The Holy Month:Ramzan

The holy month of Ramzan is celebrated during the ninth month in the Hejira, or Islamic calendar.

It is the month in which the Prophet Muhammad revealed the holy book — Quran — to Muslims.

The word “Ramadan” itself is taken from the Arabic word, “ramad,” an adjective describing something scorchingly dry or intensely heated by the sun.

Ramadan is known as the holy month of fasting, with Muslims abstaining from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.

Fasting during the holiday is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the daily prayer, declaration of faith, charity and performing the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:

“And seek (Allah’s) assistance with Patience and Prayer; and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for those with full submission. Who are certain that they are going to meet their Lord and that unto Him they are going to return.” 2:45-46

Numerous Prophetic traditions interpreted the ‘Patience’ in the Ayah as ‘fasting,’ which means fasting is the very first element of the spiritual journey to God. All the prophets in their spiritual journey have been seeking assistance with fasting.

Benefits of Fasting : 

(According to Researchers)

1) Physical Healing

It is quoted from the Prophet of Islam to have said: “Fast, you’ll be healthy”. 

● An Egyptian pyramid inscription in 3800B.C also reads: “Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the three-quarters live their doctor!”

● The three fathers of Western Medicine; (Hippocrates, Galen & Paracelsus) prescribed fasting as the greatest remedy and the physician within. 

● Life Magazine in its September 1996 issue considered fasting: the healing revolution.

There are more than 500 medical journal articles available on therapeutic fasting on the internet.

● The outstanding physicians named fasting as being; the medicine for the 21st century. 

They believe the human body is designed to heal itself, if only given the opportunity. 

● Dr. Otto Buchinger; Germany’s great fasting therapist after more than 100,000 fasting cures says: “Fasting is, without doubt, the most effective biological method of treatment.. it is the operation without surgery… it is a cure involving exudation, redirection, loosening up and purified relaxation.”

He furthers therapeutically; fasting cures many of our modern illnesses, including the following: allergies, cardiovascular disease, chronic diseases of the digestive system, degenerative and painfully inflammatory illnesses of the joints, myriad disturbances in one’s eating behavior, glaucoma, initial malfunction of the kidneys, tension and migraine headaches, as well as skin diseases. 

Preventively, it’s designed to cleanse, and to regenerate, rejuvenate and restore a person’s sense of well-being, in body, mind and soul. 

As Doctor Buchinger would conclude: "When the body fasts, the soul is hungry; when the body becomes lighter, the soul also craves relief."

2) Social Healing : 

“Truly! Allah wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong themselves.”10:44

A man wrote a letter to Imam Askari (a.s) asking him: 

“For what reason did Allah make fasting compulsory?”

The Imam (a.s) wrote in reply: “God has made fasting compulsory so that the rich shall find the pain of hunger so they have a mercy upon the poor.”

Starvation and its related diseases causes one person per second to die on this planet, 75% of them being infants and children under the age of 5.

Reduction of crimes during the month of Ramadhan is another social benefit of fasting.

3) Spiritual Healing 

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may gain self-restraint.” 2:183

Despite all the abovementioned benefits of fasting, we believe the main benefits of religious fasting are its spiritual rejuvenation and healing.

Fasting, if made with the intention of closeness to God, ascends one from the kingdom of animals to the realm of angels. You therefore, close your physical mouth to open your spiritual mouth. You fast your body to let your spirit feast with mysterious morsels. When you fast, you empty your stomach from the bread to fill it up with Unique Glorious Pearls.

Fasting is prevention and prevention is separation and detachment and detachment is the heart and the reality of servitude to God.