How to logically explain benefits of fasting in Ramadan?

Question

I have this really good friend which he is christian, we had a little argue about fasting in ramadan so he showed me this :

> قالَ الربُّ يَسوع: «لا تَهْتَمُّوا لِنَفْسِكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُون، وَلا لِجَسَدِكُم بِمَا تَلْبَسُون. فٱلنَّفْسُ أَهَمُّ مِنَ الطَّعَام، وَالجَسَدُ أَهَمُّ مِنَ اللِّبَاس. فَأَنْتُم إِذًا، لا تَطْلُبُوا مَا تَأْكُلُون، وَمَا تَشْرَبُون، وَلا تَقْلَقُوا، فَهذَا كُلُّهُ يَسْعَى إِلَيْهِ الوَثَنِيُّونَ في هذَا العَالَم، وَأَبُوكُم يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكُم تَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَيْه. بَلِ ٱطْلُبُوا مَلَكُوتَ الله، وَهذَا كُلُّهُ يُزَادُ لَكُم.

(I don't know how to translate this)
I always tried to avoid to go into discusion between his religion and mine because I will not be able to make him understand how the muslim thinks and why ramadan is so special and how our fasting is different. He claim that fasting in such way is making our body dyhaydrated and in his own believes (and from the quote of sayidna el masih(jesuss christ) we are giving more importance to the food because we are stop eating from it then after el ftar we are eating more then we ate.
My simple question, how can I explain in a simple easy way, and not in matter of convencing, that ramadan is really good even if your not muslim. I dont want quraan and ahadith is my based argumantetive because he will not believe. I am seeking a logic.

Salam Alaykom

Answer 1

Everything that we do in this world is for our bodies!! Anxiety, depressions, illness, excitement, emotions etc., are all translated into our body reactions. Due to these either our nerves become tenses or relax!! Based on these we start reacting.

There are two methods prescribed by ALLAH to control our reactions generated due to our body and fasting is one of them.

If we are fasting as a ritual, then it is a useless exercise. Only we understand the reason behind why we have to fasting, only then we can reap the benefit.

Food has nothing to do with it. It's all about our controls on nerves, so that we can succeed in this world and hereafter.

Answer 2

السلام عليكم ,

الجواب واضح من السؤال حيث أن الاقتباس يذكر ان "الاسراف" في طلب الدنيا هو ما يشين النفس البشرية , والمقصود من الكلام ليست كم تأكل او ما سعر ما تلبس ولكن المقصود وبوضوح شديد ان الملابس والطعام ميسرين اذا عبدنا الله حق عبادته , وادينا ما علينا والله اعلم .

لاحظ ان الاقتباس يشابه قول الله : " وفي السماء رزقكم وما توعدون فورب السماء والارض انه لحق مثل ما انكم تنطقون" وكذلك : "وما خلقت الجن والانس الا ليعبدون ما اريد منهم من رزق وما اريد ان يطعمون" .

واعتقد ايضا ان صديقك لا يفقه الكتاب اذ انه ربط بين امرين صَعُب الربط بينهما وهما : حب الدنيا والصوم , فالصوم هو ترك شهوات الدنيا المتعلقة بالطعام والفرج وقد افترى عليك يوم قال لك ما قال وما اراد الا افسادا لدينك فاحذره يرحمك الله , الله يقول : "يا ايها الذين امنوا لا تتخذوا اليهود والنصارى اولياء بعضهم اولياء بعض ومن يتولهم منكم فانه منهم ان الله لا يهدي القوم الظالمين" , لذا ان شئت اصحبه وكن عادلا معه ولكن لا تواليه كما توالي اخوانك من المسلمين .

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Translation:

The answer is in the question where the quote in your question mentions that "wasting" time in seeking this world is what dirties the soul. and the Meaning is not how much you eat, or how much your cloths are, but the obvious meaning is that the way our food and cloths come to us would be made easier if we worshipped Allah truly how He deserves to be worshipped, and fulfill our duties. And Allah knows best.

