Idaho faith: Fasting during Ramadan incorporates intention, purpose and action

In a rare conjunction, three major holidays of Judaism, Christianity and Islam occurred during the month of April.

On April 15, Christians celebrated Good Friday, followed two days later by Easter. On that same Friday, Jews celebrated the eve of Pesach, commonly known as Passover, as a commemoration of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The history of Passover also refers to the idea that God “passed over” the houses of the Jews during the 10th plague on the Egyptians, as portrayed in the 1956 film “The Ten Commandments.”

During the same weekend, Muslims around the world fasted their weekly holiday within the month of Ramadan, which began on April 2 and is expected to end on May 2.

This coincidence of dates was made possible because of the different calendar used by Muslims to determine religious events. Whereas the Gregorian calendar uses a solar year lasting roughly 365 days, the Islamic calendar is based on a lunar year, which lasts around 354 days. Thus, the Islamic cycle of holidays moves forward every year by 10 or 11 days in the Gregorian calendar. A quick calculation reveals that it takes a little more than three decades for the Islamic calendar to move across the whole Gregorian calendar.

The shorter course of the Islamic year offers Muslims a chance to experience the month of Ramadan and other festivals during different seasons and climatic conditions. I remember a few years ago, when we fasted about 17 hours in Ramadan, during the longest summer days. As Ramadan moves closer to the winter, the fasting days will become shorter and shorter. This is a great lesson for Muslims that relief will follow hardship, just as trials and tribulations will follow periods of peace and prosperity in the cycle of life.

The concept of fasting did not originate in Islam. In the sister traditions of Judaism and Christianity, fasting is also performed, albeit in a different form.

For example, the timing of the Jewish fast differs from a Muslim fast during the month of Ramadan. In the Jewish tradition, the day of Yom Kippur is characterized by a 25-hour fast from one sundown to the next sundown, plus an hour. You will need to talk to Rabbi Dan Fink, another Idaho Statesman religion columnist, about the meaning of the extra hour. In Exodus, Chapter 34, Moses is said to have stayed 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Horeb, fasting from food and drink.

In Matthew 4:2, Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. This fasting became a model for the 40-day ritual of Lent in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but without the total abstinence from food and drink.

Fasting is not a new concept for humans. Some earliest records of fasting date to ancient Greece, when the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras touted the virtues of fasting, as did Hippocrates. Prominent healers like the Swiss Renaissance physician and philosopher Paracelsus were also advocates of fasting.

Nowadays, intermittent fasting has become a popular practice in the wellness world, due to the possible benefits conducted in several weight-loss studies. Intermittent fasting is defined as a period of fasting followed by a period of eating. For example, the 20:4 Warrior Diet requires fasting for 20 hours and then feasting for 4. The feasting interval recommends eating 85% to 90% of calories normally consumed by an individual during a 24-hour period.

While the weight loss is laudable, the Warrior Diet lacks scientific evidence and is generally not recommended by nutrition experts. A healthier fasting diet for beginners is the 16:8 variant of the Warrior Diet. It consists of fasting 16 hours and eating for 8 hours, for example, between 10 a.m. and 6 pm. In any case, it is always recommended to work with a nutrition specialist whenever going on a diet.

As a conclusion, the religious fast of Muslims during the month of Ramadan is different from a regular fasting diet. It incorporates several components, including intention, purpose and action.

First, there needs to be an intention to perform a religious obligation as one of the five pillars of Islam. Second, it is done with the purpose of correcting one’s behavior by shedding bad habits and adopting healthier ones. Finally, it is a month of action when Muslims offer their religious taxes to help the poor, the indigent and even the stranger, among eight categories of recipients defined in the Quran, Chapter 9, Verse 60.

If you know a Muslim friend or neighbor, the correct etiquette is to wish them a “Ramadan Mubarak,” or a blessed Ramadan. I assure you that you will make an instant friend. If you are interested, you may try to fast during a weekend to experience this unique form of worship.