Miss Hidayat Budd of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Fasting in religions
It can be said that in the history of all religions, fasting has played an important part. As far as the other religions are concerned, the real purpose of fasting is to appease an incensed god or to indicate mourning and distress; in Islam, to the contrary, the real purpose and true meaning of fasting is spiritual growth.
Quranic command
The second Surah of the Holy Quran contains an injunction to this effect, whilst, at the same time, as usual in the Quran, there is explained to the Muslims why this duty is obligatory upon them, as will appear from the following verse:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ
“O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.184)
For a man who wishes to develop himself spiritually, fasting is an absolute necessity.
The spiritual and physical benefits
The quantity and the kind of food a man takes influence, to a great degree, his mental system. We all know what becomes of the man who addicts himself to drinking: all his good qualities make place for all that is brute and criminal, until this at last takes possession of his entire nature. Overfeeding, too, leads to physical breakdown and mental stupor. A man is in a position to develop himself spiritually only when the corporeal needs are satisfied by a moderate use of simple food. The overfed man, wishing to concentrate his will upon a certain thing, only ends by falling asleep.
With a sober mode of living, but especially in a period of fasting, the thoughts are clearer, the will is stronger, the man himself purer and consequently his soul is in a better position to soar in the higher regions.
Prophetic practice
That this, indeed, is the purpose of fasting, we can see from the lives of the prophets. Apart from submitting themselves to a very sober way of living, they also imposed upon themselves long fasting periods: Mosesas fasted for forty days and nights (Exodus 24:18), preceding the revelation received by him. Jesusas also fasted for forty days before he received the call for his task; the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa fasted regularly during his whole life; Prophet Ahmadas of Qadian fasted for about six months. It is, in fact, the only way to silence the carnal cravings of the baser self and to let the spirit speak and soar.
Fasting in Ramadan
For this reason, fasting is enjoined upon every Muslim in the Holy Quran, without distinction of sex or standing, because God wishes that every man should come near to Him as far as possible.
The month of Ramadan is the fasting month; it is also the time when the remembrance and worship of Allah reach their zenith. During this month, the Muslim may not take food or drink from sunrise to sunset. The Muslim year being a lunar year, Ramadan falls successively in each season; yet the Muslim will, no matter how the sun may burn or how sharp the cold may be, never hesitate to act on this injunction, the carrying out of which, like all the other commandments of God, is his great joy.
Moral discipline
In the month of Ramadan, a Muslim not only must abstain all day long from eating and drinking, but he should also not give himself over to worldly joys. This month makes a Muslim realise that when he is able to lead a pure life during one month of the year, it will also be possible for him during the whole year and during his whole life.
Charity
When reading the Holy Quran, one will see that almost everywhere the injunction to fast is followed immediately by the injunction to give alms, because the second is a natural consequence of the first. The Muslim will therefore observe charity, especially in the fasting month, because only he who himself knows the pangs of hunger truly can sympathise with the poor. This compassion consequently urges him to be charitable with regard to his fellow creatures who have nothing.
A prince may be generous and good, but never can he really know the sufferings of the hungry and the needy. The ordinary Westerner does not know what hunger is; at the most, he has “a good appetite.” But in Islam, during one month of the year, even the richest Muslim prince is like his poorest subject. He undergoes for one month what many of his subjects have to undergo during a great part of their lives. To this is due the proverbial generosity of the Muslim princes.
The social and spiritual blessings
When we consider this injunction further in its beneficial effects, we observe that this is a blessing to all. First of all, it is a blessing to the person himself; it opens for him the door of spiritual progress, teaches him to be sober at all times and hardens him against all misfortunes. It is a great blessing for the needy; they enjoy during this month greater comfort in every direction and this leads to deeper sympathy and closer friendship between the rich and the poor. Would it be so in the so-called civilised countries?
(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the March 1926 issue of The Review of Religions)