{"id":39882,"date":"2025-02-27T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iqri.org\/fasting-according-to-islam-and-the-bible\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:42:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:42:22","slug":"fasting-according-to-islam-and-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iqri.org\/en\/fasting-according-to-islam-and-the-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Fasting, according to Islam and the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s often said: Muslims fast, Christians don&#8217;t. But what is really the case? To understand this, we need to define what fasting means, according to Islam and according to the Bible.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-9-c-0000-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Fasting according to the Koran and Hadiths<\/strong><\/h2>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033 h2, #block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033 h3, #block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033 h4, #block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033 h5 , #block-d2199595-7d07-4ceb-9d1b-fda99fa84033 { color: #9c0000; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until 2 AH that Muhammad introduced the Ramadan fast by virtue of a &#8220;revelation&#8221; (Sura 2.185).<span id=\"2e318560-1ea2-4d6e-99f5-4692101422e6\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"&#xAB;(Ces jours sont) le mois de Ramadan au cours duquel le Coran a &#xE9;t&#xE9; descendu comme guide pour les gens, et preuves claires de la bonne direction et du discernement. Donc, quiconque d&#x2019;entre vous est pr&#xE9;sent en ce mois, qu&#x2019;il je&#xFB;ne ! &#xBB; \"><sup>1<\/sup><\/span>. At first, Muslims could dispense with fasting on certain days, provided they compensated by feeding at least one poor person for each day not fasted (Sura 2.183-184).<span id=\"4d4ad93f-f76e-438d-94ae-16bf7115bc60\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"&#xAB;&#xD4; les croyants! On vous a prescrit as-Siyam (le je&#xFB;ne) comme on l&#x2019;a prescrit &#xE0; ceux d&#x2019;avant vous, ainsi atteindrez-vous la pi&#xE9;t&#xE9;, pendant un nombre d&#xE9;termin&#xE9; de jours. Quiconque d&#x2019;entre vous est malade ou en voyage, devra je&#xFB;ner un nombre &#xE9;gal d&#x2019;autres jours. Mais pour ceux qui ne pourraient le supporter qu&#x2019;(avec grande difficult&#xE9;), il y a une compensation : nourrir un pauvre. &#xBB;\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/span>. Then, very quickly, it was imposed on everyone as a duty, with the exception of the sick, indisposed or pregnant women, travellers and combatants on the &#8220;path of Allah&#8221;.  <\/p>\n\n<p>The Arabic word <em>&#8220;fast&#8221; <\/em>means <em>&#8220;to abstain from&#8221;.<\/em> During Ramadan, we abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations during the day. However, from sunset to sunrise, everyone is free to enjoy what they have denied themselves during the day. <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">The importance of fasting<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6 h2, #block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6 h3, #block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6 h4, #block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6 h5 , #block-b2ad303f-8ad2-4528-ba22-ed3d421236e6 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>There are many reasons why this practice is absolutely vital. Ramadan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam<span id=\"654ac740-7695-4e7e-9654-6fd2c6cd0e76\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"Dans l&#x2019;islam sunnite (majoritaire), ce sont l&#x2019;attestation de foi en l&#x2019;unicit&#xE9; de Dieu et en la proph&#xE9;tie de Mahomet, les cinq pri&#xE8;res quotidiennes, l&#x2019;aum&#xF4;ne, le je&#xFB;ne du Ramadan et le p&#xE8;lerinage &#xE0; La Mecque. Ces devoirs ne sont pas tir&#xE9;s du Coran mais d&#x2019;un dire attribu&#xE9; au proph&#xE8;te selon lequel &#xAB; L&#x2019;islam est b&#xE2;ti sur cinq piliers &#xBB;, mais ils ont un caract&#xE8;re contraignant.\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/span> and commemorates the revelation of the Koran by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad. Failing to observe it is as serious as failing to perform the ritual prayer or refusing to pronounce the shahada (Muslim confession of faith). If Islamic law is strictly applied in a Muslim country, such an offense makes the non-fasting person a heretic liable to the death penalty.   <\/p>\n\n<p>While Muslims are obliged to observe the Ramadan fast on a fixed date, there are other forms of fasting. These are voluntary and take place on certain days of the week or in certain months of the year. These fasts have a supererogatory character, i.e. they are added to what is required by ordinary piety to increase its merits.