1-
Fasting was not introduced by Islam and the Quran states that the religious
ruling of fasting was observed by the nation that preceded Islam.“O you who
believe ! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before
you” (2/183).
Other
religions still follow this religious observance until today, but there is a
difference between fasting in Islam and fasting in other religions since
fasting in Islam is prescribed during a certain month in the lunar year, namely
the month of Ramadan. Fasting beings at dawn and ends at sunset, and between
dawn and sunset one must refrain from eating ,drinking and the desires of the
body. This means that the Muslim works during the hours that he is fasting and
that is why some people imagine that fasting restricts the Muslim's ability to
perform his work well.
2-
Fasting is not to be blamed on this account for fasting has the undeniable
effect of charging people with spiritual energy thus enabling them to work more
energetically than when they were not fasting .The Battle of Badr was fought
and won by the Muslims while they were fasting in the month of Ramadan.
Egyptian troops fought while they were fasting in the 6th of October 1973's war
and were victorious. This is proof that fasting does not restrict one's
activity or ability to perform one’s duty. On the contrary it increases it with
a charge of spiritual energy.
3-
The lack of activity and decrease in productivity in some Muslim countries
during the month of fasting, is not due to fasting but to other factors. People
are in the habit of staying up all night and they are naturally exhausted on
the following day and are unable to make the effort needed to work and they put
the blame on fasting. Had fasting been the cause, they would have felt
exhausted at the end of the day and not at the beginning of the day.
4-
It has been proved that fasting has many medical, spiritual, social and
educational benefits. It is considered an annual opportunity for one to
contemplate on one’s actions and conducts and to meditate upon one’s previous
behaviour and to judge one’s self objectively in order to avoid the recurrence
of any errors one might have made and also to do one’s best to rid one’s community
of any social problems that might exist.