Medical and Scientific Benefits of Fasting
By
Mufti Muhammad Shams Tabriz Alimi, Tr. New Age Islam
Translated
into English by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
19 March
2024
Fasting
in Modern Medicine: Health Benefits
Main
Points:
1. Fasting is a
pillar of Islam, providing closeness to God.
2. Fasting can
effectively treat long-term ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, and
chronic diseases.
3. Fasting
helps with pain relief, toxins removal, rheumatism, and kidney problems.
4. Fasting
provides a month's vacation for the liver, which is exhausted from additional
tasks beyond food processing.
5. Recent
research suggests fasting reduces cancer by stopping bodily cells from growing
and producing ketone bodies, which are less produced in a fasting state.
6. Fasting
promotes selflessness, devotion, and closer relationship with God.
7. Fasting
develops character and personality, giving willpower.
8. It helps in
controlling heart desires and emotions.
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The
Almighty Allah is wise. None of His commandments is devoid of wisdom. Every
command He gave His servants included innumerable nuggets of wisdom. There may
be wisdom in a divine commandment or act of worship that our limited brain is
unable to uncover; rather, it is a sign of our own limitations in terms of
intellect, understanding, knowledge, and cognition.
Allah says,
"And you [O humanity] have been given but little knowledge.”
(17:85)
Allah, the
Exalted, made many forms of worship mandatory for Muslims to distinguish
between those who worship their Lord and those who pursue their own interests
and desires. Some acts of worship, such as prayer or Salah mandated by the
Almighty Allah, are related to the body. Zakat is one of the religious rites
that is connected to wealth, which is dear to men. Certain deeds, like the Hajj
and Jihad, have a connection to both wealth and the body. It has been
demonstrated that some acts of worship, such as fasting, are crucial for
developing self-control since they keep a person from partaking in forbidden
activities.
Performing
all these acts of worship is mandatory for Muslims. However, it is possible for
someone to provide prayer with their whole attention and sincere affection but
to treat Zakat with less significance than they do prayer. By paying Zakat in
this instance, it is simple for that person to become closer to God. While the
degree of sincerity and emotional investment in prayer surpasses that of other
forms of prayer, this shortfall can be compensated for by paying Zakat.
One of the
outstanding pillars of Islam is fasting. Once closeness to God may be attained
through it, other forms of worship might not be able to provide it. Nobody
could ever cover all of the many wisdoms and advantages of fasting.
There are
numerous health advantages to fasting when we take its medical component into
account. Fasting has become so important in modern medicine that dieting is now
a permanent cure in the West. Experts in medicine from Europe advise dieting one
day every week. A fast helps the stomach relax. The process of breaking down
food uses up bodily energy. When a person follows a diet, their energy is not
used for digestion but rather for the body to expel waste and poisons. The body
gets rid of unwanted and unclean material, and it becomes clean.
Long-term
ailments, including high blood pressure, diabetes (sugar), and chronic
diseases, can all be effectively treated with fasting. The advantage of fasting
is that addicts can't smoke as much because they can't use cigarettes, gutkha,
or hookah until the fast is broken. By paying attention, such people can give
up on hookah, gutkha, and cigarettes.
Muslims
view their ability to fast in compliance with the command of the Almighty Allah
as a great blessing. By fasting, Muslims can keep the light of their faith
alive in this day of uncertainty and atheism. Following the traditions of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is something that Muslims are very proud
of.
As is well
known, the pharynx—which transports food from the neck to the stomach—the
tongue, the salivary glands in the mouth and jaw, the stomach, the duodenum,
and the canal comprise our body system. This system (the digestive system)
includes the pancreas, small intestine, liver, and other portions of the
intestines. The key component of this system is the automatic activation of
each of these complex organs by a computerised system. When we start eating, or
even just plan to eat, this entire system gets activated, and every organ
starts to work.
It is clear
that, in addition to being on duty around the clock, nervous stress and eating
the incorrect food somehow affect the entire system. Fasting effectively gives
all of these systems a month's vacation. The liver becomes exhausted from its
fifteen additional tasks beyond food processing. Thus, fasting has an
unexpected benefit, particularly for the liver, as it allows the liver to rest
for at least four hours. This is not achievable if one does not fast because
even the smallest meal particle—a tenth of a gram—can cause digestive distress.
As soon as the computer of the digestive system starts up, the liver gets busy.
From a scientific standpoint, one could contend that the rest period ought to
be one month each year.
Blood loss
occurs during fasting. This effect provides great benefit and comfort to the
heart. More significantly, the pressure on the tissues, or muscles, is lessened
as a result of the reduction in the volume of fluid between the cells. For the
heart, diastolic pressure, or muscle pressure in general, is crucial. When
fasting or when the heart is at rest, diastolic pressure is always low.
