Jesus vs Ramadan feasting…sorry fasting
We have one record of Jesus’ fasting in scripture. One version of this is reproduced below,
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry”
(Matthew 4:1–2)
First, note WHY Jesus fasted. It was not a tick box exercise. It was something He was LED BY THE SPIRIT TO DO. Notice, “led” not “Obligated” or “Mandated”. He was led to do this. It was a voluntary act of fellowship between Himself and God.
Secondly, notice WHERE He fasted. He fasted in the wilderness. He was away from public glare, nobody saw Him do this fast. It was between Himself and God again, no other person needed to know or needed to see this.
Third, notice the effect the fasting had on Him. “He was hungry” after doing this for forty days.
So Jesus in His fast was led by the Spirit so it was voluntary. He fasted in the wilderness, so it was private and He was hungry afterwards so it was an exercise in self-denial for the fast.
Shall we compare this to Ramadan?
Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan? A variety of reasons are given in the hadith. It is a pillar of the religion apparently so it is something that has to be done. So it is obligatory. Is there really any fellowship going on between the person fasting and Allah? Not necessarily! There is no “Spirit-drivenness” to the activity, it is something that just should be done because it should be done.
There are a number of other reasons the hadith gives, e.g. sins will be forgiven, enriches your bank of “good deeds” et cetera et cetera but I will not go down those rabbit holes.
Secondly, Where do Muslims fast? Definitely not in the wilderness! Muslims must let us know they are fasting! Work emails sent around telling us to be sensitive to our Muslim colleagues, Yammer posts applauding how brave and brilliant our Muslim colleagues are for fasting, they drop it into every conversation with people who could not care less (i.e. Me!). Why is there such a ceremony about Ramadan? Why do they have lights and ceremonies to commemorate the start and the end? I thought religion was a private matter and something between you and God?
Thirdly, what effect does fasting have on Muslims?
Just as a funny anecdote, when I googled “Ramadan” for pictures to insert into this article, every last picture that came up was of Muslims mass-eating. This is literally a case of pictures being worth more than a thousand words. The pictures reflect the reality of Ramadan. consider these;
Food prices INCREASE during Ramadan. Now it is a long time I studied Economics in school but correct me if I am wrong, is it not high demand that increases price? Why is food so in demand in a period where Muslims are supposedly fasting?
This is because all Muslims do within Ramadan is switch around their eating schedule. They gorge themselves to food at the beginning of the day and then at the end of the day before bed. This is not only ineffective and antithetical to real fasting but also massively unhealthy.
Unlike Jesus, who denied Himself, Muslims gorge themselves so very different concepts here.
Jesus attitude to a fast was specifically not to do this to be seen by people,
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
(Matthew 6:16)
As an aside, the word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word “Hupokrites” which is descriptive of a stage actor with multiple masks depending on the role they play. The point is not to let your fast be a staged performance! There is nothing in my opinion, more of a staged performance than Muslims’ Ramadan fasting. Actually I take that back, the propaganda coming from HAMAS (Aka Pally-wood) is possibly high up on the list but I digress…
Taking a step back, the big picture problem with Ramadan is what is the point of these fasts? How does it fit into the Islamic theology? If it forgives sins, well Allah forgives who he will and the black stone forgives sins and walking around the Kaaba forgives sins so why not do any other of those things instead? If it helps you to get close to Allah, well, good luck because you are only a slave of Allah anyway no amount of fasting will circumvent that! If it is to somehow help you get into paradise, here is the issue..
Allah guides who he will and leads who he will astray! Allah forgives only those who he will! Allah writes every man’s destiny for him at his birth. Whether or not you get into the Islamic paradise and get the “wide-eyed virgins” is entirely up to Allah and his pen!
“Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud:
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) the true and truly inspired, narrated to us, “The creation of everyone of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things; his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter) and then the soul is breathed into him. So one of you may do (good) deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise so much that there is nothing except a cubit between him and Paradise but then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of Hell (Fire) and (ultimately) enters Hell (Fire); and one of you may do (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of Hell (Fire) so much so that there is nothing except a cubit between him and Hell (Fire), then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (good) deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise and ultimately) enters Paradise.”
(Sahih Al-Bukhari Book 97 Hadith 80)
And in the Quran,
“And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them, and Allah sends astray [thereby] whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise”
(Surah 14:4)
So if the ultimate destination of the Muslim depends on whether Allah decides to lead you to the right path or not, what is the point of fasting? You can fast from today till Jesus comes but if Allah has written your destiny to be hell then you will end up there any way!
But there is a better way, a way where you say, “I have sinned and there is no chance in hell that I can ever do enough good works to deserves entering God’s presence.” Then instead of feasting in the name of fasting every Ramadan, you humbly come and listen to Jesus Christ, the Man who not only did the real fast but also did the work you could never do to get into God’s presence! You humble yourself and say “Save me!”. Jesus literally means “God saves!”.
Unlike in Islam where it is up to Allah on who gets saved and who does not. Unlike in Islam where even Muhammad despite all his Jihad and fasting remained unsure if he would be going to paradise or not (Surah 46:9), here whether you get saved or not is up to you, as it is written,
“ For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Romans 10:13)
It is up to you to call to Jesus for salvation and then it is up to Jesus to save you. Muhammad, Allah and Gabriel cannot save you. Ramadan cannot save you, only Jesus can.
So my Muslim friends, quit deceiving yourself with your dangerous binge eating either side of the day and come to eat of the true bread of life, Jesus Christ, the one who came from heaven to give His life for the world, including you…
