CHAPTER 2
FASTING IN ISLAM - ITS BASIC OBJECTIVE
In its second chapter the Qur'an addresses those who
believe in it (i.e. the Qur'an) as a Divine revelation and informs them of the promulgation
of the compulsory fast for them. Verse 183 then goes on to point out that
fasting was made compulsory not only for the Muslims who believe in the Word of
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) revealed in the Qur'an and who are followers of the Prophet Muhammad
(sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), but for all those religious communities which preceded this community
of believers. Thus the compulsory fast is to be found Judaism, Christianity,
Hinduism, Buddhism and others. The verse then ends by indicating that the
objective for which the compulsory fast was promulgated is the acquisition of
piety and godliness (taqwa).
The Qur'anic viewpoint, therefore is that fasting has always been
an obligatory feature of the religious way of life. By instituting the
compulsory fast for the religious community which followed the Prophet Muhammad
(sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), the Qur'an was simply bringing that Muslim community into a
state of conformity with an essential requirement of the religious way of life.
When the Qur'an went on to
point out that the basic objective of fasting was the acquisition of piety and
holiness (taqwa), it followed that this must also have been the basic objective of fasting
in all previous religious communities established by the thousands of Prophets
and guides sent by Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) to every nation and tribe. (Qur'an
13:7)
An immediate implication of
this conclusion is that no religion which claims to be founded on the One Truth
can or should condone the exploitation of the institution of fasting as a
political weapon or a form of protest. And yet, in 1986, the Foreign Minister of
Nicaragua, who was a Catholic priest, completed three weeks of his
fast-unto-death in a protest against the policies of the government of the
United States of America towards the Sandanista government in Nicaragua. In
much the same way the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who was a devout Hindu and
a role-model of modem reformed Hinduism, used fasting as a political weapon in
his struggle against British rule in India.
Piety and Godliness, therefore,
is the criterion with which we judge the institution of fasting as it
functions, not only in the religious community established by Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), but in all other religions and religious communities. When
fasting inculcates piety and godliness then it is functioning in accordance with
its original purpose. When it does not or, rather no longer does, then a
deviation has occurred. And it behoves the followers of the deviant religion to
struggle to retrieve the original objective of fasting.
Now while the majority of Muslims, the world over, observe the compulsory fast of Ramadan, we
find in this age the unique phenomenon of large numbers of Muslims who do not
fast. When we inquire into this phenomenon what we find is that it has emerged
almost exclusively as
a result of a considerable impact
of modem western civilization on such Muslims.
This is not surprising since
modem western civilization, which is largely constructed on secular and
materialistic foundations, does not attach much practical value to piety and
Godliness. As a consequence one comes across people who find it inconvenient to
fast because it interferes with the efficient fulfillment of their professional
obligations. Indeed a former President of Tunisia attempted to prohibit the
compulsory Islamic fast because he claimed that it had a negative impact on
productivity and thus constituted an obstacle to economic growth and
prosperity. Others, who have imprisoned themselves in the comforts and luxuries
of modem sensate culture (which is a feature of western rather than Christian
civilization), find fasting to be either too rigorous, or just plain
inconvenient.
While we shall be attempting a
rational exposition of the benefits to be derived from fasting, we should also
urge such Muslims to take serious note of the fact that fasting was made
compulsory by Allah (subhanahu
wa ta’alah)
Himself. Any Muslim who challenges this and holds the view that he is under no
obligation to fast is, in fact, in a state of defiance and rebellion against
Allah. And since Islam connotes 'submission' to the Will of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah), it
should be obvious that such a person is not in Islam. Indeed such a Muslim
places himself outside the religious way of life altogether since the Qur'an declares:
"And whosoever desires a
religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him. . "
(Qur 'an 3:85)
On the other hand, the Muslim
who recognizes the obligatory nature of fasting and yet does not observe the
compulsory fast because of laziness, inconvenience or whatever reason is, in
fact, committing a sin and must expect to be punished by Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) for it. Similarly, since
fasting was made compulsory for those religious communities which preceded the
advent of the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), it follows that the followers of those religions will also incur
Allah's punishment if they, too, fail to observe their compulsory fast.
To Be Continued ....
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