Hi Anisah,

I am not a muslim - however I did find an interesting article about islamic fasting and how it differs from other kinds of fasting which you might find interesting/helpful/completely pointless.

http://islam-usa.com/im15.html

Since it appears the members haven't caught this thread yet...

hey i thought i put u off da forum...

WELL COME BACK SIS!!!

Fasting is very hard....

but there are also scientificly proven health benefits for fasting too...

Most Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits but because it has been ordained to them in the Quran. The medical benefits of fasting are as a result of fasting. Fasting in general has been used in medicine for medical reasons including weight management, for rest of the digestive tract and for lowering lipids.

Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self-training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, it is beneficial for one's entire life.

The only 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 during this period is not bad at all and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.

The physiological effect of fasting includes lower of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity and essential hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 research papers from all over the world, from Muslim and non-Muslim researchers who have done extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from severe diseases, whether diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not try 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. This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes.

Recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory. Therefore, I encourage my Muslim patients to fast in the month of Ramadan, but they must do it under medical supervision. Healthy adult Muslims should not fear becoming weak by fasting, but instead it should improve their health and stamina.

I dunno why but I always feel more peace of mind at the end on Ramadan, not coz its end of Ramadan and no fasting would be required after that month, its just coz i feel closer to god, i usally is a good boy then, then 2 weeks later i go back to normal :?

PS I am sorry I ruined ur old thread sis...

Salam

"AnisahLondon" wrote:

Ramadhan is approaching and as i have never fasted i wanted to know if there is any tips that u can all give me?

Yes, Anisa. DON'T FAST.

Learn to walk before you can run.

At the moment, a thirty day marathon is way out of your league.

Omrow

OMROW! :x

THERE IS NO NEED FOR COMMENTS LIKE THAT!!!!

Salaam

I disagree.

Through fasting one can feel closer to Allah (swt) and can practise self control.

Prayers are accepted of the one who fasts, blessings are bestowed on him/her, sins get forgiven and he/she recieves the reward/pleasure of Allah (swt).

Why would you want to deprive the sister of the above mentioned benefits?

Wasalaam

lol Judda you just copied that article from the Submission.org website

YEAH I DID INNIT

SHHHHHHHHHHH

I WANNA TAKE THE CREDIT FOR IT :x

ANISAH DO NOT GO ON THAT SITE!

IT HAS TERRIBLE PHYCOLOGICAL EFFECTS TO THE BRAIN

I IS LIVING PROOF

Salam

"MuslimSister" wrote:

Through fasting one can feel closer to Allah (swt) and can practise self control. Prayers are accepted of the one who fasts, blessings are bestowed on him/her, sins get forgiven and he/she recieves the reward/pleasure of Allah...

I wouldn't want to deprive her of any pleasure.

But the reality is that she is not up for it.

You have heard of the saying: "Many fast but get nothing but hunger."

Omrow

did u actually read my post mate?

Salam

Yes Jedda. I read your post.

She wanted "tips". You gave her a lecture.

Omrow

Omro sis anisah said she wants tips on fasting she didnt ask wether she should fast or not...sis has just converted and has the blessing of Allah (swt) and she will gain a lot this month inshallah

Sis just keep strong and take ramadan one day as it comes, keep busy with things ie. reading quran, durood sharif. keeping yourself occupied with things like remeberance of Allah (swt) makes time go by quicker and you get maximum blessing..you will be fine, from what i have seen of you, you are a very strong person.

"Omrow" wrote:

Salam

Yes Jedda. I read your post.

She wanted "tips". You gave her a lecture.

Omrow

lol actually realising u have them benfits motivates u to fast....

as for tips KEEP BUSY BUSY BUSY that way hunger is not on your mind that much....

its a pilla of islam u can't reject it coz u don't feel like doing it omrow...

Salam

Angel. You have wings but no heart.

She has never fasted before. She may be feeling scared of starving herself for 20 hours a day.

I was only showing compassion to the girl.

Omrow

"Omrow" wrote:

Salam

Angel. You have wings but no heart.

