Source: iol.co.za

Yemeni girls wearing traditional costumes, attend a festival for children to welcome the Holy month of Ramadaan in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. This is the 1 434th consecutive year that the Muslim community honours Ramadaan. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

When Muslims around the globe began to fast this Ramadaan upon sighting the crescent of the moon, it was the 1 434th consecutive year that the community honoured this sacred lunar month.

Ramadaan is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, and commemorates the revelation of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book.

Ramadaan is a time when healthy Muslims are encouraged to embrace in physical austerity, soulful introspection and compassion. From just before dawn until dusk, no adult may eat, drink, indulge in profane behaviour or enjoy sexual contact. Fasting, say Islamic scholars, is a reining in of the senses to draw closer to God – the only one who knows its spiritual rewards.

To this effect, one fasts with one’s eyes, tongue and ears as much as one does with one’s stomach. The foot has to be curbed and the hand has to be restrained. A person who does not curb all his senses during Ramadaan is just going hungry and thirsty, argued Imam al-Ghazali, a famous 12th century Sufi and polymath.

He warns that measure has to be taken even when breaking the fast, as “nothing is more repugnant to God than a belly stuffed full of lawful food”.

While Muslims have fasted in Ramadaan for over 1 000 years, it’s interesting to note that the tradition of fasting is as old as time. The Qur’an itself intones that fasting has been prescribed for the Islamic faith “as it was prescribed for others before you”.

The Qur’an is not too specific here, but historically, it does clearly indicate that our forefathers used fasting as an instrument of spirituality.

Evidence reveals that Aboriginal shamans used to fast before important rituals.

Hinduism, whose origins are also ancient, discusses fasting as a deprivation of the sensory organs to achieve divine realisation.

The Buddha fasted on his path to Nirvana, learning important lessons about moderation in the process.

Ancient Egyptian priests used to fast 40 days before the festival of Osiris.

The Old and New Testaments mention fasting at least 30 times, and Sacred Law surrounding the Islamic fast shares similarities to the Jewish.

Then there is the established tradition that revered Biblical figures such as Jesus, John the Baptist, Moses and Daniel fasted, as did Jonah’s community in the Babylonian city of… continue reading at iol.co.za