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Author: Muhammad Hashim Bastawi

Sawm or ‘fasting’ is an ` ibadah, an act of worship in Islam, regarded as its pillar and sign,  Allah  has made fasting obligatory on Muslims and has given orders for its obligation in verses 184-185  of Surah Al-Baqarah.

While fasting is the cause of spiritual development in a person, it is also very useful for physical health. Apparently, eating and drinking less reduces physical weakness, but food control over a period of time and within a few days produces extraordinary positive effects on human health. Allah almighty has explained the benefit of fasting with the obligation of it, لعلكم تتقون: that you may be pious so that you may be saved. This is to avoid physical diseases as well; a person can avoid them as a result of fasting.

O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may ward off the evil; [Al Baqarah: 184]

By saying لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (so that you be God-fearing), the text has pointed out to the inherent quality of fasting which contributes significantly to one’s ability to become abstaining from the sins and God-fearing. Fasting grows into man a power which helps him control his desires, which is really the foundation of Taqwa تقویٰ , the very special term of the Holy Qur’an which has been tentatively translated as fear of God, abstinence, and the warding of evil.[1]

Spiritual Benefits of Fasting

Fasting is a means of attaining great spiritual benefits, and through it, a person can set the ladder of spiritual progress by creating an extraordinary spiritual revolution. Some of the spiritual benefits of fasting are mentioned below.

    1-   Achieving a meeting with

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah said, ‘Every good deed of Adam’s son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I shall reward (the fasting person) for it.’ Verily, the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk.”[2]

    2 –   Shield against evils

Fasting protects a person from evil and protect against satanic attack, It is mentioned in another hadith:

It was narrated that Muadh bin Jabal said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Fasting is a shield”. [3]

   3 –   Occasions of reciting the Holy Quran

There is a close connection between Ramadan and the Quran; the Qur’an was revealed in this blessed month. Gabriel used to study the Quran one time with the prophet during Ramadan, and in the last Ramadan, he used to study the Quran two times with him. In Ramadan, there is an opportunity to recite a lot. According to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, everyone should do at least one round of the Qur’an. The Caliphs have also repeatedly drawn our attention to this matter.

There is a hadith about the mutual relationship between Ramadan and the Qur’an:

Abdullah Bin Amr reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Fasting and the Qur’an intercede for a man. Fasting says, ‘O my Lord, I have kept him away from his food and his passions by day, so accept my intercession for him.’ The Qur’an says, ‘I have kept him away from sleep by night, so accept my intercession for him.’ Then their intercession is accepted”.[4]

  4 –  Patience and endurance

One of the spiritual benefits of fasting is that it develops patience, courage, tolerance and endurance in a person.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Fasting is a protection, [i.e. from acts of disobedience in this world and from hell in the next. Pt. vi.] and when the day of the fast of any of you comes he must not use vile language or raise his voice, and if anyone reviles him or tries to fight with him he should tell him he is fasting.”[5]

This hadith tells us that the fasting person should also avoid quarreling, and if someone quarrels with him, he should only say that I will not quarrel because I am fasting. It teaches patience and tolerance. That is why the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) called the month of Ramadan the month of patience and said: “that the reward of patience is paradise”. [6]

  5 –  source of self-accountability and self-examination

One of the spiritual benefits of Ramadan is that fasting becomes a means of self-examination:

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger (ﷺ) as saying, “He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven.

So if we spend Ramadan in a state of accountability, then the benefit of it is that past sins will be forgiven and the desire for future good deeds will increase.[7]

   6 –  The habit of spending for Allah’s sake

The month of Ramadan gives us the habit of spending for the sake of Allah,  It was mentioned in a hadith:

Ibn ‘Abbas said that God’s messenger (ﷺ) was the most generous of men, and he was as generous as possible in Ramadan. Gabriel used to meet him every night in Ramadan and the Prophet would go over the Qur’an to him. When Gabriel met him he was more generous than the wind which blows freely.[8]

Also there is a hadith that the Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) used to release all the prisoners in the month of Ramadan and would reward every needy person with rewards.

The habit of spending also guarantees the rights of the people. Thus, we learn the lesson about the rights of people through charity in Ramadan.

The physiological and medical benefits of fasting

While fasting is the cause of spiritual development in a person, it is also very useful for physical health. Apparently, eating and drinking less reduces physical weakness, but food control over a period of time and within a few days produces extraordinary positive effects on human health. Allah almighty has explained the benefit of fasting with the obligation of it, لعلكم تتقون: that you may be pious so that you may be saved. This is to avoid physical diseases as well; a person can avoid them as a result of fasting.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad said:

On the authority of Abu Hurairah, he said: The Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: “Fast and you will be healthy.” (ِAl Mua’jam Al Ausat by Tabrani: 8312)

It is minted in other hadiths:

On the authority of Anas Bin Malik, The Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said, “The fasting reduces fats.” (ِAl Mua’jam Al Ausat by Tabrani: 9443)

Fasting has numerous medical benefits; some of them are here:

1. Fasting reduces obesity and eliminates excess fat.
2. Fasting reduces the risk of skin cancer and breast cancer.
3. Fasting cures stomach problems and diseases and improves the digestive system.
4. Fasting has a moderately high sugar level, cholesterol, and blood pressure, and due to this, there is no risk of a heart attack.
5. Due to fasting, the blood circulation decreases and the heart relaxes.
6. Fasting eliminates physical stress, mental stress, depression, and psychological diseases.
7. The body of a fasting person has more resistance power compared to others.
8. Fasting reduces the use of insulin.
9. During the fast, a person stays away from bad thoughts, and their mind remains clear.
10. Fat accumulation around the liver is reduced during fasting.
11. During fasting, the compounds that cause irritation in the body are reduced.
12. Fasting improves nervous diseases.

Testimony of various experts regarding the efficacy of fasting:

The efficacy of fasting has been recognized by many non-Muslim doctors, even in some countries. People are kept hungry for hours for the treatment of various diseases, and it has a good effect on the patient.

Let’s read some ideas about fasting:

1.  A non-Muslim religious leader says that I was very impressed by the fasting of Ramadan in Islam.
2. A doctor says that fasting has the power to prevent diseases.
3.  Another doctor says that fasting is a deterrent to physical and spiritual disorders.

Liver and fasting:

It is a very important organ in our body. Its function is to digest the food, spread it throughout the body, and expel unnecessary substances. Whenever we eat something, the liver has to start working immediately. While we keep eating something or another from time to time, the liver gets very little rest. Due to fasting, we stop eating for a long time, and this process lasts for a month, during which the liver gets enough rest. Understand that the liver gets refreshed in a month and prepares itself for the future.

In summary, fasting in Ramadan has both physical and spiritual benefits. May Allah Ta’ala grant us all to fast in Ramadan.

References

[1] Ma’ariful Quran by Mufti Taqi Uthmani.

[2] Sahih Bukhari (5927)

[3] Sunan an-Nasa’i 2226

[4] Musnad Ahmad (6626)

[5] Sahih Bukhari (1904)

[6] Sahih Ibn e Khuzaimah (1887)

[7] Sahih Bukhari (38) Sahih Muslim (760)

[8] Sahih Bukhari (6) Sahih Muslim (2308)