Note, the quote your mentioned is similar to what Allah says:

And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised. Then by the Lord of the heaven and earth, indeed, it is truth - just as [sure as] it is that you are speaking.

Aswell as:

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.

Also note that your friend does not seem to understand the bible, because he mentioned two things which really can't go together, that is the love of this dunya and fasting. Fasting is the leaving off desires of this world whether it is food or satisfaction from the wife, and he lied to you the day he said to you what he said, and he did not want anything but to corrupt your religion so beware of him Allah have mercy on you. Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ

O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.

So in conclusion, if you wish you may accompany him and treat him with full kindness, but don't befriend / be loyal to him like you are with your Muslim Brothers.

Answer 3

I understand that you are not looking for references to Quran and Hadeeth, but for a moment take a look at the verse [2:183]:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

O you who belives! Fasting has been obligated for you similar to that was obligated to those before you, maybe you will keep yourself [near Allah]

Although one may assert "those before you" means people of book but furthermore in ahadeeth we are told that those before you that had fasting like us were the prophets, who were fasting even Ramadhan ("similar to that was obligated to those before you").

But now a little bit from Hikmah:

1. Some believe as Allah --عز و جل-- is the Wisnd e He orders to do nothing (or to avoid doing anything) unless there is a wisdom for doing (or not doing) that. Some orders are for the health of body, some for the health of soul, and some (maybe most) have benefit for both.

2. Some others believe sometimes even Allah may command to do something that by its own has no benefit for body nor for the soul, but choosing to yield for Allah and accepting that comment itself has benefits for soul, since treats us such that we would always accept the commands of Allah and go by them. According to this people, so you see these people still think like the former group of people but also generalize the idea as they believe accepting the rules of Allah by itself has its own spiritual benefits.

Now returning back to fasting. Many over the history have declared their findings that fasting is good for body due to physiology and the like sort of reasonings. All the Muslims also believe the fasting has spiritual benefits, as is also clear from the verse quoted above: "maybe you will keep yourself [near Allah]".

Now let me list a few benefits here that might help in such conservations:

• There are many (at least Shia) that says the main source of diseases is full-eating and over-full heating sometimes is treated like it is a sin, it will lead into hearth darkening (القساوة القلب). The Sunnah of the holy Prophet --peace be upon him-- was that he was stopping eating one morsel before becoming full, never becoming full. He was saying that Allah hates nothing more than the full stomach. Full stomach will take the joy of praying from the person, will prevent him from getting up early in the morning for saying prayer and etc.

• The Islamic way of eating AFAIK is to have two main meal per 24 hours, one in the morning and one at night before sleep. The noon lunch is never prescribed. So the main difference of Fasting days and a common day is that while fasting the person can eat or drink nothing during the day whereas in the other days people can drink or eat if they were filling hunger or thirst, although not in the form of a full lunch... In another hadeeth the holy Prophet peace be upon him and his household says my Ummah will never eat or drink unless they are hungry or thirsty. Having these in mind you will find Ramadan a resetting of our body habits with the right path, a cure for habits. Regarding habits in the Islamic physic we have been told that a cure of body is through its habits, so that immediate changing in habits can cause disasters in the body (dehydration may be one such effects seen by experimentalists) but gradual changing of habit to what is good (suggested by Allah the creator) will always help improve in health, both bodily and spiritually. [comment: two-meal per 24 hours is not necessarily meaning two times eating per day/night each time as much as we usually eat for our meals, they can be a lot lesser, if you start eating one spoon less before than becoming filled, you will find the full filled threshold gradually lowering to a smaller amount of food per meal! A more efficient person, lesser eating and drinking, lesser being sleepy, fresher, lighter, faster, more enjoying prayer, less working stomach and other organs, longer working body, later death ....]

One can talk many more about the issue, but this much might suffice, ان شاء الله