The history of fasting
The month of Ramadan is almost here. How long have we have waited for it and how we have missed its blissful days and nights! The holiday reaches us with: suhoor (the pre-dawn meal), iftar (breaking the fast), taraweeh (optional prayers), and the lighting of lights in our streets and homes; a month of fasting and a month of the Koran, a month of good deeds and caring for those in need.
But now let us remember what is the history of fasting and its origins?
The first person to observe the fast was the Prophet Adam. After the forefather of the entire human race arrived on Earth, he fasted for a long time due to the lack of food. When the flatbread was finally prepared, Adam reached for it but the angel Jibril told him, “If you wait until sunset, your fast will be broken.” Thus, the Muslim fast was established from dawn to sunset. The book “Ruh al-Bayan” also reports that the Prophet Adam was prescribed to fast in the so-called white days: the 13th, 14th and 15th of each month.
Abstaining from food and drink during the daytime has another historical background. In ancient times, during the reign of Tahmurus, the descendants of Adam were suffering from a severe drought. Food was extremely limited and the ruler issued a decree regulating mealtimes. Wealthy people were allowed to eat only once a day (after sunset), while the entire daily ration was divided among the poor. This fast was exclusively for the wealthy, who thus shared the fate of their people.
Subsequently, in the histories of numerous prophets, we find only fragmentary information about their observance of fasting. For example, the Prophet Dawud (David) fasted every other day, and for the people of the Prophet Musa (Moses) the Day of Ashura was a day of obligatory fasting.
But one thing is certain: the prophets and their communities fasted. Fasting may have varied in form and content but it did occur. This is confirmed by the following Koranic verse (interpretation of the meaning), “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you (in the month of Ramadan) as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may fear Allah.” (Sura Al-Baqarah, ayah 183).
Commenting on this ayah, the renowned Koran commentator Ali ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi wrote: “This refers to other prophets and communities from the time of Adam until your day. This means that fasting is one of the most ancient forms of worship. There was not a single community to which the Almighty did not prescribe fasting.”
Regarding the month of Ramadan, some believe it is one of the characteristics of our ummah (the community of Muhammad ﷺ). However, another version states that Ramadan was prescribed to one of the communities of the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) but they arbitrarily moved it from summer to spring. They were experiencing a burden in their lives and a month of fasting clearly was not part of their plans. Fully aware that their actions were nothing more than a profanation of God’s commandment, they added another ten days of fasting as atonement.
But can violating God’s commandments be atoned for? How can the command of the Almighty be turned into a rejection?
Before the month of Ramadan was prescribed, Muslims fasted on the Day of Ashura and three days of each month. This continued until the second year of the Hijra, when fasting during Ramadan became one of the pillars of Islam. The Almighty revealed the following verse regarding this matter (meaning of the commentary): “The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Koran was revealed as a guidance for mankind and a criterion of worship. So, whoever of you enters the month (of Ramadan), let him fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, let him fast the same number of days in other times (as compensation). Allah ﷻ desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you. [Allah ﷻ desires] that you fast all the days (of Ramadan) and magnify Allah ﷻ for having guided you and be grateful (to Allah ﷻ for that and for all the countless other blessings).” (Sura Al-Baqarah, ayah 185).
Interestingly, in the original version, Muslims had the choice between actually fasting and paying fidyah (one mudd – approximately 650 grams of food per day), but this provision was abolished and remained applicable only to those unable to fast. This initial concession was allowed to make life easier for Muslims, as they then were fasting for an entire month for the first time. Fasting in sweltering Arabia fourteen centuries ago as today, in comfortable temperatures, are, as they say, two very different things.
There is another wisdom to fasting for a month: to encompass the rewards for an entire year. As is well known, one good deed performed is multiplied by ten. This is stated in one of the Koranic verses (the meaning of the commentary): “Whoever comes with a good deed, he will be rewarded ten times [its] likeness (a tenfold reward) …” (Sura Al-An’am, ayah 160). Thus, 30 days of fasting multiplied by ten equals exactly 300 and if we add the highly recommended six days of Shawwal, we get 360. Basic arithmetic, which we hardly ever think about, leads us to a year-long fast. Allah’s mercy is boundless.