<\/p>\n\n<p>Whether it&#8217;s the <em>ritual fast of Ramadan<\/em> or the <em>supererogatory fasts<\/em>, Muslims who observe them aspire to satisfy three fundamental needs.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Fasting to atone for certain faults<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb h2, #block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb h3, #block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb h4, #block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb h5 , #block-7a579cef-ac0a-4f66-95de-99005cec28cb { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>Fasting can be practised as a means of righting a moral wrong. For example, the Sharia requires a <em>consecutive two-month fast<\/em> from a person who has involuntarily caused the death of a Muslim (Sura 4.92).<span id=\"44dacf4a-742d-4e67-8e40-f47c7603346f\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"&#xAB;Il n&#x2019;appartient pas &#xE0; un croyant (musulman) de tuer un autre croyant, si ce n&#x2019;est par erreur. Quiconque tue par erreur un croyant, qu&#x2019;il affranchisse alors un esclave croyant et remette &#xE0; sa famille le prix du sang, &#xE0; moins que celle-ci n&#x2019;y renonce par charit&#xE9;. &#xBB;\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/span>who has broken the fast (of Ramadan) without a valid reason (by having sexual relations, eating or drinking during the day) or who has repudiated his wife using a pagan formula (Sura 58.3-4).<span id=\"ce740855-543c-46ae-9398-2b4c99f1d60a\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"&#xAB;Ceux d&#x2019;entre vous qui r&#xE9;pudient leurs femmes, en d&#xE9;clarant qu&#x2019;elles sont comme le dos de leurs m&#xE8;res&#x2026; alors qu&#x2019;elles ne sont nullement leurs m&#xE8;res, car ils n&#x2019;ont pour m&#xE8;res que celles qui les ont enfant&#xE9;s&#x2026;\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/span>. <\/p>\n\n<p>A person who does not honor an oath made to God must observe a <em>three-day fast<\/em> (Sura 5.89), and one who has killed game during Ramadan, depending on the value of the animal, is subject to a <em>fast of between three and ten days <\/em>(Sura 5.95).<\/p>\n\n<p>Those who compare their wives to the backs of their mothers, and then go back on what they said, must free a slave before they have any (conjugal) contact with their wives&#8230; But he who cannot find the means must then fast for two consecutive months before he has any (conjugal) contact with his wife. But if he can&#8217;t do that either, then let him feed sixty poor people&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Fasting to become better at obeying Allah<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607 h2, #block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607 h3, #block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607 h4, #block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607 h5 , #block-ede8e871-4430-4d16-9662-6e4321142607 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>Every sincere believer aspires to develop certain moral qualities and, according to Islam, fasting is the preferred means of doing so. Indeed, suffering hunger and thirst enables the fasting believer to experience first-hand what the poor endure. In this way, he can learn compassion and a spirit of social solidarity towards them. The renunciations imposed by fasting also enable the believer to focus on God and grow in his love for the Creator.   <\/p>\n\n<p>Muslims are also aware of what hinders their piety. So they fast to arm themselves against the evil inclinations of their nature.<span id=\"9c85d7e9-ca72-4b82-be70-902d4ce5f1ee\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"La lutte pour purifier son &#xE2;me est prescrite dans un autre passage du Coran o&#xF9; Allah jure par Lui-m&#xEA;me : (S91, v7-10) : &#xAB; Et par l'&#xE2;me et Celui qui l'a harmonieusement fa&#xE7;onn&#xE9;e ; et a insuffl&#xE9; en elle ses p&#xE9;ch&#xE9;s, de m&#xEA;me que sa pi&#xE9;t&#xE9; ! A r&#xE9;ussi, certes, celui qui la purifie. Et est perdu, certes, celui qui la corrompt. &#xBB; Dans ce passage, le Coran utilise le verbe &#xAB; ZaKaHa &#xBB; qui signifie &#xAB; purifier &#xBB; et non pas le terme &#xAB; Jahada &#xBB; qui signifie &#xAB; combattre &#xBB;. Il ne faut pas confondre la purification avec une pr&#xE9;tendue prescription du Jiah spirituel. En plus, cette n&#xE9;cessit&#xE9; de purifier son &#xE2;me, est li&#xE9;e &#xE0; sa cr&#xE9;ation par Allah qui insuffle en elle les p&#xE9;ch&#xE9;s. Il laisse &#xE0; chaque &#xEA;tre humain la responsabilit&#xE9; de purifier son &#xE2;me de ses p&#xE9;ch&#xE9;s qu&#x2019;Allah a insuffl&#xE9;s en elle. \"><sup>6<\/sup><\/span> by strengthening their will. This asceticism, it is asserted, frees those who practice it from the passions that defile the spirit. It also purifies their hearts of futile or impure preoccupations. A Hadith tells men who are unable to marry: <em>&#8220;He who is unable to marry, let him fast. It dulls his ardor&#8221;.