Pars Today

Welcome to the second episode of the series “Blessed Month of Ramadhan”. The month of fasting is the month of altruism and better and more efficient servitude of God. Today, we turn our attention to Muslims who are facing wars in different parts of the world; focus on the recommendations of Holy Qur’an in regard to blessed month of Ramadhan; and point out the appropriate diet in this blessed month.

On the second day of the blessed month of Ramadhan, we hope that your prayers and acts of worships are being accepted in the divine court. Sadly, for the past several years, parts of the Muslim world are facing difficult conditions. The people of Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Nigeria, Kashmir, Myanmar, and Palestine are passing through persecution, terrorism, wars, displacement, and massacres, resulting in hunger, malnutrition, and famine. The pitiless aggressors have no mercy for even women, children and the elderly. They have wantonly destroyed the infrastructure including hospitals, schools, libraries, mosques, power plants, waterworks, factories, marketplaces and roads, while the so-called international bodies are watching the catastrophe in silence or are siding with the aggressors and terrorists. There seems to be no solution to these crises, since the terrorists and their backers have no regard for the sanctity of the fasting month of Ramadhan, and how the fasting persons can manage to get the required provisions and foodstuff for Iftar or breaking of the day’s fast at sunset. Lack of amenities is causing major challenges, especially for those who live in war-torn regions.

One of the main woes of our region is the presence of terrorist outfits, who are backed by the Wahhabi Aal-e Saud regime, as well as by the US and the illegal Zionist entity. For the past six years, Syria is in flames, while the terrorist outfits despite their claim to be Muslims and that too puritanical, do not even honour the blessed month of Ramadhan. According to UN reports, thousands of people in Syria suffer from shortage of food in the war-stricken regions and in shelters set up for Syrians in neighboring countries. Muslim refugee in camps in European countries such as Greece also face major problems in regard to fasting and fulfilling the rituals of this blessed month.

The fasting Muslims in Yemen also face several problems. Because of the dastardly air raids of Saudi jetfighters, the people of Yemen have no easy access to drinking water, food, and clothing. War and bombardments have led to power cuts in a number of regions in Yemen, leading many organizations to point out the unbearable conditions in that country and shortage of food for over 14 million Yemenis.

Muslims across the world fast in this blessed month of Ramadhan; while more than 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip remain under virtual siege of the illegal Zionist entity. They are living under intolerable conditions. Gazans face many hardships as a result of the illegal sanctions imposed by the Zionists. Purchase of food in the blessed month of Ramadhan is a difficult task for Gazans. Given their low incomes, they are forced to buy cheap food. Moreover, Muslims in Gaza and West Bank usually face the Zionist regime’s raids in the blessed month of Ramadhan. This comes while human rights organizations have on several occasions demanded the prevention of attacks against Palestinian people in the blessed month of Ramadhan. However, the Zionist regime continues to commit atrocities against the innocent and defenseless people of Palestine.

Now, let’s listen to an enlightening ayah of the Holy Qur’an. God Almighty says in Ayah 184 of Surat al-Baqarah: “Prescribed for you is fasting for known days. But should any of you be sick or on a journey, let it be a similar number of other days. Those who find it straining shall be liable to atonement by feeding a needy person. Should anyone do good of his own accord, that is better for him, and the fast is better for you, should you know.”

God, upon pointing out the philosophy behind fasting states a number of other instructions in this ayah in order to show that fasting is an easy task only for a number of known days. Also, God, in this ayah, points out that other arrangements have been made for those, who face major difficulties for fasting. Elderly men and women, pregnant women and patients who are unable to fast shall be liable to atonement by feeding a needy person. But, anyone who would want to feed more than one needy person for each day; that is better for him.

This ayah shows that Islam maintains a set of laws for any individual under any condition. What is important is to comply with God’s instruction. If God has instructed us to fast, we should fast, and if God has instructed us to eat, we should break our fast.

At the end of this ayah, it is pointed that since fasting is better for you, you should fast with enthusiasm, because if the level of goodness of this deed was fully known, you would have not wished to be an elderly person, feeding a needy person instead of fasting.

The Iranian mystic, Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, who flourished a thousand years ago, has noted: “One of the philosophies behind fasting is that the blessed individuals realize the state of the poor and needy and assist them.”

Islam as the most comprehensive divine religion has set a number of rules and regulations for our lives. Let’s listen to a number of recommendations made by the dynamic shari’a of Islam on health and diet in the holy month of Ramadhan.

Because of thirst and hunger, many of the fasting Muslims are liable to experience exhaustion, impatience, headaches, muscle contraction, and stomachache, due to a reduction in consumption of food, needed by the body. Nonetheless, fasting maintains several positive aspects. To promote one’s health under these conditions, an appropriate diet should be adopted. At the first step, we remind you that according to the divine religion of Islam, fasting is forbidden for patients. Upon the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadhan, and under the spiritual atmosphere of this month, many individuals ignore their illness. Meanwhile, the decision of a patient to fast depends on the type of illness, conditions of each ailment, type of medication, and several other factors, and a fixed rule cannot be set for all patients, even with similar ailments. In these cases, each individual can better realize whether he is capable of fasting or not. Otherwise, he has to trust the view of his physician.

Dr. Saeed Husseini, professor of Tehran Medical University and nutritionist, points out: Patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension face a number of restrictions for fasting. This group of patients should fast upon consultation with their physicians. Those patients, who want to fast, should control the level of their blood sugar three or four days prior to start of blessed month of Ramadhan. Patients who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), whose illness has worsened, while consuming Cortone, should not fast. Also patients, who are on medication or suffer from symptoms; such as fever and physical pain upon injection; and should consume medication in order to lower these symptoms, are not obliged to fast. Note that the first condition which should be fulfilled for fasting is body’s health.  

 AS/ME