c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Last week marked the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims the world over abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from dawn until dusk. As Muslims deprive themselves of what is normally allowed, they are reminded of the poor and hungry, and motivated to help those who are less fortunate.

On the surface, forgoing food and drink is an exercise in restraint of human freedom. Except for the words of the Quran _ “Fasting is prescribed upon you as it was on those before you that you may be conscious of God” _ there is no rational reason to not eat and drink during the daytime for 30 days. The Ramadan fast may not make sense to many non-Muslim Americans, even though fasting is also an essential part of the Judeo-Christian ritual experience.

Yet, on the contrary, the fast of Ramadan is all about human freedom. It is a declaration of independence, if you will, from those worldly things that can enslave the believer during every day life.

Granted, food and drink are essential to life, and people should not fast if fasting will place their health and well-being in jeopardy. But excessive food and drink can be enslaving, and the fast of Ramadan can help break that enslavement.

In fact, it’s amazing to realize how much food and drink can dominate the day’s activities when they are taken away from you, if only temporarily. Fasting during Ramadan shows how you can really do just fine without that extra cup of coffee or cookie during the day.

Every year, for example, I was close to stupor for the first few days of Ramadan due to caffeine withdrawal. I was enslaved to caffeine, and the fast of Ramadan helped me break my dependence.

Perhaps the most liberating aspect of the month of Ramadan is the opportunity to free oneself from nicotine (fasting Muslims may not smoke). Given the addicting nature of this substance, forgoing smoking can be particularly difficult.

Still, after 72 hours, nicotine is completely metabolized from the body. What remains _ and what continues to ensnare smokers _ are the behavioral associations with cigarettes. “After I eat, I simply have to have a cigarette,” I am told by countless patients and friends who find it so hard to quit. That need is extremely powerful, more than most people realize.

Yet, somehow, during Ramadan, they are able to forgo cigarettes while fasting, and if they can do it during the day, they can certainly do it during the night. In fact, the month of Ramadan is the perfect time to quit smoking. Ideally, there should be no Muslim smokers, yet sadly, the Muslim world has some of the highest smoking rates smoking around the globe.

Ramadan is a very special month for Muslims, and almost universally they will tell you that its spirit is unlike any other. By fasting during the day, the spirit can be re-focused on the divine and freed from the distracting mundane aspects of life.

Ramadan can also help with the bad habits and vices that can accumulate over time as well. The hope is, by the end of Ramadan, we emerge better, both spiritually and physically.

(Hesham A. Hassaballa is a physician in the greater Chicago area. He is co-author of “The Beliefnet Guide to Islam,” published by Doubleday. His Web site is at http://www.drhassaballa.com.)

KRE/LF END HASSABALLA

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