The Quran: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (part 107)

Author: Dr. Noor Mohammad Mohibi

The Quran: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (part 107)

The Miracle of the Noble Quran in the Legislation of Fasting

Fasting (Siyam) is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam and among the most remarkable manifestations of divine legislation. It simultaneously encompasses three essential dimensions of human existence: the spirit, the psyche, and the body. Although fasting outwardly consists of abstaining from food, drink, and certain physical pleasures, in reality it represents a comprehensive program for human renewal, rectification of lifestyle, strengthening of willpower, purification of the soul, and preservation of bodily health.

What modern medical science, nutrition, and physiology have reached after extensive research is that systematic and properly observed fasting plays a major role in disease prevention and even in the treatment of certain illnesses. This scientific reality constitutes a clear manifestation of the legislative miracle of the Quran, for fasting was made a divine obligation centuries before the emergence of modern medicine.

Allah the Exalted says in the Quran: (يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ)  [1] Translation: “O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain piety.”

This verse demonstrates that fasting is not a temporary or isolated ruling, but rather a divine tradition shared among all previous communities, whose ultimate objective is to guide humanity toward piety, balance, and inner discipline.

Fasting Between Divine Worship and Health Benefits

1. Fasting as Prevention and Treatment from a Medical Perspective

Physicians and researchers in the medical sciences have concluded that fasting, when performed in accordance with the Prophetic Sunnah, can serve both a therapeutic and a preventive function. Among the conditions in which fasting has been found beneficial in improvement or regulation are:

1. Acute inflammation of the stomach;

2. Severe vomiting during pregnancy;

3. Certain types of diabetes mellitus;

4. Elevated arterial blood pressure;

5. Kidney weakness accompanied by salt retention;

6. Chest pain resulting from insufficient blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle;

7. Chronic inflammations of the digestive system;

8. Gallstones;

9. Certain dermatological diseases.

However, the crucial point is that fasting is more powerful as a means of prevention than as a cure, because by reducing the body’s metabolic load, it allows vital organs the opportunity to rest, recover, and regenerate.

2. Fasting and Mental Well-Being

From the perspective of psychiatric and psychological medicine, fasting exerts a profound influence on a person’s mental equilibrium. Fasting:

• Strengthens the power of will;

• Liberates the human being from the bondage of habits;

• Revives the ability to say “no” to the demands of the (nafs).

A clear example of this is the temporary, or even permanent, abandonment of habits such as smoking during the month of Ramadan. A person who is capable of refraining for many hours from eating, drinking, and smoking comes to realize, through lived experience, that abandoning such habits is indeed possible.

For this reason, scholars have stated: “Fasting is the worship of sincerity, because in both privacy and public life, a person abstains from lawful pleasures solely for the sake of God, without any worldly observer.

Fasting and the Rest of the Vital Bodily Systems

1. The Digestive System and Blood Circulation

• Among the most significant physical benefits of fasting are the following:

• The stomach and intestines are granted a period of rest;

• The heavy burden of continuous digestion is reduced;

• The heart and circulatory system are relieved from excessive strain;

The kidneys gain an opportunity to purify the blood more efficiently.

These organs constitute the pillars of human life, and dysfunction in any one of them can transform existence into severe hardship. By limiting food intake, fasting helps prevent the gradual deterioration of these vital systems.

2. Moderation in Nutrition: A Forgotten Principle

Cardiologists emphasize that the health of the heart and blood vessels is directly linked to both the type and quantity of food consumed.

The Noble Quran articulated this principal centuries ago: وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ [2] Translation: “Eat and drink, but do not be excessive; indeed, He does not love those who are excessive.”

A person who has fallen into excess in eating and drinking throughout the year finds in Ramadan a valuable opportunity to correct these imbalances, provided that moderation is also observed during the nights.

3. Fasting: An Annual Preventive and Therapeutic Regimen

Some medical scholars have stated: “Fasting is an annual preventive program for the body and a therapeutic regimen for certain diseases.”

Many illnesses associated with old age have their roots in the excesses of youth. Fasting establishes a balance between consumption and rest, thereby protecting the organs from premature exhaustion and degeneration.

It has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) that he said: «صُومُوا تَصِحُّوا [3] Translation:
“Fast, and you will attain health.”

What is primarily intended by this “health” is not treatment alone, but rather prevention.

To be continued…

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References:

1. Al-Baqarah: 183
2. Al-Araf: 31
3. Kanz al-Ummal fī Sunan al-Aqwal wa al-Afal, Chapter One: On the Virtue of Fasting in General, narrated from Ibn Abbas – Ṭab edition, al-Risalah, vol. 8, p. 450.