Fasting in Islam: The Fourth Pillar of Islam

The fourth Pillar of Islam, the Fast of Ramadan, occurs once each year during the 9th lunar month, the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which:

“…the Quran was sent down as a guidance for the people.” (Quran 2:185)

God in His infinite mercy has exempt the ill, travelers, and others who are unable from fasting Ramadan.

The Fast of Ramadan
Muslims perform a month long fast annually, called Ramadan, which has special rules to raise the spiritual benefits of the fast to a high pitch. The word ramadan does not actually mean "fast." The technical term for fasting is siyam, whose root word means "to be at rest." By abstaining from food, drink, and sexual intercourse, these functions of the body are granted rest, and an opportunity to become revivified.

The general fast during the month of Ramadan is enjoined upon the whole humanity; those who actually do it are Muslims. Many persons who have close contact with Muslims also engage in this form of fast and derive some of the benefits from it. But there are several regulations which must be followed for any fast to be valid.

Ramadan is a period of fasting, reflection, devotion, generosity and sacrifice observed by Muslims around the world. While major holidays of other faiths have largely become commercialized events, Ramadan retains its intense spiritual meaning.

Who Must Fast?

Fasting Ramadan is compulsory upon every Muslim, male or female, who has these qualifications:

- To be mentally and physically fit, which means to be sane and able.
- To be of full age, the age of puberty and discretion, which is normally about fourteen. Children under this age should be encouraged to start this good practice on easy levels, so when they reach the age of puberty they will be mentally and physically prepared to observe fasting.
- To be present at one's permanent settlement, your home town, one's farm, and one's business premises, etc. This means not to be on a journey of about fifty miles or more.
- To be fairly certain that fasting is unlikely to cause you any harm, physical or mental, other than the normal reactions to hunger, thirst, etc.

Exemption From Fasting:
These said qualifications exclude the following categories:
- Children under the age of puberty and discretion.
- Insane people who are unaccountable for their deeds. People of these two categories are exempted from the duty of fist, and no compensation or any other substitute is enjoined on them.
- Men and women who are too old and feeble to undertake the obligation of fast and bear its hardships. Such people are exempted from this duty, but they must offer, at least, one needy poor Muslim an average full meal or its value per person per day.
- Sick people whose health is likely to be severely affected by the observance of fast. They may postpone the fast, as long as they are sick, to a later date and make up for it, a day for a day.
- Travelers may break the fast temporarily during their travel only and make up for it in later days, a day for a day
- Pregnant women and women breast-feeding their children may also break the fast, if its observance is likely to endanger their own health or that of their infants. But they must make up for the fast at a delayed time, a day for a day.
- Women in the period of menstruation (of a maximum of ten days or of confinement (of a maximum of forty days).; They must postpone the fast till recovery and then make up for it, a day for a day.

The fast of any day of Ramadan becomes void by intentional eating or drinking or smoking or indulgence in any intimate intercourse, and by allowing anything to enter through the mouth into the interior parts of the body. And if this is done deliberately without any lawful reason, this is a major sin which only renewed repentance can expiate.

If anyone, through forgetfulness, does something that would ordinarily break the fast, 0a observance is not nullified, and his fast stands valid, provided he stops doing that thing the moment he realizes what he is doing.

On completion of the fast of Ramadan, the special charity known as Sadagat-ul-Fitr (charity of ' Fast-breaking) must be distributed before 'Eid-ul-Fitr (approximately), seven dollars per head.

May Allah accept our fasting, forgive our sins, and guide us all to the Straight Path. May Allah bless us all during Ramadan, and throughout the year, with His forgiveness, mercy, and peace, and bring us all closer to Him and to each other.

Related Article
- Fasting: The Best Medicine
- Benefits of Fasting

Fasting: The Best Medicine

Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is nature’s ancient, universal "remedy" for many problems. Animals instinctively fast when ill. Fasting can transform illnesses into health. Stagnant energies began flowing, more creative and vitally alive. Fasting is a useful personal tool and an important therapy for many medical and life problems.

Heartburn (indigestion): The stomach is an acidic environment, designed to digest food and kill bacteria. The stomach and oesophagus (gullet) are normally protected from this acid by the body’s own special juices and ‘valves’ between these two organs. If either too much acid is produced or the valve at the bottom of the oesophagus is ‘faulty’, you may experience heartburn. Fasting usually reduces the amount of acid produced, but thoughts of food or the smell of it make the brain order the stomach to produce more acid. Hence if there is a net increase in acid, heartburn could be a problem during the fast.

Those who are on regular medication for indigestion, such as antacids (eg Gaviscon), antihistamines (eg Zantac) or proton pump inhibitors (eg Losec, Zoton or Nexium) are advised to continue taking them, at the pre-dawn meal for instance. The control of heartburn or belching can be aided by eating in moderation and avoiding oily, deep-fried or very spicy food. Reducing your caffeine intake and/or stopping smoking can also be of benefit, if relevant. Preparations such as peppermint oil may help reduce belching or colic. Sleeping with your head raised on a few pillows and long-term weight loss may also help prevent heartburn.

Poor control of diabetes: Those injecting insulin are advised not to fast, as the potential risk to health, both in the short and long term, of not taking insulin is too great. People who have their diabetes under control using tablets should ensure that they visit their GP prior to Ramadan, in order to discuss any possible changes to their drug regime which would facilitate a safe fast. If not, such patients are at risk of poor control of their diabetes during and outside the fasting times.

