RAMADAN, THE month of detox, the month of inner peace is on its way. It is a kind of a detox which cleans not only our physical body, but also our soul and mind by clearing away our sins, our negative thoughts and behaviours to make us feel so much better and relaxed in every way.
If we go back 20 years, it might be normal for some people to think “Why does Allah ask us to starve ourselves by fasting for one month every year?” or “Why should I stay hungry and thirsty for long hours when I have chance to eat and drink?”. But now, in 2020’s, modern nutritionists and dietitians say that fasting is both a kind of detox for body and, a good way to lose weight since fasting for 10-16 hours can cause the body to turn its fat stores into energy which releases ketones into the bloodstream. They have also given this type of diet a name: ‘Intermittent Fasting’. In this type of diet, food is easily available for you, but you choose to avoid it for spiritual or health reasons. And this is exactly what you do in the month of Ramadan.
We see that in the beginning of every spring or the very end of winter, sometimes in the middle of summer, or in the beginning of fall, people find themselves involved in different kinds of detoxes, diets, mental cleanings, ayurvedic diet plans and lots of different kinds of fasting types with different kinds of names from different medicine systems deriving from historical or modern roots. So, we can easily say that people need these kinds of detoxes physically and mentally. They need a certain period of time to charge themselves somehow for the whole year. Some fast in order to lose weight, some for mental cleaning, some for fastening the metabolism, some for skin-care, some for body-care but for whatever reason you might be doing it, we can say that it is a need for humankind.
Ramadan is surely not only for self-detox. Its spiritual side is what we should seek more. Understanding how poor people feel when they cannot find food to eat is one point of view. But the real effect of Ramadan on our souls is that it helps us to find our angel side hidden inside us by stopping us eating and drinking, just like the angels. If human beings do not lose their own selves of being humans, they can go beyond the angels’ level, since they have the ability to commit sins, whereas angels don’t have this ability. So, in Ramadan we seek for that level coming closer to Allah, like the angels, and we may be even closer.
Another importance of Ramadan is that our Holy Book, the Qur’an is revealed in this special month by Allah to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). We can say that the Qur’an is like the user manual of the humans themselves and all the universe since it is written by the creator of them all. By spending less time on food and drink, we have more time to read and think about the Qur’an. Moreover, as this is the month in which this holy book came to us, it is very important that we are asked to spend it fasting. This reminds us of how important the Qur’an is and how special the person whom it has descended from is (The Prophet Mohammad all the peace be upon him.)
Shortly, we can say that whatever the reason is for any detox, either for losing weight, or for spiritual cleaning, or for mental health; no reason can be more important and satisfying than doing it for Allah, the creator of us all and all the world and all the universe and everything. So, if He created it, He surely would be the one who knows how best the body works and so which kind of detox is best for it, wouldn’t He? Of course, He would.
May Ramadan be mubarak for us all and if our fasting takes us even one step closer to our creator, Allah; it will not only be the best Ramadan for us, but also the best time of our lives.
