, but it has to be done secretly (see Matthew
6:16-18).
How long a Christian should
fast? It could be one day as in Bible times (Judges 20:26), occasionally three days (Esther 4:16), or
seven days (1 Samuel 31:13), and forty days in three occasions: when Moses
received the 10 Commandments (Exodus 34:28), Elijah encountering God (1 Kings
19:8), and when Jesus was being tempered in the wilderness (Matthew 4). Fasting
this long is not recommended unless with medical supervision.
Jesus himself was
said to have fasted voluntarily alone in the desert east of
Jerusalem for a full forty days and forty nights. This is one of many
differences between Islam and Christianity, where fasting in Ramadan is prescribed
in Islam, and one of its five pillars. Since the Qur’an mentions that it has
also been prescribed to people of earlier generations (Q. 2:183), it must have
been taught by earlier prophets to their followers without being recorded.
However, there are many other fasts which are recommended, such as:
-
the Day of ‘Arafah (9th
of Dhu ‘l-Hijjah) except the pilgrims at ‘Arafah should not fast this day.
-
the Day of ‘Āshūra’ (10th
day of Muḥarram)
-
Six days in the month of Shawwāl
(the month following Ramadan)
-
the 13th, 14th,
and 15th of every lunar month
-
each Monday and Thursday of a
week
-
every other day, known as the fast of Prophet
David (Dā’ūd) a.s.
There are some days of festivals where Muslims
are prohibited from fasting, as follows:
- ‘Īd al-Fitr (1st
of Shawwal), following the fasting days in Ramadan.
- Īd al-Aḍḥā (10th
of Dhū’-Ḥijjah)
-
Tashrīq days (11th, 12th,
13th of Dhū’-Ḥijjah)
The objective of
fasting as mentioned in the Qur’an is to obtain taqwā. Allah says in the Qyr’an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى
الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
(البقرة: 183)
O you who believe! Observing fasting is
prescribed
for you as it was prescribed for those before
you,
that you may become the pious (Q. 2:183)
Muhammad Asad translated لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ “so that you might remain conscious of God,” namely, to
gain taqwā, which could be translated as “God consciousness’ or “God
wariness.” On the other hand, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall translates it “that
ye may ward off (evil),” so that taqwā means “avoiding evil.” The term taqwā
is also translated as “piety” and “fearing Allah.”
‘Umar
ibn al-Khaṭṭāb r.a. asked Ubayy
ibn Ka‘b the meaning of taqwā.
“Have you taken a path
where there were many thorns on it?” asked Ubayy.
“Yes,”
answered ‘Umar.
“Then
what did you do?,” asked Ubayy again.
“I
protected myself and be careful [not to step on them],” said ‘Umar.
“That is taqwā,” said Ubayy.
For this meaning of taqwā which means
“self-protection” the Abbasi poet Ibn al-Mu‘tazz (861-908) explains it in his
poem as follows:
خَلِّ الذُنُوبَ
صَغِيْرَهَا * وَكَبِيْرَهَا ذَاكَ التُّقَى
وَاصْنَعْ كَمَاشٍ
فَوْقَ أَرْ * ضِ الشَّوْكِ يَحْذَرُ مَا
يَرَى
لَا تَحْقِرَنَّ
صَغِيْرَةً * إنَّ الْجِبَالَ مْنَ الْحَصَى
Abstain from sins,
either small or big, that is piety
And
do like a person walking on a thorny piece of land,
Being
careful of what he is seeing.
Do
not look down on a minor sin;
Verily,
mountains are made of pebbles
The Prophet s.a.w.
as narrated by Abū Hurayrah r.a. said:
الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ فَلاَ
يَرْفُثْ وَلاَ يَجْهَلْ، وَإِنِ امْرُؤٌ قَاتَلَهُ أَوْ
شَاتَمَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ مَرَّتَيْنِ (رواه البخاري)
Fasting is a shield
(protection from the Hell-fire).
So the person
observing the fast should avoid sexual
relation with
his wife, and should not behave foolishly
and impudently,
and if somebody fights with him
or abuses him,
he should say to him twice,
“I am fasting” (Reported by Bukhārī)
May Allah accept our fasting as well
as other acts of devotion to Him.
(CIVIC, 19 June, 2015)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
al-Maktabah
al-Shāmilah
Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Perc etakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005
Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar
al-Andalus, 1984
http://casc.uchc.edu/ayurveda/
http://hinduismfacts.org/fasting-in-hinduism/
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma9/fasting.html
http://hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Fast_Days/fast_days.html
http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm
jewish/What-Is-Purim.htm
http://www.allaboutfasting.com/history-of-fasting.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
http://www.medical-library.net/content/view/186/41/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Realization_Fellowship
[1] Among his interesting statements are: "You
are walking on the earth as in a dream. Our world is a dream within a dream;
you must realize that to find God is the only goal, the only purpose, for which
you are here. For Him alone you exist. Him you must find." – (from the
book The Divine Romance). For
Muslims, God Whom they call “Allah” and Who created the whole universe has been
found by them, and the purpose of life is no longer to find Him, but to worship
Him. He said: وَمَا
خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (الذاريات: 56) , “And I
(Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me
(Alone) (Q. 51:56)
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