Fasting? Part 1

"You neither eat nor drink the whole day?" Tan asked me.

"Yes. The whole day. But not at night. Only from dawn to sunset", I replied.

"How can you survive? Can you survive?", Tan asked again.

I smiled.

"Well, it's not just you. Even Habib Bourguiba, the late President of Tunisia who was also a 'Muslim', convinced that fasting is against productivity. You know the history?", I took my turn asking Tan my question.

Habib Bourguiba

"How should I know? Tell me!", he said.

In 1961, Habib Bourguiba made a controversial statement claiming that fasting should not be observed for it reduces productivity. Hethen appeared on television with his cabinet, eating and drinking during Ramadhan.

"Why so harsh?", Tan was shocked.

"I don't know. Was it out of ignorance or arrogance? Perhaps a combination of both", I replied.

Even though fasting is there in the name of Lent among Christians,it is always the Muslim's version that cultivates questions and debates.

In order to understand about the real meaning of fasting, one should agree that it has something to do with our own paradigm and world view.The way we view things; like I always quote, "what you see is what you get".

VIEWING FASTING IN MANY WAYS

If you see fasting as a way for better diet, you will benefit that from fasting. But fasting will only be a mechanism of improving your diet.

If you see fasting as a way to save your daily expense by breaking your fast daily in the mosque, then you will be able to achieve that. But that's it. No more than that.

If you see fasting as a way for you to gain reward or 'pahala' from Him, then it is a good motive and sound intention. But reward and pahala is something that you can hardly measure in this physical and worldly life. You don't see someone obese out of pahala. It is something else!

And strangely, the last 10 days of Ramadhan are the most rewarded and full of pahala, but then you'll see the mosques are empty.

So, what Ramadhan and fasting are all about?

If you see fasting as abstaining one from eating, drinking, having sexual intercourse during the daytime, and reducing the wrong doings of backbiting what so ever... that is the definition of fasting. But it only explains the mechanism of fasting as ritual.

Let us take a look at the origin of Muslims's version of fasting. Al-Quran says:

"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become the people with the quality of Taqwa" (Al-Baqarah 2: 183)

Fasting is a mechanism to achieve Taqwa. You abstain yourself from eating and drinking, in order to achieve Taqwa. How is that?


To Be Continued...


ORIGINAL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

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