Furthermore,
because of the unique circumstances of modern life, man is more vulnerable to
extreme stress and high blood pressure. Humans can benefit greatly from fasting
during the month of Ramadan, particularly in terms of decreased diastolic blood
pressure. The lungs, which cleanse the blood directly, consequently have a
direct bearing on the benefits of fasting. This is promptly remedied if the
blood in the lungs freezes. This is a result of cleaning the air ducts.
It is
important to keep in mind that during a fast, the lungs swiftly eliminate waste
products and begin to thoroughly cleanse the blood, which promotes health
throughout the body. Fasting relieves pain in the side or back. Fasting aids in
the body's removal of several toxins, such as acid boli, sulphuric acid, and
phosphorous acid, among others. Additionally, fasting helps with rheumatism and
kidney problems.
An expert
claims that the urine of a person who is fasting automatically heals all
urinary tract illnesses. Blood pressure rises when the kidneys contract. In
this ailment, fasting is also beneficial. Water that has collected in bodily
tissue is burned during a fast. Sugar contracting causes an increase in blood
pressure. Reducing the dosage for patients receiving food or medication is the
best way to treat diabetes, according to Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal
Professor Mahmood Ali Malik. The best way to do this is to fast.
Doctors in
Western nations now recommend hunger as a form of treatment. If large amounts
of food are avoided during Sehri and Iftar, fasting can be a very effective way
to control blood sugar. There are once-daily medicines. So, people with
diabetes can fast with ease.
Recent
research has led to the surprising discovery that fasting reduces cancer. It
stops bodily cells from growing. When fasting, the body uses fat as fuel
instead of glucose. This process also results in the production of ketone
bodies, which stop proteins from dissolving into smaller particles. Cancer
cells need small protein particles for their growth. These particles are less
produced in a fasting state. As a result, cancer is avoided.
If
medication is avoided and fasting is initiated before the onset of illness,
there is usually a significant benefit when it comes to children's illnesses.
Fasting is helpful and healthy when children's paralysis, whooping cough, sore
throat, diphtheria, or scarlet fever first appear. During a fast, all of the
toxic substances that cause these diseases are removed.
These days,
a large number of people have heart disease, which is the daily cause of death
for a large number of people. Obesity, ongoing stress, excess fat, diabetes,
high blood pressure, and smoking are among the risk factors for heart attacks.
Fasting prevents heart attacks by removing all of these contributing factors.
At the
University Hospital in Jordan, Dr. Suleiman recorded observations on 26 women
and 42 males. Throughout Ramadan, two kilogrammes of weight were lost on
average. According to Dr. Aziz's research, the typical person loses up to 4 kg of
weight during Ramadan. Individuals who frequent slimming centres often realise
that after going on a diet, they gain weight again. Instead, some people grow
much more than they did previously. This is due to the hypothalamus, a region
of the brain that regulates body weight.
When
someone goes on a diet, this area responds fast, and the weight comes back.
Surprisingly, this component is inoperative during fasting because fasting is a
spiritual practice that promotes mental and physical balance. As a result,
there is no further weight gain. The findings of the Finnish scientist
Huhtaniami's research demonstrate a decrease in the amounts of luteinizing
hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and gonadotropin receptor, which are
responsible for releasing hormones.
A person's
mood, attitude, and mental ability are all abnormally affected by changes in
these hormone levels. As was previously mentioned, hormone changes have a
distinctive effect on how people feel and behave. An individual's capacity for
thought increases, contributing to their moral, psychological, and spiritual
growth, while their desire for sexual activity decreases due to a lack of
drive. Fasting is an effective method for getting rid of sins, both external
and internal.
It is not
just forbidden to eat, drink, or engage in sexual activity; it is also
necessary to refrain from committing other offences. Fasting is a powerful way
to heal internal diseases like envy, mistrust, temptation, fury, lying,
backbiting, evil backbiting, obscenity, deception, harassment, cruelty, and
violence.
Ramadan is
the only month when people are obligated to fast. Throughout the year, a few
counting days are set aside for moral and psychological development, inner
training, and self-improvement. Fasting encourages selflessness, genuine
devotion, and a closer relationship with God. As fasting is a divine practice,
it develops a person's character and personality, giving him or her a certain
will and willpower and making them moderate and in control of their heart desires
as well as their emotions. Throughout the month of Ramadan, may Allah, the
Exalted, illuminate us all and grant us happiness and blessings. Aameen.
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Urdu
Article: Medical
and Scientific Benefits of Fasting روزے کے طبی اور سائنسی فوائد
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-science/medical-scientific-fasting/d/131952
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