Fasting - Key to Good Health
Fasting has its advantages from the
point of view of health and hygiene. Islam wants a Muslim to be healthy,
clean, alert, agile and energetic. "Fast to be healthy," had said
the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.). And physicians today acknowledge the many
benefits of fasting that ensure health and the soundness of one's body
and mind. Some of these positive points have a direct influence on
psychology and physique of the fasting individual.
Fasting has been found to be an
effective treatment for psychological and emotional disorders. It helps
a person to firm up his will, cultivate and refine his taste and
manners, strengthen his conviction of doing good, avoid controversy,
petulance and rashness, which all contribute towards a sane and healthy
personality. Besides nurturing resistance and ability to face hardships
and endurance, fasting reflects on outward physical appearance by
cutting out gluttony and getting rid of excess fat. The benefits of
fasting on health do not stop there but are instrumental in alleviating
a number of physical diseases, including those of the digestive systems,
such as chronic stomachache, inflammation of the colon, liver diseases,
indigestion, and conditions such as obesity, arteriosclerosis, high
blood pressure, asthma, diphtheria and many other maladies.
A Swiss physician Dr. Barsilus noted
that: The advantages of hunger as a remedy exceed those ingesting
medicine several times.
As readers are well aware, several
physicians advise patients to skip meals, sometimes for a few days,
before prescribing them a controlled diet.
Generally speaking, fasting hastens the
destruction of the decaying tissues of the body by means of hunger, and
then builds new tissues through nutrition. This is why some scientists
suggest that fasting should be regarded as an effective means of
restoring youthfulness and longevity. However, Islam exempts from
fasting sick and old people whose health is bound to deter.
But fasting should have its regulations
too, and not simply the in orderly skipping meals, that is bound to harm
health and stamina, rather than improving them. Here again Islam
provides the answer, and in order to realize the benefits of fasting, it
recommends the late midnight meals called 'Sahar' (before the formal
start of a fast) and the breaking of the fast at the time prescribed. Of
course, to ensure good health one should abstain from gluttony after
breaking fast.
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