Regular self-monitoring of your blood glucose is strongly advised. Low blood sugar levels (a ‘hypo’) are dangerous, and if untreated may lead to fainting or fits, and hence must be strictly avoided. Feeling dizzy, sweaty and disorientated may all suggest a hypo. If this is suspected, you should immediately have a sugary drink, or place sugar or a sugar-rich sweet below
the tongue.

Diabetics with further complications, such as angina or heart failure, stroke, retinopathy (eye disease), nephropathy (kidney
disease) or neuropathy (nerve disease of feet/hands with numbness/loss of feeling) should seek careful advice from their
doctor before starting a fast.

Headache: This is a common problem and has many causes. Headaches during a fast could commonly be due to dehydration or hunger, inadequate rest, or the absence of addictive substances such as caffeine or nicotine. A moderate and balanced diet, especially not missing the pre-dawn meal, consuming adequate quantities of fluid and if necessary taking a dose of painkillers such as paracetamol, may all go a long way towards either preventing or reducing the risk of developing a disabling headache. Headaches can also be prevented by sensible measures such as not exposing oneself to direct sunlight,
wearing a hat when out, using sunglasses to reduce the effect of glare from the sun and relieving any
tense muscles with a short, gentle massage.

Those with a history of frequent and/or disabling migraines should aim to gain adequate control with lifestyle and/or medical treatment if required, prior to starting a fast.

Dehydration: Dehydration is a common occurrence during a fast. The body continues to lose water and salts through breathing,
sweat and urine; the quantity of water loss will vary depending on the weather, how much you had to drink before your fast, the degree of physical exertion and the ability of the kidneys to retain water and salts.

Prevention is always better than cure. However, if you do not adequately rehydrate before a fast, your risk of dehydration is increased. This risk is higher in the elderlyand in those taking tablets such as diuretics. Depending on the severity of the dehydration, you may experience a general feeling of being unwell, lethargy, muscle cramps, dizziness, disorientation and even collapse or fainting.

If you are unable to stand up due to dizziness, or you are disorientated, you should urgently rehydrate with regular,
moderate quantities of water, ideally with sugar and salt, or Dioralyte or Lucozade. If you faint due to dehydration, your legs should be raised above your head by others, and when you awake, you should urgently rehydrate as outlined above.

Stress: Lack of food and water, changes of routine and shorter periods of sleep can all collude to increase stress levels.
Hence it is important to address any potential sources of stress in order to minimise harmful effects. This can be helped by not taking on more than you can reasonably handle, not playing sports in the hot sun, controlling your anger in advance and abstaining from smoking.

Obesity: Strange, but true! For the unwary, or those lacking in caution, food consumed during the pre-dawn and dusk meals may lead to some unintended weight gain. Obesity is an epidemic in the making, and has numerous complications in its own right. It is ironic that you are able to become overweight or obese while you are fasting. But if you do not approach the fast with discipline and will, the opportunity to lose weight and become healthier is wasted

Constipation: Constipation could be a very irritating problem for someone undertaking a fast. Maintaining good hydration
outside the fast, eating healthily, with lots of fruit and vegetables in your diet, increasing the fibre content of your food using bran, and being active all help to keep your bowel motions as regular as would otherwise be expected.

If the problem persists, a short course of bulk laxatives may help.

Benefits of Fasting

Ramadan is a period of fasting, reflection, devotion, generosity and sacrifice observed by Muslims around the world. While major holidays of other faiths have largely become commercialized events, Ramadan retains its intense spiritual meaning.

Fasting is not only a physical but also a spiritual exercise that has many lasting benefits.

1. Heightened consciousness of Allah: Fasting helps you to become less preoccupied with bodily appetite, and gives the heart and mind the freedom to reflect upon deeper spiritual matters, such as your relationship with Allah and with fellow human beings.

It enables a person to develop sustained conciousness of Allah (Takwa).

2. Healthy lifestyle: A fasting person learns restraint and only responds to hunger and thirst in a heightened level of conciousness and discipline . Through fasting, a person begins to appreciate the value of food. In the Quran, ''healthy and wholesome food'' is described as the best of provisions.Thus fasting makes a person to choose a healthier life style by making small but lasting changes to their daily diet.

3. Community spirit: During Ramadan, the one who fasts has heightened
concerns for the well-being of the community – rich and poor, intellectuals and labourers. Community spirit is promoted as people start fasting at the same time and break their fast at the same time, and reflect together through longer prayer and deeper devotions. It is greatly encouraged to break fast together.

4. Compassion and charity: When fasting, you should think of those in need who may be fasting but have no food at the start or the end of their fast, those whose tiny children are also having to go hungry
because of poverty. The Prophet Muhammad described Ramadhan as “the month of mercy”. His companions observed: “The Prophet (Muhammad) was the most generous of people, but he would be his most generous during Ramadan …”

5. A fast without the spirit is empty of blessing: Abstention for long hours can be very hard physically and spiritually. However, by the end of the long month you should feel cleansed and with a renewed spirit. Ramadan is an ideal time to break bad habits, to reflect on personality and to improve your character.

Those who fast but make no change to their lives except delaying a meal cannot really expect to become any different in their behaviour during or after Ramadan. In many ways, this is a wasted fast, as stressed in a number of sayings of the blessed Prophet: fasting is not merely “abstention from eating and drinking, but also from vain
speech and foul language”.

Fasting is, therefore, about much more than just giving up food and drink and hoping to lose a couple of pounds. By fasting, a person reflects, acts and betters his or her character.