Fasting can regenerate entire immune system, study finds
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Peace all,
Personally, I don't require any scientific validation for commandments issued to us by the Omniscient.
awm, as I've understood it from the Quran, is primarily an exercise in taqw. Its purpose is to bring us closer to the Creator.
Any physiological benefits?whether putative or actual?are purely incidental to its being a Quranic requirement.
It is important to remember that abstinence of food and drink is only one component of awm, the more important components involve the restraint of one's self through abstinence of anger, vice and sexual relations. It is thus more apt to translate "awm" as "abstinence", not as "fasting".
Notwithstanding this, several scientific studies conducted on non-human subjects, which are significantly older than the one shared in the first post of this thread, have established to some extent the benefits of food abstinence for continuous days or for alternate days.
It should also be noted that fasting has its greatest effect when observed throughout the year, not only for one month therein.
See below.
Increased fat metabolism in fasting http//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0002937888902578
Increased toxin filtration from the blood via P450 stimulation http//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378427495034072
Increased ketogenesis in prolonged fasting http//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000989818590186X
Decreased chances of recurring ischaemic attacks http//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014488614001198
Thank you for your post. I agree with every word of it!
Peace
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I agree with uq.
I have always noticed this tendency by Muslims to cite any favourable study regarding the health benefits "fasting" and then immediately cite it as support for the wisdom so-called Islamic mode of fasting. However, I have yet to come across a single one that refers to the so-called Islamic mode of fasting. Virtually every one i have seen includes water (or even non-calorie drinks, like black coffee, tea, etc). -
Peace Uq, all,
I agree with your views on Sawm. When it comes to the concept of Sawm I haven't studied this concept deeply/thoroughly. I have studied this concept very little. Hence my knowledge about this concept is little and limited. I plan to study this concept more in the future, if God wills.
Even though my knowledge about Sawm is little and limited, I would like to share some of my thoughts about Sawm with you and other members in this forum. As far as I know, in traditional islam the arabic word Sawm has been translated as fasting. But in my opinion the quranic word Sawm has been mistranslated by traditional islamic scholars. I don't reject the idea that one meaning of Sawm is fasting (not eating food and/or drinking water). But even if one meaning of the word Sawm is fasting, the word Sawm has more than one meaning. The word Sawm has other meanings as well (and this fact is confirmed by the quran in the story of Mary).
"So eat and drink and be happy. If you see any human being, then say, "I have declared a fast for the Gracious, and I will not talk today to any of the people."
Fakulee waishrabee waqarree AAaynanfa-imma tarayinna mina albashari ahadan faqooleeinnee nathartu lilrrahmani sawmanfalan okallima alyawma insiyyan.
In the verse above, the author of the Quran tells Mary that she should say that she has declared a fast (sawmanfalan) for the Gracious, and that she will not talk to any of the people on that day. In other words, by not talking to any of of the people on that day, she will practice Sawm. So in this verse, the meaning of the word Sawm has nothing to do with abstaining from eating food and drinkining Water. On the contary, in beginning of the above mentioned verse, the author of the Quran tells Mary to eat and drink an be happy. How can the word Sawm in the above mentioned verse mean fasting (not eating and drinking) when Mary was allowed to eat and drink while doing Sawm? As far as I am concerned, the above mentioned verse suggests that it is allowed to practice Sawm while eating and drinking. Hence the word Sawm does not mean abstaining from food and water in verse 1926.
It seems that traditional muslims believe that the the meaning of the arabic word Sawm is only fasting. It also seems that traditional muslims believe that the meaning of the word Sawm is limited to the fasting ritual. But this is a misconception, in my opinion. From my knowledge of the quran, the word Sawm, is a comprehensive concept. And as mentioned earlier, the word Sawm has more than one meaning. Fasting is only one meaning of the word Sawm. Another meaning of the word Sawm is abstinence/self-denial. If someone denies himself/herself that which he/she don't need, and instead give it to someone who needs it more than him/her, that person is practicing Sawm. And if a man/woman practice Sawm, his/her acts can move the humanity forward.
If we want to understand all of the meanings of the arabic word Sawm, I think we have to approach this word from several different angles. We have to find all the verses in the Quran where the word Sawm has been mentioned and study the meaning of this word in all the contexts where this word has been used. We should also use grammer when trying to understand the meaning of the word Sawm. We should study the root of the word Sawm. By studying the root of the word Sawm, we will understand its basic meaning. This will make it easy for us to find each meaning that is derived from the root of this word. In addition to that, it is important to distinguish between singular and plular qualities of when trying to understand the meaning of a word in the Quran.
Many muslim scholars have used Hadith and Tafsirs to translate and interpret Quranic verses. This is a huge mistake, in my opinion. Because the fact is that one verse in the Quran explains another. In other words, the Quran explains itself. Hence, we don't need Hadith and Tafsirs to translate and interpret Quranic verses. The Quran is a light unto itself. All we need to understand the meaning of the words in the Quran, is a command of Classical Arabic. It seems that many muslims and non-muslims believe that a knowledge of MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) is sufficient if we want to understand the meaning of the words in the Quran. But in reality this is a myth. Because MSA is not and has never been the language of the Quran. The language of the Quran is Classical Arabic.