<\/em>    <\/p>\n\n<p>As a saying attributed to Mohammed states, <em>&#8220;Fasting preserves from Hell, like a shield in battle. Whoever fasts a day for the love of God will be kept away from the Fire by the distance of seventy years&#8221;. <\/em>As for Muslim scholars, they are so convinced of the benefits of fasting that they consider that <em>&#8220;allowing more than four days to go by without fasting hardens the heart, engenders bad habits and opens the door to passions&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>See article: Some little-known aspects of Ramadan fasting <a href=\"https:\/\/iqri.org\/en\/some-little-known-aspects-of-ramadan-fasting\/\">https:\/\/iqri.org\/quelques-aspects-meconnus-du-jeune-du-ramadan\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>There is a third reason for fasting, to which Islam attaches the utmost importance.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Fasting for merit<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23 h2, #block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23 h3, #block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23 h4, #block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23 h5 , #block-013720c1-5c9f-4072-b1cc-8ee94cd62d23 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>In this respect, the Ramadan fast is the best of all the months in the Muslim calendar. Whoever fasts with faith during Ramadan, expecting divine reward, <em>receives forgiveness for his sins<\/em>. On the night of Ramadan, demons and jinn are chained, the gates of Hell are closed and those of Paradise are opened.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Any good deed performed during Ramadan earns its author a very special merit. The Hadiths explicitly state. &#8221; <em>The best charity is that performed during Ramadan&#8221;.<\/em>&#8221; <em>Whoever rises to pray during the nights of Ramadan, with faith and counting on the divine reward, God forgives his past faults&#8221;.<\/em>&#8220;An &#8216;Umra (small pilgrimage to Mecca) during Ramadan is worth a great pilgrimage in my (Mohammed&#8217;s) company&#8221;.  <\/p>\n\n<p>But of all the good deeds that can be performed during fasting, jihad is by far the most excellent, as its purpose is to spread Islam throughout the world during the month when Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Koran.<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">What is the relationship between the Ramadan fast and jihad?<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5 h2, #block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5 h3, #block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5 h4, #block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5 h5 , #block-d2195078-5309-4409-b480-be210ce101e5 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>During this fast, the Muslim must devote all his efforts to observing the prescriptions of the Koran. This is the primary and most important goal of the fast. The highest precept of Islam is jihad.<span id=\"b3c9dcdd-3dcd-4ee5-be36-81784bae8829\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"La Sourate 2, qui prescrit le je&#xFB;ne du Ramadan, prescrit &#xE9;galement le combat, que nous traduisons en Occident par jihad. En fait, dans ce verset, le terme utilis&#xE9; est Qital, qui signifie le combat pour tuer et la possibilit&#xE9; pour celui qui combat de se faire tuer &#xE0; son tour. Une telle perspective n&#x2019;est gu&#xE8;re r&#xE9;jouissante, mais le Coran insiste : &#xAB; Le combat vous a &#xE9;t&#xE9; prescrit alors qu&#x2019;il vous est d&#xE9;sagr&#xE9;able. Or, il se peut que vous ayez de l&#x2019;aversion pour une chose alors qu&#x2019;elle vous est un bien&#x2026; C&#x2019;est Allah qui sait, alors que vous ne savez pas. &#xBB; (Sourate 2, verset 216)\"><sup>7<\/sup><\/span>. It must therefore be given a special place during Ramadan. It&#8217;s no coincidence that the same Sura mentions Ramadan and jihad, in the same context.    <\/p>\n\n<p>Muhammad, the model par excellence for every Muslim, launched the Battle of Badr on the 17th day of Ramadan. It was also during Ramadan that he conquered Mecca. His disciples and descendants followed in his footsteps, waging decisive battles during the month of Ramadan: in Syria, Egypt, Spain, during the Crusades and right up to the <sup>20th<\/sup> century, when the Arab countries launched the Yom Kippur War during the month of Ramadan.<span id=\"ec4f3127-41d1-41ca-9d13-98c9b90b8113\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"On pourrait citer ces quelques exemples : Victoire de Mahomet &#xE0; Badr (624) ; conqu&#xEA;te de La Mecque par Mahomet (630) ; conqu&#xEA;te de l&#x2019;Egypte par &#x2018;Amr ibn Al &#x2018;Ass (642) ; conqu&#xEA;te de l&#x2019;Andalousie par Tariq Ibn Zyad (711) ; victoire d'A&#xEF;n Djalout sur les Mongols en Syrie (1260) ; victoire sur les crois&#xE9;s Palestine et prise d&#x2019;Antioche (1268).