Omrow

lol that coming from you i dont take to heart, oh i dont have a heart :roll:

"Omrow" wrote:

She has never fasted before. She may be feeling scared of starving herself for 20 hours a day.

dont judge evryone by ur own weak standards :evil:

just can YOU cant handle fasting-that dont mean that everyone else will find it hard too

deleted

Happy fasting? :roll:

Don't u mean Happy Ramadan?

deleted

tips?

drink plenty of water.

eat yogurt at sehr.

do not over exert yourself.

try to fast a day in shabaan to see how it goes (you cannot fast the last day of shabaan...), and see what problems may arise...

remember that fasting is not just abstaining from food.

Very right Admin is, fasting is not ajust bstaining from food, fasting of the eyes, the tongue, the ears, hands feet etc. They are all part of it, so don't use any of them to do wrong. Be good, kind and most of all patient, as the patience is tested the most during fasting time, esepecially nearer to the end of the fast when anything can overheat the temper!

May allah(swt) guide you and keep you on the straight path, ameen.

As Salaamu alaykum.

Okay a number of points:

1./ Omrow's concern is understandable but I reverted mid June last year and fasting was not as hard as you make out (perhaps it was coz i was in the habit of skipping lunch at college (it wasted valuable football time!) dunno).

2./ The hardest bit I found of fasting was how much too eat at Iftar, some people put on weight in Ramadhaan coz they go mental at Iftaar, others loose weight. But the best thing I found was to eat something small e.g. wee bit of fruit and water, then do Maghrib, and by the time Maghrib is done the edge will be gone from yor hunger and you should eat a DECENT meal, so that you better know how much to eat and don't go crazy.

3./ someone mentioned you shouldn't be alone at Iftar, I find it doesn't matter all that much, but if your family didn't convert try to 'get invited' to a muslim friends house for Iftar, as the company is nice and you learn tonnes from sharing religeous acts with others of experience (not just when fasting).

4./From persaonal experience I didn't really feel the effect of fasting properly till Asr (my mum liked to force feed us at Sehri), at which point I would start to feel very cold and tired, I appreciate you have duties but for the first few fasts try to be at a muslim sisters house for Asr time so they can understand and comfort you if you feel the same weakness/tiredness etc.

5./ I found that not drinking water was harder than not eating food, so thats gonna be hard but take fluids at Sehri and Iftar, also try to take honey at Sehri. (goes excellently with milk)

6./ Ask a friend about all the fast breakers and what exemtion clauses apply, and ask them repeatedly coz you won't instantly memorise them.

7./ It is seriously hard getting up for Sehri but if you've never done anything like fasting before, please do not miss this important meal/time.

8./take strength from the Sabr (patience/stead fastness) of friends.

9./ from Judda's first post I thought someone had hacked his acount.

10./Anything you're unsure about e.g. permissibility of swallowing phlegm, ask a friend and if you're too embarrassed post or PM on the forums.

You probably won't get what people say by missing Ramadhaan until it ends!

May Allah SWT give you and us all the ability to enjoy a truly asmazing 30 days. Ameen!

"yashmaki" wrote:

*Try and learn the actions for salat, that will keep you busy.

*Get yourself a small book of Quranic verses with translitteration, so you can memorise a few short ones for salat.

...

* Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is something anyone can do. Get yourself a tiny book of dhikrs, you may already have one, repeat them and focus on the meaning. The very basic one is subhan'Allah 33 times, Alhamdulilah 33, and Allahu'Akbar 34 times.

...

Sounds like a lot? Draw up a timetable of things to do each day, and stick to that.Your day will fly by and you will gain the maximum blessings of Ramadan.

...

May Allah grant you success.

All good points, I think the 33/33/34 Tasbeeh is called tasbeeh-e-Fatima.

The Taleemul Haq is invaluable! try to get a copy.

A timetable? that sounds hardcore, I think i'll be struggling just with my Uni timetable!

Salam

Its 33 x 3

I dont know why people add an extra 1.

Omrow

"Dawud" wrote:

9./ from Judda's first post I thought someone had hacked his acount.

i've got a multiple-personality disorder.