July 10 Tip: The nourishment of Ramadan

From "On Being:" The Nourishment of Ramadan

(The July 10 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.onbeing.org/blog/the-nourishment-of-ramadan-isnt-about-pushing-food-away/6439

For Muslims, Ramadan is the holy month in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) began to receive the first series of messages that would eventually become the Quran.

The Prophet was a family man and a business man. And yet he took time away from family and work to go on solitary retreats. He took a break from society, a kind of sabbatical from his routines, to reach for a deeper relationship with God, much like Jesus in the desert.

What this has taught me is that our relationship with God is more important than all of our social relations and definitely much more important than the pursuit of money and success. That’s why I’ve always associated the month of Ramadan more with focusing on God and less with fasting.

Fasting from food, to be sure, is prescribed by the Quran and the Prophet. It cleanses the body, it teaches self-control, and it represents a sacrifice made for the sake of God. That is why so many Muslims take such great care to observe the fast from sunrise to sunset. May God bless them for observing this practice.

But what is the principle behind the practice? In my reading of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet, the main principle behind fasting is to learn that God’s blessings are the true source of nourishment for our hearts and minds and bodies.