Fasting

Every year Muslims in the world fast in a particular way in the month of Ramadan. The traditions teach
that during this month God gives Muslims a chance to double their rewards so to have much wider
chance to get into the paradise. Muslims ask for His pardon for their past sins and conduct other
meritorious behavior. Every act of kindness, prayer, giving, fasting and anything else that a Muslim can
possibly do to please God, is expected. On such occasions, Muslims ask their Christian neighbors about
their way of fasting. According to Islamic teaching all people of God, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus
fasted. Do Christians Fast? What is the Biblical perspective of Fasting? Forgetting that the Qur’an says:
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, that you
may become righteous.” (Al-Baqara 2: 183)
Many Christians do fast but not as Muslims fast nor do they display it. Some fast every year for 40 days,
to commemorate the occasion of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and to prepare for the celebration of
his suffering and resurrection. However, this custom is not a law given by God nor is there any record
that Jesus himself fasted for 40 days every year, only that he did only once. There is no record of Jesus
prescribing such a fast for his followers.
Fasting in the Bible is an expression of preparation for new ventures, of penitence and intercession and
prayer seeking God’s aid (1Samuel 31:13; 1Kings 21:27; 2Samuel 12:16). In the past fasting was
undertaken for personal reasons (Psalm 25:13), as a national act in the face of calamity (Joel 2:15), or as
a periodic liturgical observance (Zech. 8:19).
Fasting normally involves abstinence from food to show dependence on God and submission to His will.
The great fast in the Old Testament times was that of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29-34), which
Muslims also observed in the early days at Madina before the observance of the whole month of fasting
was decreed.
God gave a very thought-provoking message through the Prophet Isaiah concerning fasting. “For day
after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what
is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager
for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we
humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and
exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with
wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind
of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not
this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to
set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide
the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from
your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly
appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am. If you do
away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend
yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the need of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the
darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy
your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered
garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58 :2 – 11)
In the New Testament fasting with prayer and the breaking of bread was regularly observed. Church
leaders fasted when choosing missionaries and elders (Acts 9:9; 13:2,3;14:23).
In line with such words, Jesus accepted fasting as natural discipline. The gospel mentions him as fasting
before the start of his ministry, similar to the action of Moses and Elijah (Matthew 4:2; Exodus 24:28; 1
King 19:8). During his ministry it seems that his companions or disciples did not often fast, in contrast to
the disciples of John the Baptist and those of the Pharisees (Mark 2:18-19). The reason was that they
were in celebration because the Messiah, as the bridegroom, was still with them. However, Jesus did
mention that after his departure and until his return they would fast (Matt. 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke
5:33-39).
Seeing how people fasted, Jesus advised: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for
they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on you head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious
to men that you are fasting, but only to your FATHER, who is unseen; and your FATHER, who sees what
is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16 -18).