Why everyone should participate in Ramadan even if you are not Muslim

[blondfrog]

I am not Muslim myself and maybe I am being biased since both my parents are though. However I still practice the physical aspects of fasting though and here is why. Also I am going to explain why I think everyone should as well even if you are an atheist. You could argue how you don't need starving yourself to realize there are hungry poor people in the world, but it makes a huge difference when you experience it yourself. With this Ramadan being the hardest this decade being 17-18 hours before you can break your fast, I feel it's a good time to bring up this topic now.

5. It makes you sympathies towards the starving poor

I think we can all agree that sometimes we need to be reminded of something we experienced to become sympathetic towards it again. For those who don't know fasting in Ramadan is way harder than passover. You can't eat or drink until after sunset. Which is during the Maghrib prayer which is after sunset. There are five prayers in Islam. This is why the Prophet Muhammad wanted people who were fortunate enough to fast. If you wanna go a step further you do charities to a certain percent everyday for those 30 days or so when Ramadan ends. Really it's not that bad technically speaking you are only skipping one meal a day, it's just that between that time there is a big interval.

4. It teaches giving to the poor

Whether this is giving money or food, both are mandatory. Zakat is just how you say charity in Arabic. I know it's obvious that you can learn about giving to charity without a religious book. That's common sense. It's still nice though to have a religion that tells you to give to people who don't have that kind of wealth. Gluttony is a sin even in Christianity. The charity you are required to give is only 2.5%. It's a rational amount and more than fair in my opinion. If everybody gave that much though there would be a lot less starving children and adults in the world. It's argued how much charity to give, but this is what most Muslim scholars have decided.

3. It gives you a better understanding of how hard Ramadan is/helps you lose weight

I am not asking to do it for the whole 30 days. Just try it out for one day and you will really appreciate and hopefully respect how difficult it is. Really what's going hungry without food or water for 17-18 hours compared to starving children and adults in other parts of the world for weeks sometimes months without food and water? The more you do it the more your body will get used to it and will become easier and easier. On top of that it's a great way to help you lose weight.

2. It brings you closer to your family and community

I am sure there are people out there who don't need this to have them get closer and spend more time with their family even non intermediate families. Such as aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparent's, nephews, nieces, etc. I'll admit knowing the Muslim and overall middle eastern culture well since I grew up in it not all Muslims do this either. Even if it's only for one month that it brings you closer to the community and family it's still nice. I am aware that there are plenty of events that are like this as well in the west. Such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. Trust me I am being non biased here as sad as it is to say the middle eastern community has become like this too. Even towards their own family relatives, by giving each other the cold shoulder. Even though we should always be like this that is not the case so Ramadan helps adhere to that a little bit and brings people closer to one another.

1. It makes you appreciate the food and water you have

It's sad to believe but many parts of the world don't have water or they don't have clean enough water to drink at least. Their water is too dirty. It's a small thing that we take for granted, but it would be such a unpleasant thing to not have. Just imagine those water pipeline breaks that you get every once in awhile in your town and no water comes from any of the drains in your house. I am sure this has happened in your local area at least once in a while. How about when the water is not good to drink in your sink and your local news station tells not to drink because it has been tainted. Well imagine that, but a million times worse in these other countries, because they suffer through that everyday of every year.

People usually criticize things they don't understand. Let's try and be more understanding of each other.

Thanks for reading this mytake. By the way not everybody who is Muslim has to fast. God is a reasonable understanding person according to Islam. If you have diabetes you are excused from it, a child, or you yourself are suffering in poverty. There are other exceptions as well.

How can you not appreciate what you have after seeing this picture ^

[Starshine85]

How does it bring you closer to your family?

I've been encouraged to eat and drink regularly in my life so its not so it's a bit different but I have fasted unintentionally and for non religious reasons sometimes.
I really don't think it's for everyone though. Even for people who are Muslim, I think people who have diabetes, some particularly frail people etc are exempt from it. Not great to eat so late for someone with something like hiatus hernia either.

But I do understand benefits of fasting and have read about it too.

[blondfrog]

I mentioned that in my mytake. You don't have to fast if you have diabetes also if you yourself are in poverty. If somebody has Anorexia they don't have to either.

[Anonymous]

As though other religions don’t teach giving to the poor or to value what you have?

I mean ok that’s great if this is what you find in it but I find it pretty presumptuous that you think this is necessary for others.

[blondfrog]

I didn't if you read the take. I was just merely saying that you should at least try it for one day to get a better understanding of how it feels.

[Opinion Owner]

Fasting? Who hasn’t Gone without food for a day? Nbd.

[blondfrog]

Lots of people at least in more privileged countries.

[Opinion Owner]

It’s not unusual to have done it even in “privileged” countries.

[blondfrog]

Okay you really think many people in the U. S. fast for 14-18 hours on purpose?

