Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 11/186
Newsletter for May 2017
Article ... 1 - Article ... 2 - Article ... 3 - Article ... 4 - Article ... 5 - Article ... 6 - Article ... 7 - Article ... 8 - Article ... 9 - Article ... 10 - Article ... 11 - Article ... 12
Comparison between Fasting in Islam
and Other Religions
By Tajuddin B. Shuaib
Islam has taken the lead in reforming the institution of fasting. This was a radical reform in the meaning, rules and purpose of the fast. It made the fast easy, natural and effective.
The following are some of the points in this
regard:
1. Fasting was
a symbol of sadness, mourning, atonement for the
sins, a reminder of disasters as well as
self-mortification in Judaism and Christianity. Islam radicalized
this doom and gloom concept of fasting, into an
enlightened concept of triumph over the forces
of evil. The month of fasting in Islam is a
month of worship that Muslims welcome each year
with energy and happiness, and are saddened only
when the month departs. This is contrary to the
atmosphere of mourning. Fasting is for the
living.
2. Fasting is
not self-denial and punishment of the body and
soul, a belief that was wide-spread among the
medieval European ascetics. Indeed, there is not
such a thing in Islam, nor in Al-Qur’an or the
Sunnah. The laws that govern the institution are
not extremely unbearable, the restrictions are
not enforced 24 hours every day. The tradition
of suhur is
a perfect example. The fasting person is allowed
to delay and eat suhur until
he or she is certain that there are just a few
minutes before the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer.
Similarly, when it is time to break the fast,
the rule is to break as soon as the sun sets,
with no delay. Besides, sleeping and resting
during the day are all allowed. Working is not
stopped and businesses are not closed down for
the fast. In Judaism, working during the period
of fast is prohibited. Allah (Glory be to Him)
said:
Allah intends every
facility for you. He does not want to put you to
difficulties. (Al-Baqarah, 2:185)
3. Fasting was
for special classes of people in the previous
religions. For the Brahmin class in the Hindu
religion, fasting is mandatory only for the high
priests. In the some Latin religions, it is only
women who must fast and there are no exceptions.
4. In Judaism, the fasting person
eats only after the break and there is no more
food. The Arabs, before Islam, would not eat
after sleeping. Islam,
on the other hand, threw away all these human
imposed restrictions. Allah said:
And eat and drink, until the white thread of
dawn appears to you distinct from its black
thread. (Al-Baqarah, 2:187) The person who makes an unintentional mistake in fasting is not punished, and the one who forgets and eats is forgiven in Islam.
5. Fasting in
some other religions is based on a solar
calendar, like the Gregorian calendar. This
demands vast knowledge of calculation and
astronomy in the making of a calendar. Besides,
the months are fixed in a specific season, they
do not rotate or change. Fasting in Islam is
based on the lunar calendar and is tied to the
sightings of hilal, the crescent, or new moon.
Allah, the Almighty, states:
They ask you
concerning the new moons. Say: They are but
signs to mark fixed periods of time. (Al-Baqarah, 2:189)
And the hadith: “Eat until you see the crescent
and break not until you see the crescent. If it
is cloudy calculate the period of the month.”
(Muslim and others)
Why the moon instead of the sun as the basis for
starting and ending fast? There are several
reasons: The lunar year is about ten or eleven
days less compared to the Gregorian. Thus, if
Ramadan 1990 began on March 27th, Ramadan in
1991 would begin around March 16th.
Consequently, in the course of 36 years, every
Muslim would have fasted every day of the year,
the short days of the year, the long days of the
year, the hot days and the cold days of the
year. Muslims in different regions of the world
would have had total equality in the number of
days they fasted, and would have had an equal
amount of seasonal and climatic changes. They
would have an equal amount of cold or mild
weather months of Ramadan.
If the fast were based on the Gregorian
calendar, the Muslims in hot summer climates
would have Ramadan during hot weather every
year, forever. Some Muslims would have fasted
long days while others short days, because
Gregorian calendar months are fixed and
immobile.
There is another interesting reason; fruits,
vegetables for using the lunar calendar and some
food items come in certain seasons. Fasting based
on the lunar system means we may miss certain
fruits in certain seasons, but by the end of the
circle a Muslim would have tasted and tried
different fruits during Ramadan, whereas fasting
based on the Gregorian calendar would have
prohibited some fruits during Ramadan, forever.
Fasting in Christianity
The subject of fasting in
Christianity is very difficult to discuss,
simply because Christianity
as a whole is very short on religious laws.
Besides, there is fundamental disagreement among
the scholars to whether Jesus (peace be upon
him) commanded fasting. Fasting in
Christianity seems to have evolved with time and
is affected by social, political, and economic
factors.
Jesus (peace be upon him) fasted 40 days before
starting his mission. It is possible that he
fasted on the Day of Atonement, which was an
established tradition in Judaism. By the 4th
century, there was no sign of 40 days of fasting
in Christianity.
There are traditions of fasting
which differ greatly according to the country in
which Christians live.
The fast in Rome is different from the fast in
Alexandria. Some abstain from meat, while others
from fish and birds. Some will not eat fruits
and eggs; some just fast on white bread. Some
will abstain from all the above. Certain days
had been made for fasting in
later centuries to commemorate some events, such
as the life of Jesus. There was a fast for three
days in English law. During the time of Edward
VI, James I, and the Elizabethan period, meat
was prohibited during the fast, and James
justified that saying:
“The fishing industry and maritime commerce must
become encouraged and it must be profitable.” (Arkanul
Arba`ah by Abul Hasan Nadwi)
Source: Taken with modifications from the author’s Ramadan the
Fasting Month. |