\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/span>.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Why does the West hide this relationship?<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446 h2, #block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446 h3, #block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446 h4, #block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446 h5 , #block-f889f7cf-de39-4444-92bf-d08d0af70446 { color: vivid-cyan-blue; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>The strategists behind the Islamization of the West understand this very well: such a link between the Ramadan fast and jihad cannot be revealed to a Western society that is told that Islam is a peaceful religion. This is why the Muslim Brotherhood had the ingenious idea of presenting this jihad in another form: spiritual jihad.<span id=\"8dac5bf2-5def-49e7-8ab2-d98a380cbc42\" class=\"abt-footnote\" contenteditable=\"false\" data-note=\"Un hadith donne le bon &#xE9;clairage sur ce verset : &#xAB; Le Moudjahide est celui qui fait le jihad contre son &#xE2;me, pour qu&#x2019;elle ob&#xE9;isse &#xE0; Allah &#xBB; (Rapport&#xE9; par Termidhi et Ahmad dans son Musnad). L&#x2019;&#xE2;me humaine, en refusant de s&#x2019;engager dans le jihad, d&#xE9;sob&#xE9;it aux ordres d&#x2019;Allah. En cons&#xE9;quence, le musulman doit lutter contre son &#xE2;me pour qu&#x2019;elle ob&#xE9;isse &#xE0; Allah en s&#x2019;engageant dans le Jihad.\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/span>. They took a verse from the Koran that prescribes Muslims to purify their souls and falsely associated it with jihad. This concept of spiritual jihad has been so widely picked up and disseminated by the media and advocates of peaceful Islam that it has been wrongly imposed as a reality of Islam. However, Muslims themselves, particularly in Muslim countries, recognize that spiritual jihad does not exist, either in the Koran or in Muhammad&#8217;s Sunna.    <\/p>\n\n<p>In view of the above, it&#8217;s easy to understand why some Islamists are calling on their followers to wage jihad during the month of Ramadan. We can also better understand their true intention when they speak of jihad. <\/p>\n\n<hr\/>\n\n<p>If this is fasting according to Islam, what does the Bible have to say about it?<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-9-c-0000-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Fasting according to the Bible<\/strong><\/h2>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115 h2, #block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115 h3, #block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115 h4, #block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115 h5 , #block-80404008-a90d-449d-829c-13144817b115 { color: #9c0000; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>Unlike Muslim tradition, the Torah of Moses makes no mention of fasting in the religious practice of the patriarchs. Adam, Noah or Abraham may have fasted, but if they did, the Bible doesn&#8217;t consider the event significant enough to mention it. There is one exception to this: when Moses went up to Mount Sinai with the stone tablets on which <em>&#8220;the Lord wrote&#8230; the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments&#8221;,<\/em> the text specifies that <em>&#8220;Moses remained there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, without eating or drinking&#8221;.<\/em> The context, however, makes it clear that this was not a ritual fast, but a particularly solemn occasion during which Moses had no leisure to eat or drink (Ex. 34:28).   <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Fasting for personal needs<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a h2, #block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a h3, #block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a h4, #block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a h5 , #block-fb4c98e1-811f-475f-8bb0-cc57ae609a3a { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>In the Old Testament, all allusions to fasting describe serious individual or national circumstances. For example, when the child born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba was dying, <strong>David<\/strong> fasted, begging God to spare his life. In the psalms, he alludes to other circumstances when he felt the need to fast. In Psalm 69.11, he declares, <em>&#8220;I have wept and fasted&#8221; <\/em>, and in 109.24, <em>&#8220;My knees are weakened by the effect of fasting&#8221;. <\/em>When Queen <strong>Esther<\/strong> decided to approach Emperor Xerxes at the risk of her life to ask him to prevent the annihilation of her people, she called on the Jews of Susa to give up eating and drinking for three days, a fast to which she herself submitted (Esther 4.16).   <\/p>\n\n<p>In Israel, certain people invested with recognized authority could <em>&#8220;proclaim a fast&#8221;<\/em> of indeterminate duration, because it was not ritualistic and depended on circumstances. We read, for example, that King <strong>Jehoshaphat<\/strong>, seeing a coalition of enemy armies coming, <em>&#8220;took fright and decided to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah, and the Judeans gathered together to implore the Lord&#8217;s help&#8221;<\/em> (2Chronicles 20.3-4).   <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Fasting to meet a national need<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f h2, #block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f h3, #block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f h4, #block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f h5 , #block-57e36746-ba11-4ef9-a2c5-6c21a58dda6f { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>At any time, kings and priests could call on the Israelites to fast when it came to expecting God&#8217;s protection (Estras 8.21-23), confessing their sins (Nehemiah 9.1-2) or expressing repentance: <em>&#8220;But even now, the Lord declares, return to me, return with all your heart with fasting, with tears and lamentations. Tear your heart, not your garments, and return to the Lord, who is your God&#8221;<\/em> (Joel 2.12-13).<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Commemorative fasts<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557 h2, #block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557 h3, #block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557 h4, #block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557 h5 , #block-78dac72a-cd4e-4c98-8378-4dd9d43f6557 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>Although God never made fasting a law, the Israelites did establish periods of national fasting. After the capture of Jerusalem and the transfer of its population to Babylon, the deportees decided to observe four annual fasts to commemorate the various moments of this tragedy. But the prophet Zechariah gave them the following message: <em>&#8220;This is what the Lord of heavenly hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will be changed for the people of Judah into a day of rejoicing, a day of gladness and joyful feasts.&#8221; <\/em>(Zechariah 8:19). With his words, he announced their future return to Jerusalem, and the hope of a new life characterized by the joy of their return to God.   <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">The risks of fasting<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18 h2, #block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18 h3, #block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18 h4, #block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18 h5 , #block-1e7e47ce-b3d0-4110-a457-fd2b54b13a18 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>The practice of voluntary fasting has led some to believe that God sees some merit in it. Yet, eight centuries before our era, he declared through the prophet Isaiah: <em>&#8220;The fast that pleases me is that which consists in loosening the bonds of wickedness, untying the straps of every bondage, setting free all those who are oppressed and breaking every kind of yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and offer hospitality to the homeless poor, to give clothing to the naked, not to turn away from your neighbor&#8221;<\/em> (Isaiah 58:6-7)<em>.<\/em> In other words, God calls his people to renounce evil and do good, rather than proclaiming fasts that only maintain the pride of those who observe them. <\/p>\n\n<p>To sum up, in the Old Testament, fasting is a practice that is imposed on individuals or on the whole people in serious circumstances, but it never has any value in itself. Fasting is beneficial only insofar as it accompanies and supports the believer&#8217;s return to God. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>See also <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/evangile21.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/3-raisons-bibliques-de-jeuner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Three biblical reasons for fasting<\/a> (John Stott)<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">Jesus leaves his disciples free to fast or not<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609 h2, #block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609 h3, #block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609 h4, #block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609 h5 , #block-72f9ae4d-698c-48f6-9045-e12b16c58609 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>This is what the whole of the New Testament makes clear. Jesus did not institute the forty days of complete fasting that preceded the beginning of his ministry as an obligation for all his disciples. Quite the contrary! He did not ask them to fast, unlike John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14-15). He was not afraid to mingle with people and eat and drink with them. What&#8217;s more, he denounced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who fasted ostentatiously on Mondays and Thursdays (Luke 18.12), and advised those who wished to do so to wash their faces and perfume their heads so that no one would know they were fasting (Matthew 6.16-18).     <\/p>\n\n<p>Like the believers of the Old Testament, the disciples of Jesus fasted either for very solemn or perilous situations, or to wage a particularly intense spiritual battle. To his disciples who had failed to cast out a demon, Jesus says: <em>&#8220;This kind of demon can only be cast out by prayer and fasting&#8221; <\/em>(Matthew 17.21). <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">What fasting is not for Jesus&#8217; disciples  <\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166 h2, #block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166 h3, #block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166 h4, #block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166 h5 , #block-fcf7edd2-43db-42f5-8808-d688b5517166 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>In addition to these generalities, it should be pointed out that, unlike what the Ramadan fast represents for Muslims, fasting as practiced by followers of Jesus is not a means of atoning for certain faults, becoming better or acquiring merit with God.<\/p>\n\n<p>Isaiah bluntly reminds us of the state of human nature: <em>&#8220;We are all like unclean things; all our righteousness is like soiled linen. We are all withered like a leaf; our iniquities carry us away like the wind&#8221; <\/em>(Isaiah 64.5). This is why God&#8217;s covenant with Moses, the Ten Commandments, was powerless to free mankind from the dominion of sin. God gave it to his people with the intention of teaching them that they needed a new Covenant. And this new Covenant God made for all men through the death and resurrection of Jesus.   <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-0693-e-3-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\">How Jesus favorably disposes of God to his disciples<\/h3>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2 h2, #block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2 h3, #block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2 h4, #block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2 h5 , #block-4bc1d478-06be-4d2c-9858-012e06ac86d2 { color: #0693e3; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<p>By accepting to bear the curse that God pronounced against the sin of the first man (Ge 2.16-17; 3.17-19), Jesus frees everyone who believes in him from the need to atone for their own sins. What&#8217;s more, the Spirit that God causes to dwell in the disciple&#8217;s heart teaches him to fight his evil inclinations and grow in the likeness of Jesus. Finally, there&#8217;s no need for the disciple to seek merit from God, since Jesus has taken care of that. The disciples understand that <em>&#8220;it is by grace that we are saved, through faith. It doesn&#8217;t come from us. It&#8217;s God&#8217;s gift. It is not by works, so that no one may boast&#8221;<\/em> (cf. Ephesians 2:8).   <\/p>\n\n<p>Jesus thus unites in himself all the merits that God demands of a man. For those who believe in Jesus, God forgives their sins, calls them &#8220;sons&#8221; and &#8220;daughters&#8221; of God, and teaches them to lead a life in the likeness of Jesus. <\/p>\n\n<p>So it&#8217;s not for lack of piety that Jesus&#8217; disciples don&#8217;t fast. It&#8217;s because they have found in Jesus what others seek in abstinence. For them, the joy and freedom of salvation has replaced the constraint and contrition of fasting.  <\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-000-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/h2>&#13;\n<p><style>#block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38 h2, #block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38 h3, #block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38 h4, #block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38 h5 , #block-7eaf6fbc-f6f6-4fba-8e52-e8cf96737e38 { color: #000; }<\/style><\/p>\n\n<section aria-label=\"Footnotes\" class=\"abt-footnotes\" role=\"region\"><hr><ol><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"2e318560-1ea2-4d6e-99f5-4692101422e6-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">&#8220;(These days are) the month of Ramadan in which the Qur&#8217;an was sent down as a guide for people, and clear proofs of right guidance and discernment. So whoever of you is present in this month, let him fast!&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"4d4ad93f-f76e-438d-94ae-16bf7115bc60-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">&#8220;O believers! You have been prescribed as-Siyam (fasting) as was prescribed for those before you, so will you attain piety, for a set number of days. Whoever of you is ill or on a journey, must fast an equal number of other days. But for those who could only bear it (with great difficulty), there is compensation: feeding a poor person.