In the 2016, the Japon scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi won Nobel
prize in medicine for work on autophagy. His work is about how the body’s cells
break down and recycle their own components. He briefly tells us that
starvation helps to against some diseases as cancer, Alzheimer, neurological
diseases etc.[1]
and he adds that starvation for thirty or forty days is a wonderful treatment
for the human body, and cells. His work is really amazing, but this cure is
found for years ago J what is that? It is Ramadan which is a holy
month for Muslims. They fast from sunrise till sunset for thirty days. Every Muslim
is obligated to fast which is do not eating anything until the sunset. Allah orders
in the Qur’an: “The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the
Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.
So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is
ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you
ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the
period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps
you will be grateful.” (Qur’an 2:185)
So why the fasting is so important? Why Allah
orders every Muslim to fast? Because fasting has a lot of benefits both of
human body, and his spiritual life. The benefits of human body in mentioned in
the work of Yoshinori Ohsumi, if you want to learns, you can read it. I will
mention more about spiritual benefits.
Allah orders every Muslim to be fast because it
is so useful for their spiritual life. Because the stomach is the source of the
key impulse of people. If a person can learn to control food, he can control other
things as behavior, desires, speaking etc. to the person, and if he can control
eating food or desires, he can easily success to control other things, and
nafs, because the fast provides self-discipline.it is based on patience.
Therefore the fast is a worship which overpower enemies. Because desires are
the tool of the evil, and power supplies of desire or eating, and drinking. For
this, Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) declare: “Satan circulates in the body like
blood. Make his passage narrow by means of hunger.” Also fasting teaches us to be patience, to be
better Muslim because during to fasting, Muslim becomes more attentive against
to sins, and empathy to poor people who cannot find eating, dress. So Muslims understand
how they suffer, and so they try to help them more. So Ramadan is a packet of
believe which include fasting, patience, alms, reading more Qur’an, empathy,
and taqwa which is most important benefit of fasting!
Be fast; get a lot of benefits J
Please watch these two videos for more
information J