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The Spiritual and Health Benefits of Ramadan Fasting
Shahid
Athar, M.D.
This
year the Islamic month of Ramadan will start on December 20th.
Muslims all over the world will start this month with fasting from
dawn to dusk daily for 30 days as ordained in Quran.
"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 "If one does not give up
falsehoods in words and actions, God has no need of him giving up
food and drink".
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