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"654ac740-7695-4e7e-9654-6fd2c6cd0e76-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">In Sunni (majority) Islam, these are the affirmation of faith in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, the five daily prayers, almsgiving, the Ramadan fast and the pilgrimage to Mecca. These duties are not taken from the Koran, but from a saying attributed to the Prophet to the effect that &#8220;Islam is built on five pillars&#8221;, but they are binding. <\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"44dacf4a-742d-4e67-8e40-f47c7603346f-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">&#8220;It is not for a believer (Muslim) to kill another believer, except by mistake. Whoever kills a believer by mistake, let him then free a believing slave and remit the blood money to his family, unless they forgo it out of charity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"ce740855-543c-46ae-9398-2b4c99f1d60a-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">&#8220;Those of you who repudiate their wives, declaring that they are like the backs of their mothers&#8230; when they are by no means their mothers, for they have for mothers only those who bore them&#8230;.<\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"9c85d7e9-ca72-4b82-be70-902d4ce5f1ee-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>6<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">The struggle to purify one&#8217;s soul is prescribed in another passage of the Qur&#8217;an, where Allah swears by Himself: (S91, v7-10): &#8220;And by the soul and He who harmoniously fashioned it; and breathed into it its sins, as well as its piety! He who purifies it succeeds. And lost, surely, is he who corrupts it.&#8221; In this passage, the Qur&#8217;an uses the verb &#8220;ZaKaHa&#8221;, which means &#8220;to purify&#8221;, not &#8220;Jahada&#8221;, which means &#8220;to fight&#8221;. Purification should not be confused with a supposed prescription for spiritual Jiah. Moreover, the need to purify one&#8217;s soul is linked to its creation by Allah, who instills sins into it. He leaves it up to each human being to purify his soul of the sins that Allah has breathed into it.   <\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"b3c9dcdd-3dcd-4ee5-be36-81784bae8829-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>7<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">Sura 2, which prescribes the Ramadan fast, also prescribes fighting, which we in the West translate as jihad. In fact, in this verse, the term used is Qital, which means fighting to kill and the possibility of the fighter being killed in turn. Such a prospect is hardly cheering, but the Qur&#8217;an insists: &#8220;Fighting has been prescribed for you even though it is unpleasant for you. Now it may be that you dislike a thing when it is good for you&#8230; It is Allah who knows, while you know not.&#8221; (Sura 2, verse 216)  <\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"ec4f3127-41d1-41ca-9d13-98c9b90b8113-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">Just a few examples: Muhammad&#8217;s victory at Badr (624); Muhammad&#8217;s conquest of Mecca (630); &#8216;Amr ibn Al &#8216;Ass&#8217;s conquest of Egypt (642); Tariq Ibn Zyad&#8217;s conquest of Andalusia (711); Ain Djalout&#8217;s victory over the Mongols in Syria (1260); victory over the Crusaders in Palestine and the capture of Antioch (1268).<\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"abt-footnotes-item\" id=\"8dac5bf2-5def-49e7-8ab2-d98a380cbc42-ref\">\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__marker\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/div>\n<div class=\"abt-footnotes-item__content\">A hadith sheds light on this verse: &#8220;The Mujahid is the one who wages jihad against his soul, so that it obeys Allah&#8221; (Reported by Termidhi and Ahmad in his Musnad). The human soul, by refusing to engage in jihad, disobeys Allah&#8217;s orders. Consequently, the Muslim must fight against his soul to make it obey Allah by engaging in jihad.  <\/div>\n<\/li><\/ol><\/section>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s often said: Muslims fast, Christians don&#8217;t! But what is really the case? To understand this, we need to define what fasting means, according to Islam and according to the Bible.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[674,659],"tags":[678,676,677,675,680,670,679],"coauthors":[341],"class_list":["post-39882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-koran-vs-bible","category-republications","tag-acquire-merits","tag-atone","tag-become-better","tag-bible","tag-jesus-and-fasting","tag-koran","tag-risks-of-fasting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fasting, according to Islam and the Bible - IQRI.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some people say that Muslims fast, but Christians don&#039;t. 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