[Opinion Owner]

That’s not even a day. It doesn’t have to be on purpose. Without food is without food. I literally probably do it once every few weeks. Not a big deal.

There are diets that have fasting days. There are diets that start with a day or two of fasting. There are people that do it for medical reasons there are people that do it because of circumstances. It’s just not that big of a deal.

[blondfrog]

Without water or any liquid too.

[Opinion Owner]

Yah. It’s not even a full
Day.

[Jackblue]

Mr. blondfrog do you know what the obesity rates are like in Gulf countries, research that and then we will discuss who is privileged and who has more concern for the poor?

[Nadim171]

*facepalm*
Ok, I'm a Christian who lives in Egypt. And Ramadan doesn't sound that fun. People usually gain more weight in Ramadan becasue they eat too too much at night. People in the street are way too rude if you drink water on Ramadan, but really when it's 35c° I have to DRINK.
People don't help the poor on Ramadan. They spend money on food that can feed 10000000 starving

[Inneedofusername]

What do they do when you say smth back to them after they are rude to you for drinking water?

[blondfrog]

That sounds like a country issue not a religious issue.

[Inneedofusername]

That sounds just like the islam problem. Forcing everyone to believe in it

[sarahburberryy]

In my country many restaurants called "ra7ma" which means in arabic : mercy. All the poor go there to it for free. Actually, My parents every ramadan donate to charities and we actually contribute a lot especially during this month. We don't cook a lot, we don't over spend and honestly i feel like this is the month where i feel more spitiually reliefed and relaxed.

[sarahburberryy]

open in ramadan*

[Nadim171]

Woah... thanks for MHO I didn't expect it

[blondfrog]

I didn't give it to you. It just randomly gives to someone after 7 days lol. Now that doesn't mean I downvoted you, cause I don't downvote. I must have just forgot to give mh.

[Nadim171]

Lol... ok NP

[Twenty2]

I believe fasting in general does whatever you just wrote. Losing weight during Ramadan isn't good. Fasting for that long isn't good. Even the Hindu fasting isn't good on the body. Muscles gets deteriorated when body doesn't get food. Fat doesn't get lost that much. It's more of a muscle lost.

[blondfrog]

You have to also understand that you are just doing it in 1 month for the whole year.

[Twenty2]

Yeah! I know but still not good for health.

[blondfrog]

I've done it plenty of times and am fine. So do many people.

[Twenty2]

I am not saying you won't survive. I am saying it's unhealthy.

[Twenty2]

Thanks for the MHO

[TripleAce]

I do agree with most of this... for various reasons
Personally I love the energy muslims gain and share from this event. They come together in a way where everyone feels like family. I guess thats the power of the ideology of 'god' whether you believe in it or not, you can't deny the synergistic effect it can have

I do sort of do fasting when I do intermittent fasting... on that aspect I do know what it feels like and its a great feeling to finally eat. Its great to give your digestive system a break

now to the negatives
1. Now I dont agree with why Ramadan began, which is to commernserate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. Because we honestly don't even have original manuscripts from when Muhammad was alive, the earliest writings are about 200 years after prophet Muhammad. And the manuscripts show signs of being altered

2. Zakat is charity yes but not exactly. Its more a tax... and was originally used for the poor but that was very very early on... very quickly it became a tool to convert people by payment. Also its more so a tax because non muslims had to pay Jizya just to be allowed to practice their own faith without being killed by muslims or having to convert to islam

[Jackblue]

First of all nobody goes without water for months at a time, going without it for more than a few days is lethal. Second of all I have fasted before I was a Christian and after and it does not necessarily make a person more sympathetic to the poor. It can also make a person more selfish. Islam treats those who are not of its religion with contempt, Muhammad cursed women who cut their hair. There are many poor women who cut their hair whereas Jesus forgave even those who crucified him. Thirdly nothing is more harmful for the poor who lack clean water than forbidding alcohol. Muhammad could go without it, because he was a large man who had been fed well in his childhood, and who ate better as an adult than most people at that time did. For most people at that time alcohol was needed to prevent disease. The later caliphs at least recognized this and thus alcohol was not regulated much in medieval Islamic societies. Fourthly why was it that god did not give Muhammad ability to feed the poor with miracles, but instead chose to give him enough sexual endurance to participate in orgies with a dozen wives who supposedly he would see at the same time?

[Jackblue]

Another thing you Muslims are way too public about fasting, charity, and praying. Jesus spoke about how such things must be kept private. By making it such a public matter you get your reward in full from recognition on earth, but nothing from God.

