The Spiritual and Health Benefits of Ramadan Fasting

          At the sunset of  Ramadan, Muslims all over the world start fasting from dawn to dusk daily for 30 days and avoid food, water, sex and vulgar talk during that period.

Thus we indulge in food all of the time, snacking and nibbling the whole day, heading to obesity. We drink too much coffee, or tea, or carbonated drinks. Some sexaholics can not stay away from sex unless they do it at least once or more a day. When we argue, we leave our decency aside and resort to vulgar talk and even physical fighting.

Now when one is fasting, he or she cannot do all of that and when he is provoked to fight, he says " I am fasting that I cannot respond to your provocation".

Medical benefits are of a secondary nature of fasting. Fasting has been used by patients for weight management, to rest the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse effects of total fasting as well as of crash diets. Islamic fasting is different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. In addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed imposition from the physician.

Ramadan is a month of  self training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan, having long lasting effects. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities. The difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water for 8 to 10 hours is not necessarily bad for health and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism.

The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension. But patients who are suffering from sever diseases, whether type I diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not be allowed to fast.

There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases.

There is a beneficial effect of extra prayer at night. One of the odd nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan is called the night of power when angels descend down, and take the prayer of worship to God for acceptance.

Fasting is a special act of worship which is only between humans and God since no one else knows for sure if this person is actually fasting.

Reproduced from the Submitters Perspective

By B.A.

Democratic Third World 

           Democracy ..... equality ... freedom ...... human rights ....... Justice peoples struggled over time to achieve all this and the price dearly sacrificed hundreds or even thousands to get to it became most people today, especially Western countries such as America, France, Germany, Britain ..... and have seen growth in all areas of health education and industry, which led to the enjoyment of the individual annual income can a decent life ....... also managed From the establishment of international organizations for the protection of human rights and child protection and defense of freedoms ...... so it's also protected animal. strange and baffling, ignorance and silence on the physical liquidation that led to hundreds or even rolls thousands of Almslemen in Burma, also known as Myanmar and officially Gmehuthnan Rayya Myanmar L M Alaalaalburmeh. use the ugliest forms of abuse and التعديب addition to the displacement of thousands also denounced some organizations and ignored most of the media what happened Baha and contended others not to allow them to help prevent them by the Burmese government who can accept this? where military intervention may be permissible Rescue sometimes one or two, as did France Rescue Journalists Fayalnniger and Somalia ...... and more bizarre intervention in Libya and arming citizens at random, which led to the entry of the country into a spiral of violence and chaos and resulted in excessive use the murder weapon to the growing daily and without cause ...... as the whole world knows what they witnessed in Libya architectural renaissance did not know unparalleled in my father's now the world is experiencing financial crises cascade Unlike Libya, which invests in all areas and despite the large area understand re Terman and create all the roads in addition to linking Aash Tripoli, Benghazi by rail more than 1000 km and Metro light and skyscrapers and international hotels ............... Is it logical to get rid of the corrupt system destruction all this?? logic corrupt system does all this achievements by?? Either of the Atzlih citizens is my father contributed in Anchar terrorism and terrorist groups? Said not a shame that نخطا but that we continue in the wrong .. no one expresses what happened in Afghanistan Tho Iraq still suffers from the remnants of war in order to prevent Anchar nuclear weapon my father did not not exist mainly repeats knead in Libya and repeated in Syria unfortunately random arming and hundreds die every day until this topic OT ...... treaty are Aldemaqrath and human rights .... Freedom of the press and media, unfortunately, became some journalists Lisbon religions and mocked the Messengers this topic is freedom?

By B.A.

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 Faith instead hate       

                              

    Palestinian Teritory. This is a hot subject. And controversed, too. There seems to be a never-ending war. 

Who is right, who is wrong, does it still matter ? Children die, men die, women die. Women are humiliated, men are  beaten and killed, children are starving, scared, alone. So, what can be right in this situation? 

But there is another kind of life yet. There are families who work, raise children who go to school every day and try to live a good life. This is a power which comes from their inside. They live normaly, even if all around are in fire. They believe in good and in God. 

I talked with a young 16 years old girl. She has brothers and sisters, “ a big and amazing family” as she said. She learns for school every day and she wants to become a doctor.

She is very wise for her age, polite and funny, too. 

There is so much life among death around! Teenagers must be happy and hopefull. And, amazing, palestinian teenagers are this way.

 I didnt feel no trace of hate in her words. No hate, only faith in Gods help.

And, yes, she knows about Raed Arafat, the palestinian  who create in Romania the best emergency health service, S.M.U.R.D. 

The primordial rule, in all religions, is “Love each other”. But we do the opposite. Why?

G.E.S.

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From the “virtual world”  

         I have a young friend from Palestina who likes to talk with different people and find their life stories. She writes all these into a notebook. Till now, she told me that she has almost five notebooks ! What a wonderful book will get born from them ! She doesn’t use the real names, but the srories are exactly as she found out. She is an amazing girl, living among bombs but writing everyday the people’ life stories, from all around the world ! And, I wonder, if this virtual world wouldn’t exist, how many wonderful stories would be lost ! How many lovers, how many friendships for life were and will be started on the miraculous and virtual world. Anyway, why “virtual” ?! No, it is much real then the world could ever be ! How many of us have neighbours who never spoke with, even if they live on the same street for years ?! We all have, sure. Why ? Because we have no power to choose our neighbours. And we are incompatible for comunications with them. But on the virtual world, we have this power. We can choose our “neighbours” and transform them in friends and even family. So, which “world” it is really  “real” ?!

And, if virtual world wouldn’t be, my palestinian little friend would be lost among bombs without know her, without find out how wonderful person she is ! Would be a lost for my human evolution, for sure.

G.E.S.

Ramadan in non-Islamic countries

There are many Muslims in the world who live into non-Islamic countries... How hard is for them to keep Ramadan? 

About the holy month of RAMADAN

Special prayers- Taraweeh

When the month of Ramadan begins, Muslims enter into a period of discipline and worship:  fasting during the day, and praying throughout the day and night.  During Ramadan, special evening prayers are conducted during which long portions of the Qur'an are recited.  These special prayers are known as taraweeh.

The word taraweeh comes from an Arabic word which means to rest and relax.  The prayer can be very long (well over an hour), during which one stands upright to read from the Qur'an and performs many cycles of movement (standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting).  After each four cycles, one sits for a brief period of rest before continuing -- this is where the name taraweeh("rest prayer") comes from.