By the way, when interpreting or translating Quranic verses I think it is essential to not translate or interpret a verse in a way that it will contradict other verses or contradict nature/reality. Because verse 181 and 673 teach us that the Quran is flawless and that there are no contradictions in it (in its untranslated form). To sum up, the key to understanding the meaning of words in the Quran, is to look at all the verses in the Quran, instead of trying to understand each verse in isolation.
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Peace All.
We see this time and again, people want a word in different sentences and contexts to mean the same?
If "sawm" means abstain from something, why does it have to be from the same thing.
If God is telling Mary to abstain from talking, what has this got to do with God telling us to abstain from eating /drinking... in another verse?
So many are going on tangents ,confusing themselves, confusing folk and confusing the clear instructions of Qoran?
The deen is so complicated according to many!!!
GOD bless you all.
Peace. -
Peace good logic,
I find that your command of God is making it complicated because I take it that those you follow were ignorant and divided their faith and thus lost their salat, but that is me.
Sawm is abstention, and traditionally that connotation is the traditional type of fasting from food and drink. So I give you right there actually. Fasting is traditionally prevalent in both those who call themselves Jews and Christians.
However; fasting is a kind of way of redeeming sinful behavior or giving expression to your state of mind.
Have faith
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Peace Man Of Faith.
I am grateful to the Lord for clarifying for me what "sawm" and "salat" are. I have no doubt.I have my deen. Clear in Surah 98
981
Those who disbelieved among the people of the scripture, as well as the idol worshipers, insist on their ways, despite the proof given to them.*982
A messenger from God reciting to them sacred instructions.*983
In them there are valuable teachings984
In fact, those who received the scripture did not dispute until the proof was given to them.985
All that was asked of them was to serve/worship God, devoting the deen absolutely to Him alone, observe the Salat, and give the Zakat. Such is the perfect deen.Others are free to deduce what they want.
GOD bless you.
Peace. -
Peace good logic,
You mean that your heart is hardened? Well, if it suffices you with the ways you follow then feel free to continue, but you are even mistaken by the translation you quote. Disbelieve should be replaced by opposition and I have never opposed the revelation of the recitation (Qur'an) to Muhammad.
And I agreed with you about sawm and its literal meaning.
All that was asked of them was to serve/worship God, devoting the deen absolutely to Him alone, observe the Salat, and give the Zakat. Such is the perfect deen.
Yes indeed. Devoting the command of God entirely to God alone. Exactly what I do and not to Pagan influence. The command is not filled with weird rituals and practices you know.
But if you wish to keep the ways of those who follow tradition blindly then feel free I will not stop you unless you become dogmatic and zealous towards people.
Have faith
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Does this article refer to full fasting( no food or water for 3 days) or partial fasting ( eating and drinking at night only, or fasting from food for 3 says but not water?? Is there any research that shows people who live in poverty and only eat / drink once every 3 days are healthier and live longer?
A very important question by Lena, which brother Sonny dismissed.
First of all, the Koran clearly says that the purpose of fasting is to learn restraint. Whether or not there are any health benefits of Koranic fasting is another question.
Coming back to Lena's question According to the researchers, the Koranic way of fasting does NOT promote the rebuilding of the immune system.
Long says there?s a difference between the kind of fast used in his research at USC and popular fasting diets that promote eating one meal of about 500 calories a day for two days a week. The results observed in his study ? new white blood cells, creating a robust immune system ? haven?t been proven in fasting diets, he said.
Surviving on one low-?calorie meal for a day or two a week isn?t really fasting, Long argues. It takes about two to three days in a row of fasting before your body and brain make that key internal switch that produces the health benefits observed in the USC study, he said.
Of course, this does not mean that the Koranic way of fasting does not have any health benefits. Perhaps it does have some benefits.
But we should understand and verify things before jumping the gun and proclaiming that a given news article is a conclusive proof.
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Of course, this does not mean that the Koranic way of fasting does not have any health benefits. Perhaps it does have some benefits.
But we should understand and verify things before jumping the gun and proclaiming that a given news article is a conclusive proof.I dont think fasting is prescribed to us just because of one reason, I think there are few other reasons, not just to 'learn restrain' from something. I have no doubt that health benefits are one of the reason why we fast.
When it comes to health benefits, fasting can help us in many ways- can improve your blood and imune system
- burns fat
- burns dangerous viscelar fat (http//www.diabetes.co.uk/body/visceral-fat.html)
- detoxicification of the body
and I can go on...
I think fasting can help us to stay "healthier" in both physical and spiritual way.
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I agree with Taro Hiroshi. The sawm mentioned with respect to Mary is not about refraining from eating and drinking, but from talking. This is an apparent contradiction with another verse which apparently refers to 'eating and drinking'. However, i have seen that contradiction explained with reference to the actual context of that particular verse which actually refers to sexual intercourse, and the phrase 'eat and drink' is actually a term of art or a then-common expression referring to partaking of enjoyment (and not eating and drinking literally). I am not a scholar, and will let those who are and wish to elaborate on this further. I only mention this because i have seen this previously on this site as a possible way to solve the contradiction, but i have not delved deep into it (as i, due to health issues, am precluded from fasting in the "traditional" manner).