[xCherryKizz]

Not a muslim but my friends drink and eat at around 3am and 7pm. Anything between 3 to 7 they can't eat or drink.
But i do agree on the part that it doesn't necessary make people sympathetic to the poor. It could be a practise but it means diff things to diff people who sees their religion. Religious people who are really charitable would do it out of sacrifice but others dont have a choice so they did it reluctantly/break fast.
I think ultimately the most important thing is what comes from ur heart. If u have a will u can restrict ur diet in ur own means, doesn't have to be fasting and vice versa.

[GuidoThePizzaMaker]

I have lived with muslims for 5 years now
I fasted last Ramadan for a whole week.
It does take a good deal of will-power and self-discipline.

I am catholic by the way. And i dont agree with a lot of things that exist in Islam, however I do realize its utility to people and all its positive messages. Ramadan, is one of those things.

In catholcism we have Lent, and you are supposed to abstain for meat on ash wednesdays and fridays for the entirety of Lent. You also typically give up one thing, for that period of time too. Like smoking, drinking, soda, sweets etc

[Sooshi]

Islam is amazing. It's so sad how warped people are by the media lol.

It's not like the media is the official source of knowledge? I thought if you want knowledge about something you have to go to and open it by the source.

Media is based on lies and exaggerations cause people are drawn to drama 🎭 they wouldn't make money saying the world is kind.

[VIVANT]

Good take. I fast regularly. In addition to the pints you made It’s also good for you heath wise.. allows your body time to rest and clear out impurities. Helps me focus and be present and connect and feel grateful.

😊😊

[blondfrog]

Nice :) are you Muslim?

[curiousnorway]

The weight loss thing is inaccurate. Not eating for a long time and then becoming extremely hungry so you're eating a lot at night time would just make you get the weight back again. Your body have to adopt gradually to a new diet and you've to eat regularly to make a weight loss work in the long term. Look it up. If you're fat and gets thin during ramadan, you would within two weeks get fat again.

[VIVANT]

Eating one meal rather than three or many times per day trains your body to feed off if itself during the day rather than relying on constant food supply.

If dorm considtently, People who need to lose weight will lose weight by this method bc it trains you to only eat what you need.

Of course you can’t do it sometimes then not othe Times bc you will end up eating more than you need.

But to eat all you need at once does make you eat more. It is hard to eat more than you need in one sitting. Eating a lot in one sitting does not mean over eating as you did not eat the rest of the day.

It is an ancient tradition people have been practicing thousand of years.

Many health benefits as it is less stringent in your organs and endocrine system and controls spokesmen of insulin.

If you eat junk or over eat then like anything it is and, but if you eat healthy , it is usually an improvement to former health.

Often people suffering from insulin or blood sugar related problems , can recover or greatly improve by this method.

I’ve been living this way for years and my weight is absolutely stable. And I never suffer from low blood sugar related weakness bc I’m used to going without food for long time.

[weirdoweirdo]

@VIVANT Also fasting for say 18 hours and then just 1 meal at night for a prolonged time also means your metabolism would SIGNIFICANTLY slow down and that in itself could actually cause weight gain and to regain your previous metaboltic rate takes several months depending on how much screwed it up.

[VIVANT]

@weirdoweirdo

Nope nope

[VIVANT]

That is not actually what happens as your body is trainer to eat only what it needs. try it🤷‍♀️

I’ve been doing it for years... if I’m not careful I lose weight but never gain.

[VIVANT]

To gain I’d have to eat multiple times a day.

[blondfrog]

If you do it right you will lose weight. I've lost weight when doing it. Then when its time to break your fast don't eat a lot to the point where your stomach is so full you have trouble breathing.

[SarahsSummer]

Fasting is not healthy. I’ll support the poor the ways I always have. through my donations of time and money.

[blondfrog]

Plenty of people do it and some people even lose weight doing it.

[Sooshi]

Fasting is healthy actually and it's been proven by science. Google it... I don't want to debate, literally find out for yourself.

[OfDeath]

@Sooshi I'm sorry but not drinking water during a hard, physical day of work in the heat is NOT healthy at all.

[Sooshi]

@OfDeath you just drink water later? Drinking too much is bad for the kidney then again.

[OfDeath]

@Sooshi No. The body needs water regularly. Going a whole day especially if you are working in hot conditions will lead to problems caused by the dehydration.
Why would you risk that for some crazy, antiquated religion? It's stupid.

To the other part of your response, nobody unless they are crazy or on drugs will consume enough water to cause kidney failure. Your comparison is totally out of context.

[Sooshi]

Duudeee if you never replenish the body with water that is called dehydration... Fasting is like skipping lunch in Islam. They eat breakfast and supper lol wth

[OfDeath]

@Sooshi everything I already said.

[AnimeThot]

Fasting makes you put on weight. If you haven't ate for a day you're going to eat more than you would have if you had just ate normally throughout the whole day. You're also eating once the sun is down so unless you do a workout afterwards you're not going to be burning the calories you just put on.

