Some parts of the article were taken from Amira Ayad's book and others.
Health & Well-Being
Fasting is an ancient practice long known as a health treatment for the body and soul which has been commonly practised throughout time. In contemporary times we see that even a simple google search on Fasting produces thousands of positive associated benefits.
In Islam, fasting literally means refraining from food, drink, and marital relations before the break of dawn until sunset . However, the true purpose of fasting goes way beyond that. Apart from its physical requirements, the lessons of fasting in Ramadan carry valuable spiritual lessons, intellectual insights and social and humanitarian aims.
Fasting has numerous, scientifically proven, benefits for our physical health and mental well-being. The time, length and nature of Fasting all contribute to its overall positive effect. From a medical or nutritional perspective fasting provides a much-needed rest to the digestive system. The energy usually consumed in digestion and food metabolism will be directed towards body detoxification (getting rid of harmful dietary toxins which have accumulated as natural by-products of food digestion over the year), tissue repair and system healing.
The length of a day's fast (around 12-14 hours) is in sync with the ‘transit time’ of food from the mouth to the colon of the large intestine, ensuring that no stimulus reaches the stomach or digestive system while it remains in homeostasis.
Leon Chaitow, recommended fasting in his book Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics as an effective way to 'supercharge' the immune system. He states that fasting boosts the activity of essential part's of the body's natural defence mechanism. During fasting the ability of the lymphocytes and other blood cells to encounter any bacterial attack is much improved, and since the level of free radicals in the body is reduced by reducing food intake, the activity of the antioxidants is retained for better cell protection.
Therefore, for the vast majority of healthy individuals fasting poses no medical risks but in fact provides many health benefits, such as: an increase in serum Magnesium, essential for cardio-vascular health and prevention of heart complications; improvement in the quality and depth of sleep; improvement in memory and slower skin aging over time; increased production of growth hormone, etc.
In a nutshell, even though the real purpose of Fasting is to discipline our soul and moral behaviour and to develop sympathy for the less fortunate. It is also a multi-functional and a comprehensive tool for change in various spheres of our lives, including: social and economic, intellectual and humanitarian, spiritual and physical, private and public, personal and common, inner and outer - all in one!
"We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth." Qur'an 41:53
Join us on our Open-Days
We have a number of open days across various venues in London over the course of this month.
So, if you just want to pop down for some coffee, some light conversation, ask any questions or just have a look around at the exhibition. Feel free to come down and join us in this auspicious month.
