The Holy Prophet Muhammad -- peace and blessings of Allah be on him -- said 1,400 years ago, "Keep fast to stay healthy." Fasting has been shown in multiple studies to improve physical and mental health.
For example, Johns Hopkins' neuroscientist Mark Mattson, who has studied intermittent fasting for more than 25 years, says that our bodies have evolved to go without food for many hours, or even days. The normal American eating pattern of three regular meals and snacking in between does not allow the body fat to burn at any time. A suggested way is 16/8, i.e., eating for eight hours and fasting for 16. Longer periods of fasting, such as 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours, the Johns Hopkins website says, are not necessarily better and may be dangerous. Going too long without food may make your body store more fat in response to starvation. The Holy Prophet forbade 24-hour fasting and even the daily fasting throughout the year. He suggested to fast alternatingly, fasting one day and not fasting the next, if needed. He called this the Prophet David's tradition.
As for spiritual fitness, it has been the practice of the prophets and sages to fast for 40 days to achieve superior spiritual health and to attain nearness to God Almighty. Prophet Moses and Jesus -- peace be on them both -- have fasted and meditated and as a result received blessings from God. According to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad -- peace be on him -- reducing the intake of physical nourishment and at the same time feasting on spiritual sustenance through prayers, meditation, recitation of the Holy Qur'an, and remembrance of Allah opens the gates of the Higher Realm and prepares the human soul to receive true dreams and visions from Allah.
The Holy Qur'an says: "O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous." (Holy Qur'an, Ch. 2, V. 184) The word in Arabic that is translated as "righteous" is an all-encompassing word that means the one who is ever conscious of the presence of God Almighty in everything he or she does, fulfilling all responsibilities toward God and man alike, and keeping away from everything harmful for their own beings and the society. Fasting puts us on the path of virtue.
The month of fasting starts with the sighting of the crescent moon of the Lunar month of Ramadhan. The root meaning of the word Ramadhan is to become vehemently heated by the sun. So, it has the connotation of a boot camp of sorts where vehement action under the brilliant guidance of the Holy Prophet results in long-term change in behavior and prepares one for a virtuous lifestyle.
In this land of plenty and even excess, let me call everyone to join their Muslim friends across the globe in fasting for better health and better tolerance of each other for a better tomorrow for all.
Hameed Naseem is the Director of Outreach for the Tulsa Chapter of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA. He is also the faculty advisor of Al-Islam Students Association, a registered student organization at the University of Arkansas. Contact him at hanaseem@gmail.com.