[Sooshi]

@animethot I think that's just ur self disapline. I actually do fasting sometimes lol and I don't loose or pick up weight

[Sooshi]

@animethot check some of the benefits online it's pretty amazing!

[HereIbe]

How is that any different from FULL participation in traditional Lent?

You ARE aware of how a TRADITIONAL Lent is done, right? You're not just some ignorant goober who thinks Ramadan is SOOOOOOO fucking unique, right?

[blondfrog]

I know someone can be non religious and still fast. I know what intermediate fasting is. However I am not aware of lent. Could you explain it to me please?

[HereIbe]

Are you from a continent other than Europe, North America, South America, or Australia?

The traditional Western rules of Lenten fasting are to eat only a single meal, after sunset. This mean cannot have any meat in it.

The traditional Eastern rules are to only eat a single mean, after sunset, and the meal can have no animal products, no alcohol, and no oil.

These rules have been relaxed over the centuries, especially in the West, which pretty much doesn't do Lent, but Eastern Christians still adhere to no animal products, oils, or alcohol.

[blondfrog]

I live in the U. S. I just don't go out a lot and don't have a lot of friends. Thanks for explaining it to me.

[MackToday]

If I wanted to practice Islam , I'd just move to a Muslim country. I have no interest in it other than maybe hiding and yelling alahu ackbar at a "pride parade" while setting off some fire crackers. That would be worth doing a video of. I can just see the aftermath with them running and screaming and showing what they really think of Muslims. I'd be laughing my ass off.
Deus Vult.

[Fitness-Fanatic]

Well thought out Take. This should make people more grateful , and help them to turn what they have into enough. People say money isn't everything, but tell that to those living in poverty

[wouterv]

As far as i know ramadan is to release them form the sins they had the past year by fasting Allah forgives a persoon for what he or she has done tell me if i am wrong

[blondfrog]

Yeah in a sense you are right. However really you can ask for forgiveness and have sins forgiven through sublimation. It doesn't have to be just during Ramadan.

[ROCKS128]

There is lot more than this teachings from my religion...

We even have Sankastami every month or so for the fasting purpose.
And we have many other things about fasting which come once a year and some twice a year.

These people really have nothing new to show or educate or share, just some copied things or false knowledge...

I really like to stay away from muslims and their religion.

[OfDeath]

Just not being able to eat during daylight hours and then feasting is nothing like actually being starving and impoverished. Purposely not drinking water is a blatant act of stupidity. You can end up with serious health problems like kidney failure by doing that. Especially if you work a physical job in a hot climate. Utter idiocy.

Ramadan is a mockery. Anyone who participates in it should be ashamed of themselves.

[kaewk]

The comments here showcase the societies ignorance so well 🤭.

[hahahmm]

I did Christian fasting when I was younger. I’m eating an ice cream sundae today

[Hurdleez-Swampede]

Good principles of eating but not worshipping Mohammed.

[blondfrog]

Your not supposed to worship Muhammad in Islam due to contrary popular belief. Even though most Muslims practically due. In Islam you are supposed to worship god only.

[Intheshadowsilie]

Because am busy with practicing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian.

All the power too you if you want pricing a faith then do it as far as am concerned your not hurting anyone.

[hakon96]

Im not giving any of my energy to a religion created by a mass murderer and warlord. The name of their god literally says i have to surrender myself. Like a prisoner, or a slave. Fuck that.

[blondfrog]

You seem to carry a lot of hate in you. That must feel bad to carry that kinda of burden.

[hakon96]

So im hatefull because im stating facts? How did come to that conclusions?

[blondfrog]

How are you stating facts? You made the claim so prove it to me.

[hakon96]

www.quora.com/Is-it-true-Muhammad-was-a-warlord-who-spread-Islam-by-the-sword

[hakon96]

wikiislam.net/.../List_of_Killings_Ordered_or_Supported_by_Muhammad

[hakon96]

Islam is a religion full of uncultured, ignorant savages. Always has and always will be. With exeptions ofcourse, but at the end of the day you only have to ask yourself one question, and that is: will the world be better or worse without it? And to me the answer is obviously better.

[hakon96]

So are you going to answer my question now, or are you to dumbfounded?

[Tram321]

Lol, Ramadan is supposed to be internal body cleansing from all the food we eat. It’s more than that. It’s not about weight loss.

[blondfrog]

I mentioned weight loss as well.

[Tram321]

🙄 , wtf

[blondfrog]

Oh I read it wrong sorry lol. Yes you are right.

[Tram321]

Haha, it’s cool

[weirdoweirdo]

Reasons why I dont do ramadan:
1. Im not muslim
2. Im not religous
3. I've already been too close to getting a eating disorder because of prelonged fasting..
4. I already have sympathy for the starving elderly in my country