Muslims seriously wtf is the point of fasting?

[the cac mamba]

fukkin stupid custom. lets not act like fasting accomplishes anything

 

[Broke Wave]

Fasted the whole month, I felt like
its honestly a form of constant meditation. since your hungry,your reminded by why your hungry, and your mind just wanders off into tangents all the time. you're weaker so your more passive, way less prone to aggression. you abstain from your bodily urges so your just focusing all your attention on your mental pursuits. truly a powerful experience

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Muslims are not the only ones who fast breh

I know. Read my opening post. I just don't think there are any Buddhist, Jains, Hindus, or orthodox Christians or any other religious folks that fast here other than Muslims.

 

[alybaba]

Ironically, people seem to be at their worst when fasting, at least in Pakistan. People don't do much work, reduced hours, get very irritable, drive like maniacs, eat gluttonously at Iftar time and engage in ridiculous consumption (for Eid). Glad it's over.

 

[SumBlackguyz]

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.

smh, if you're sick its forbidden for you to fast. She needs to talk to her religious consultant

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Ironically, people seem to be at their worst when fasting, at least in Pakistan. People don't do much work, reduced hours, get very irritable, drive like maniacs, eat gluttonously at Iftar time and engage in ridiculous consumption (for Eid). Glad it's over.

Yeah, I figured pretty much everybody tends to get more irritable when they haven't eaten and their blood sugar is low.

 

[SumBlackguyz]

Yall looking at it closed mindedly. Fasting once a year can have many benefits for the body. Its not just abstaining from food, its abstaining from anything one would find demonic, and focusing on things that benefit the mind.

Most masjids ive been to for ramadan have the zakat al fitr tax donated directly to the poor, and the left overs from the iftar dinners are given to the homeless shelters. But thats just as the community. Most families that dont go to iftar have their refrigerators packed full of food which wouldnt happen normal during the year. so you have your pros and cons there

i take the month to try and discipline my mind and give myself an excuse to take the further step and make extra effort that i wouldn't normally take. Then after ramadan is over, its always the real test to see how much discipline remains throughout the year until next ramadan.

but there are many failsafes for fasting incorporated into islam that prevents it from becoming overly burdensome. For instance it is forbidden to fast if one is sick, traveling, pregnant, strenuous work, etc. For the days that one misses, one is required to feed at least one needy person.

seems pretty reasonable to me

 

[GetInTheTruck]

I fast for the sake of Allah and because he commanded it in his book...it's really as simple as that. Anything beyond that is incidental.

I missed more than a few days this year though it's this damn heat.

 

[GetInTheTruck]

Ironically, people seem to be at their worst when fasting, at least in Pakistan. People don't do much work, reduced hours, get very irritable, drive like maniacs, eat gluttonously at Iftar time and engage in ridiculous consumption (for Eid). Glad it's over.

A few years ago during ramadan I was in this pakistani spot picking up some biriyani for later that evening and while I was sitting down waiting for it the owner came up to me and told me to "sit properly," I was leaning back in the chair with the two front legs up in the air while I was on the phone....dude was like you're going to break my chair....I was like okay if I break your fukking chair I'll pay for it breh don't tell me how to sit when I'm in here giving you business. I said it just like that and he was kind of in shock. After that I was like fukk it I'm out.

that hunger is a motherfukker.

 

[TLOL is back]

Outside of religion, there are health benefits to fasting.

 

[Spliff]

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.

Depends how long you fast. Muscle protein breakdown doesn't begin til around the 20hour mark. Nothing major.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

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

excellent response

/thread

 

[88m3]

Implying Muslims in most countries can afford to eat.

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Looks like Intermittent Fasting hasnt reached the ears of Higher Learning yet.

 

[Dirty_Jerz]

Depends how long you fast. Muscle protein breakdown doesn't begin til around the 20hour mark. Nothing major.