To Fast Where No One Has Fasted Before
Thursday September 27, 2007
Categories: Practice
Because there are Muslims all over the world, fasting has occurred in many different places, climates, and circumstances. But what happens when the boundaries are pushed? For example, in October...
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About Hungry for Ramadan
The last update to the Hungry for Ramadan blog was in October 2007. We welcome your comments about Ramadan and Islam in general in our Muslim forums.
Shahed Amanullah, a frequent Beliefnet contributor, is one of the country’s foremost Muslim journalists. He has harnessed the power of the Internet to spread a positive view of Islam. Amanullah is the editor of altmuslim.com, a Muslim news website, and founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Muslim-themed websites with more than five million annual visitors. Through his work Amanullah has tapped into a strong force of online activism. He lives in Texas with his wife and two sons, and looks forward to the spiritual rewards of Ramadan every year.
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I have been following your blog with interest. This latest post made me curious- what about for people whose jobs require that they be at the top of their performance for public safety (such as doctors, firefighters, etc)?
Can't help but be reminded of the jewish joke:
There is an old joke about the first Jewish astronaut who returns to earth utterly exhausted. He is asked: “What happened?” He replies: “shacharit, minchah, ma'ariv, shacharit, minchah, ma'ariv!” In other words, a spaceship orbits the earth once every ninety minutes. If each orbit is considered a “day” of twenty four hours, an observant astronaut would spend most of his time praying, and after every six orbits (or nine hours) he would have to observe Shabbat for ninety minutes. As a result, he would not only be exhausted, but have no time to do whatever he was sent to do!
Imagine the muslim, 5 times in such a day!
I have been following your blog with interest. This latest post made me curious- what about for people whose jobs require that they be at the top of their performance for public safety (such as doctors, firefighters, etc)?
Actually, I think a good argument can be made for their exemption from fasting.
"Actually, I think a good argument can be made for their exemption from fasting."
True, But then they would have to make it up, wouldn't they? And it sucks to fast by yourself. I have a labor intensive job, it's not so hard fasting. Just make sure to drink plenty of water (before and after), and have some good food in you.
It all depends on how you define "fasting". If it was originally meant to make a kind of self denial - a going without something important - then you could give up something other then food for the same period, like TV or sex or wearing jewelery or your iPod or the internet.
Lena
There is a remedy in Holy Quran for Sheikh Muzaffar Shukur's predicament. Islam doesn't put burden on its followers which they can not bear. It says that those who are sick and traveling are not required to fast, but should fast for equal number of days when the conditions are brought back to normal. Sheikh Muzaffar will be making an ultimate travel at a very high speed in zero gravity. He has to encounter many challenges and hardships and to carryout important works assigned to him during his short stay there. Naturally, he will not be required to fast during Ramadhan like other Muslims. Even the Ulema of Malaysia have decreed that he need not fast while in orbit.
There is a wrong notion amongst the present day Muslims that fasting in extreme conditions like sickness etc., will bring them more rewards from Allah. So they fast while in sickness. They also force their young children and old parents to fast although their physical conditions cannot withstand the rigours of fasting. This is not only wrong, but also against the Quranic injunctions. Islam is an easy religion. It doesn't ask its followers to harm themselves by following its tenets, which at times may be difficult to follow for some people.
K.K. BADRUDDIN
Kinda makes you wonder how Muslims would fast in Alaska or more Northern regions during the summertime, especially since sun doesn't go down.....
I am in Alaska. When Ramadan hits the summer, I plan on hitting the road.
I worked for a Muslim family in Maine one summer, when Ramadan coicided with the summer solstice. They were very pleaseant to work for, and I liked them quite a bit. But even they got a little testy by the time the sun set well after 9 p.m. (after rising around 5 a.m.) Obviously, 1300 years ago there was no notion of travel as we know now. For that reason, appeals for "That Old Time Religion", for any people fo faith, makes less and less sense.
I am constantly intrigued by the adaptations religion must make to remain in accord with scientific advancement. The entire specualtive or science fiction genre has some interesting thoughts on the subject.