Fasting For Religious Reasons Hinduism Islam Christianity

Fasting for spiritual reasons has been known for ages. It is mentioned in the Quran, in the Mahabharat, in the Upanishads, and in the Bible (in both the Old and New Testament).

1.1 Hinduism

In Hinduism, a religious fast is observed on ekadasi (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight) and, if observed strictly, involves taking no food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise.

1.2 Islam

In Islam, fasting from 10 minutes prior to fajr (dawn), until maghrib (sunset) is observed during the month of Ramadan. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the Pillars of Islam, and thus one of the most important acts of worship. By fasting — whether during Ramadan or other times — a Muslim draws closer to his Lord by abandoning the things he enjoys, such as food, drink and sexual intercourse. This makes the sincerity of his faith and his devotion to Allah ( God) all the more evident. The believer knows that Allah will love him when he is ready to abandon worldly comforts for Allah’s sake.

Allah tells Muslim in the Quran that fasting was prescribed for those before them (i.e., the Jews and Christians) and that by fasting Muslim gains ' taqwa ', which can be called the care taken by a person to do everything Allah has commanded and to keep away from everything He has forbidden. Fasting helps prevent many sins and is a shield with which the Muslim protects himself from jahannum (Hellfire).

Muslims believe that fasting is more than abstaining from food and drink. It also means to abstain from any falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting. Therefore, fasting helps to develop good behavior.

Fasting also inculcates a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, as a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers feel. Moreover, Ramadan is a month of giving charity and sharing meals to break the fast together.

A Muslim is encouraged to read the entire Quran during Ramadan and to perform extra salat (Prayers) at night, which are known as taraweeh . In almost every masjid in the world, taraweeh prayers are held every night of Ramadan following isha. Thus Ramadan becomes a blessed month of physical and spiritual renewal through fasting and worship.

1.3 Christianity

Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations. Other Christian denominations do not practice it because they see it as an external observance.

1.3.1 Roman Catholicism

For Roman Catholics, fasting refers to those days set aside by the church when the faithful must reduce their intake of food to one full meal (which may contain meat) and two small meals (known liturgically as collations, taken in the morning and the evening) as distinct from abstinence which was the complete avoidance of meat on Fridays, especially during Lent.

The current regulations concerning Lenten fasting and abstinence for Catholics in the United States generally are as follows,

For Catholics whose health or ability to work would be negatively affected by fasting and/or abstinence, the regulations above don't apply.

At one time Ash Wednesday and all the subsequent Fridays and Saturdays of Lent were days of "Fasting and Abstinence" whereas all the other weekdays of Lent were days of "Fasting without Abstinence". An exception to this rule was granted to the Bishops of Ireland (see Irish calendar) by the Vatican in 1918, when the obligation of fasting and abstaining on the Lenten Saturdays was transferred to the Wednesdays of Lent instead.

In recent years, Saint Patrick's Day has at times fallen on a Friday of Lent. Some Priests have granted dispensations for their parishioners from the abstinence obligations so that Catholics could enjoy traditional Irish dishes.

1.3.2 Eastern Orthodox Churches

For Orthodox Christians, fasting at various times refers to abstention from animal products, olive oil (or all oils, according to some Orthodox traditions), wine and spirits -- see Eastern Orthodoxy (Fasting).

1.3.3 Protestant Churches

In Protestantism, the Reformers criticized fasting as a purely external observance that can never gain a person salvation. The Swiss Reformation of the "Third Reformer" Huldrych Zwingli began with an ostentatious public sausage-eating during Lent.

However, churches of the English Reformation and American Protestant denominations affected by liturgical renewal movements encourage fasting as part of both Lent and Advent, two penitential seasons of the Liturgical Year.

1.4 Judaism

Observant Jews fast on 7 days during the Jewish calendar. Five of these are considered minor fast days: The Fast of Gedaliah, The Fast of the 10th of Tevet, The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz, The Fast of Esther, which takes place immediately before Purim & The Fast of the Firstborn, which takes place before Passover, and only applies to first-born sons. The first major fast day is Tisha B'Av, a 25-hour fast that mourns the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temple, the Jewish expulsion from Spain, and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. The second major fast day is Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Repentance, which is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

2 Fasting for Medical Reasons

People can also fast for medical reasons, and this has also been an accepted practice for many years.

One reason that people fast for medical reasons is for surgery or other procedures that require anesthetic. Because the presence of food in a person's system can cause complications when they are anesthesied, medical personnel have people fast for several hours before the procedure.

Another reason that people fast for medical reasons is for certain medical tests. People are often asked to fast so that a baseline can be established.

Longer term fasting for health reasons typically lasts a week or longer and includes some food intake, such as fruit or vegetable juices.

Recent studies on mice show that fasting on every other day while eating double the amount on non-fasting days led to better insulin control, neuronal resistance to injury, and health indicators similar to mice on calorie restricted diets. This may mean that alternate-day fasting is an alternative to caloric restriction for life extension.

3 The Internal Effects of Fasting

Since your body consumes about one third of its total energy during the hours you are awake, your body is constantly requiring and using energy. When food is not eaten, the body looks for other ways to find energy, such as drawing on glucose from the liver's stored glycogen and fatty acids from stored fat and eventually moving on to vital protein tissues. The body is fine relying on fatty acids but the brain and the nerves depend on glucose. Once the glucose is significantly used up, the body switches and begins to produce ketone bodies (acetoactate, hydroxy-butyrate, and acetone). Even though this transformation to an alternative form of energy has been made, some parts of the brain exclusively need glucose and protein is still needed to produce it. If body protein loss were to continue, death will ensue.

4 The Political Fast

The political fast (today more commonly known as the hunger strike) seems to be an invention of Mohandas Gandhi. Some people see a difference between a hunger strike, a pure political act, and fasting, a political and religious act. By fasting, they intend to take some of the responsibility of the problem in question.

Hunger strikes have been used by personalities all over the world, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Lanza del Vasto (during the Algerian War, Vatican II and the struggle of the farmers of the Larzac plateau).

Today, hunger strikes are often used by refugees seeking political asylum.

5 See also:

Nutrition

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