Muslims seriously wtf is the point of fasting?

[Dusty Bake Activate]

I'm not on my troll shyt this time. I'm legitimately inquiring. Is there any reason to engage in this practice outside of that it is commanded by Allah? Buddhists, Mormons, Hindus, Jains, etc. feel free to answer too, but I don't think there are any of you on this site.

 

[zerozero]

it's just self denial to get to a higher spiritual place and think of the people who go hungry/suffering, give to charity, think of god, act better in your personal life etc

There is a strong tradition in most cultures for things like this, it's just recently that people have this 7/11 life where every day is exactly the same and you can do whatever you want 24/7 without rituals

Don't conceive of it as an external mandate that people just suffer through--nobody fasting thinks like that. It's more of an internal discipline and purity thing

 

[The Frozen One]

I'm not on my troll shyt this time. I'm legitimately inquiring. Is there any reason to engage in this practice outside of that it is commanded by Allah? Buddhists, Mormons, Hindus, Jains, etc. feel free to answer too, but I don't think there are any of you on this site.

Allah doesn't demand you to do it. It is mandatory for every muslim to participate in the holy month but Allah has only provided the benefits of why you should fast. The Quran doesn't state what happens to you when you don't fast (or maybe it does, but i'm not sure).

Basically, the whole principle of fasting is your willpower and and how you can will yourself to keep away from sins. It's the time where Satan whispers in your ear non stop of things you can do, and makes every thing sound like heaven so you break your fast, but only you have the power to remove those voices. I know for a person who does not believe in god this is hard to believe, but this is what you've been thought all your life as a Muslim.

Besides not eating, there are many other benefits to fasting. People do it to feel good spiritually which in turns helps them live their lives in a peaceful and happy manner. The spiritual benefits of fasting are tremendous and is the biggest reason why millions and millions of muslims fast during the month of ramadan.

Secondly, it helps you get closer to god. It helps your conscious. It makes you think twice about committing a sin.

Lastly, it helps your body go clean. You are required not to think about sexual thoughts, abstain from drinking, smoking...etc. This helps you flush the toxins out of your body. Additionally it makes you think of the people that can't eat on a regular basis, have no way of providing for their family. It's to put your shoes into the shoes of those that have been less fortunate.

For a non muslim individual, these are all very hard to comprehend. I personally hear it everyday. "Oh how can you go without drinking and eating all day?" Well it's very simple. You don't think about it. The first few days are the hardest, because your body is going wtf, but by the end of it, you can only eat a serving and you feel full.

By the end of Ramadan, you feel fresh, completely different. Then you look back at it and say that yourself, if i can abstain myself from many sins in a month, i can do it on a regular basis. Basically your conscious clears itself out by the last day, and you feel like a different person.

(note these are all from personal experiences, and what i've been thought, maybe someone has a different view to it)

 

[50CentStan]

Yes, it's to let you know how the poor feels

Also you get closer to god.

Finally you are more productive and can think clearly.

I read on many boards that non muslims say they dont need to fast to get close to god, etc... But I can vouch that all these things are true, and you do think clearer and get closer to god. You don't realize how much time u clear up by not eating and drinking and staying away from the other things that are prohibited.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

it's just self denial to get to a higher spiritual place and think of the people who go hungry/suffering, give to charity, think of god, act better in your personal life etc

There is a strong tradition in most cultures for things like this, it's just recently that people have this 7/11 life where every day is exactly the same and you can do whatever you want 24/7 without rituals

Don't conceive of it as an external mandate that people just suffer through--nobody fasting thinks like that. It's more of an internal discipline and purity thing

Hmm...not eating isn't healthy though. When you don't eat, your body starts metabolizing its own muscle. I don't see how that's a purity thing, but ok.

 

[zerozero]

The first few days are the hardest, because your body is going wtf, but by the end of it, you can only eat a serving and you feel full.

yeah your appetite and metabolism adjusts easily to not eating until evening

 

[acri1]

Catholics (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) and Jews (Yom Kippur) fast too, at times.

Imagine if you wanted to start a religion/cult/club/whatever. Wouldn't encouraging your members to fast be advantageous? During the fast they would be hungry but constantly ignoring their biological urge to eat in order to adhere to the fast that their religion/cult has told them to engage in. That means that they would be constantly thinking of the religion/cult throughout the fast and it would reinforce the religion/cult as part of their basic thought process. It would encourage them to think about their religion/cult all day rather than only when at a gathering.

Considering that most religions teach that their adherents' faith SHOULD be part of their basic thought process, I would imagine most religious posters would agree. I'm not trying to be offensive but that seems like the practical reason for fasts.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Yes, it's to let you know how the poor feels

Also you get closer to god.

Finally you are more productive and can think clearly.

I read on many boards that non muslims say they dont need to fast to get close to god, etc... But I can vouch that all these things are true, and you do think clearer and get closer to god. You don't realize how much time u clear up by not eating and drinking and staying away from the other things that are prohibited.

Ehh, but if you are not really poor, not really in danger of starvation, and you know when Ramadan or whatever fasting period is done, you're gonna be again, is that really letting you know how the poor feels?

Isn't that sort of like Tyra Banks dressing up like a homeless person and living on the streets for a few days then going back to her Beverly Hills mansion?

 

[zerozero]

Catholics (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) and Jews (Yom Kippur) fast too, at times.

Imagine if you wanted to start a religion/cult/club/whatever. Wouldn't encouraging your members to fast be advantageous?

You have to go deeper breh, these things came before modern organized religion. It's anthropological and prehistoric

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

But aren't they allowed to eat when the sun goes down or some shyt? I work with a bunch of really nice muslim ladies and one of them has had to leave work everyday for the past week because she is sick and on top of that she is fasting.

 

[MikelArteta]

Protestant Christians fast as well.

 

[zerozero]

Hmm...not eating isn't healthy though. When you don't eat, your body starts metabolizing its own muscle. I don't see how that's a purity thing, but ok.

you don't see the connection between bodily self denial and purity? think of why priests are chaste or monks don't talk to anyone while meditating for weeks etc

there is a strong , pan-cultural connection between practicing physically confining behavior and finding emergent transcendent experience

 

[acri1]

You have to go deeper breh, these things came before modern organized religion. It's anthropological and prehistoric

I agree breh, by no means would this only apply to religion. Having members of any type of belief system go on a fast would encourage them to be more...serious about it. Whether that's a good thing is a matter of opinion, of course.

 

[The Frozen One]

Ehh, but if you are not really poor, not really in danger of starvation, and you know when Ramadan or whatever fasting period is done, you're gonna be again, is that really letting you know how the poor feels?

Isn't that sort of like Tyra Banks dressing up like a homeless person and living on the streets for a few days then going back to her Beverly Hills mansion?

True, being in a fortunate situation, you can never put yourself into a life of a poor person. But it gives you some sort of an idea. For 30 days straight, you think to yourself how can i go another hour without eating. It's all mental and affects your conscious.

 

[Rufus Dufus]

How does fasting help you think clearly? Wouldn't your mind be on food?