Ramadan & Health

To ensure good health one should abstain from gluttony after breaking fast.


Fasting has its advantages from the point of view of health and hygiene. Islam wants a Muslim to be healthy, clean, alert, agile and energetic.


Physicians today ackno-wledge the many benefits of fasting that ensure health and the soundness of one’s body and mind. Some of these positive points have a direct influence on psychology and physique of the fasting individual.


Fasting has been found to be an effective treatment for psychological and emotional disorders. It helps a person to firm up his will, cultivate and refine his taste and manners, strengthen his conviction of doing good, avoid controversy and rashness, which all contribute towards a sane and healthy personality. Besides nurturing resistance and ability to face hardships and endurance, fasting reflects on outward physical appearance by cutting out gluttony and getting rid of excess fat.


The benefits of fasting on health do not stop there, but are instrumental in alleviating a number of physical diseases, including those of the digestive systems, such as chronic stomach ache, inflammation of the colon, liver diseases, indigestion, and conditions such as obesity, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, asthma, diphtheria and many other maladies.


A Swiss physician Dr. Barsilus noted that: The advantages of hunger as a remedy exceed those ingesting medicine several times. Several physicians advise patients to skip meals, sometimes for a few days, before prescribing them a controlled diet.


Generally speaking, fasting hastens the destruction of the decaying tissues of the body by means of hunger, and then builds new tissues through nutrition. This is why some scientists suggest that fasting should be regarded as an effective means of restoring youthfulness and longevity. However, Islam exempts from fasting for sick and old people whose health is bound to deter.


But fasting should have its regulations too. Here again Islam provides the answer, and in order to realise the benefits of fasting, it recommends the Suhoor (before the formal start of a fast) and the breaking of the fast (Iftar) at the time prescribed. Of course, to ensure good health one should abstain from gluttony after breaking fast.


(Source:Dr. Abdul-Hamid Diyan and Dr. Ahmad Qara Quz: “Medicine in the Glorious Qur’an.” )(www.ezsoftech.com/ramadan)

Ramadan gives us the great gift of Taqwa. It is the highest of all virtues in the Islamic scheme of things.


Allah says in the Qur’an: “It is He who made the night and day to follow each other for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude.” (25:62)


Life and death and the succession of nights and day have a purpose and that is to test us and to give us an opportunity to express our thanks and gratitude to our Creator and Sustainer. The month of Ramadan comes and goes. We must examine ourselves now and see what we have learned and achieved during this month. The test of success of this month lies in the effects it has left upon us.


1. Discipline:

We learn in this month how to discipline ourselves for the sake of Allah. In our morning and evening, we follow a strict schedule of eating and drinking. We are constantly aware that even in our such mundane activities as eating and drinking, we must remain under divine injunctions. We change our habits in our daily routines because we learn that we are not the servants and slaves to our habits, but always the servants of Allah. Then after Ramadan, we have to keep this spirit of discipline in other modes of our life and must continue with our submission to the commands of Allah.


2. Renewal of Devotional Life:

Ramadan renews our enthusiasm for worship and devotion to Allah. In this month, we are more careful of our daily prayers and have special prayers at night. There is no religion without prayer and Muslims learn in this month how to strengthen and deepen their religious life.


3. Renewal of Contact with the Quran:

Ramadan and the Qur’an are linked together from the beginning. It was in this month that this divine message was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). Fasting prepares the believers’ hearts to learn the Word of Allah. It is the most suitable condition for our spiritual and mental communication with the Qur’an. The Muslim Ummah pays more attention to the Quran in the blessed month of Ramadan. This renewed contact with the Quran must help us in following its message.


4. Renewal of Identity with the Ummah:

Ramadan is not an individual experience only, but it is an experience in community. The whole Muslim Ummah fasts together in one and the same month. We identify with one another in our obedience to Allah. This gives us a new sense of togetherness and association. Ramadan teaches us that the Muslim Ummah is the community of piety and devotion to Allah and its members derive their strength from each other in deeds of piety and virtue. The bonds that are based on piety and virtue are the strongest bonds and it is these bonds that prove good for mankind. Ramadan leaves an imprint of all these values upon the Muslim Ummah.


5. A Fresh Sense of Care and Sympathy:

Fasting in the month of Ramadan helps us to understand the suffering and the pains of the poor and needy. By our voluntary hunger and thirst we realise what it means to be deprived of basic necessities of life. Ramadan is called the month of charity and sympathy. We learn how to be more kind and generous in this month. Many Muslims also pay their Zakah in the month of Ramadan.


6. Taqwa:

To summarise all the moral and spiritual gifts of Ramadan, we can say that Ramadan gives us the great gift of Taqwa. Taqwa is the sum total of Islamic life. It is the highest of all virtues in the Islamic scheme of things. It means, God-consciousness, piety, fear and awe of Allah and it signifies submission to Allah and total commitment to all that is good and rejection of all that is evil and bad.”


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