Ramadan means no water during workouts for Husain Abdullah

I think you have to get passed the whole "starving and dehydration" stuff. It's not about sacraficing food and water. It's more about sacrafice itself. It teaches you humilty that people out there go through this 365 days a year, not just one month.

When you get that "mannnnn I'm hungry feeling", you have to practice self-constraint. This self-constraint proves that "where there's a will there's a way". If you can stay hungry/thirsty for half a day and not give in, then there are other things you probably can do. Not just speaking in terms of physical constraint (like not smoking cigs, doin drugs, etc), but mentally being able to constrain yourself from things like bigotry/hypocricy/lying/cheating/stealing/etc. The practice of self-constraint one month out of the year should hopefully make you do it throughout the year.

If a Muslim goes through the month of Ramadan strictly following the rule about no food/water BUT at the same time gives does any of the above mentioned, they FAIL.

Again, people may differ but this is what the concept of fasting means to me.

 

THIS.

 

earlier this year i did a 10-day water fast. it was really difficult. definitely tested my resolve. however, the mental, emotional, and physical benefits were real and tangible. it was about being able to do something you set your mind to, will, determination, etc. etc. it made me feel very positive and good about myself. not about owing any god anything - just improving my own life. totally worth it. if you haven't fasted yet, don't mock it...it is an awesome thing to do (and i'm an atheist!)

 

Good for him. It shows faith and dedication bc he could technically wait until the off-season to make up all 30 fasts.

 

You're a great example of someone who does not need to experience Muslim Ramadan, and does not feel the need to be an A-hole about it.

This is what I was trying to say earlier for those who are non-religious and allergic to religion. There are real benefits in fasting which feed directly into your mind via sharpened ethics and morals.

The feeling that you can do it ultimately shifts focus from "i'm so thirsty" to "I can be thirsty, I'm kickin ass". It puts your threshold for discomfort into focus.

Good stuff. Thanks.

 

im doing it for somewhat the same reason. there are many good practises in all the different religions, u just need to apply logic and recognize the benefits. it would serve the whole world better if everyone keeps an OPEN MIND to new experiences, both the religious and non.

other examples being yoga, meditating.

 

Son, you got it the other way around. If you look in this thread, everyone is judging Islam and religion. The people who fast do it for themselves.

That's one great thing about Islam. We don't put our religion to others.

1.5 billion people on this planet are Muslim. All of them are judgmental too.

 

As a jewish person, I only fast for one day out of the year, on yom kippur (more religious jews fast several other times).

I know how I feel after only going 24 hrs, and can't imagine the dedication it takes to do it for an entire month.

 

i was born into the religion and had to do it. the way i used to see it is probably how u see it now (or at least how i think u see it based on what i get from your posts).

but the past few years, ive been living in a region where there r ppl that have so much, that its possible that they never ever experience any insufficiency in anything all their lives. the fact that every muslim has to do this if theyre physically able to, means that they too will have to feel what those with lesser means go through everyday. maybe people like you and i we appreciate what we have, but there r those who dont and cant relate.

of course ur not supposed to do it if its detrimental to ur life, but unfortunately, there are ppl in every religion willing to do 'idiotic' things as a show of how theyre above n beyond others in the strength of their faith.

 

droxford, please see my post above

as for the specific point in your quote, fasting can be constructive or non-destructive to one's health....see: http://www.healthpromoting.com/Articles/articles/benefit.htm

The self-discipline and self-constraint aspect when it comes to hunger is VERY hard to stave off. It's not as easy as it sounds so I consider it a telling challenge.

Also, not sure why you need call Muslims idiots for their beliefs. Coming from you, being offensive is sort of a surprise.

 

why don't you all sacrifice posting in this thread

 

Racist.

 

Whoa - I never singled out Muslims as being idiots. In fact, I gave specific examples of Catholics fasting, too.

No, no - the lunacy spans many different religions. I wasn't picking on Muslims.

 

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LOL, it's not lunacy at all.

The benefits aren't only spiritual, fasting can be great for your health (cleaning out your body?) and non-religious people do it too.

 

amen. fasting is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body. it's a cleansing, a "reset" in a way. i realize its not popular (why would it be? it doesn't make anyone any money), but that doesn't mean it won't improve your health. This link has a ton of information about fasting for health...after completing my fast, i can say everything on that site is totally spot-on.

 

how long have you fasted for? i have commonly fasted for a day and a half...not for health but for spiritual reasons (though i think that's redundant, honestly). the link you posted is pretty compelling.

walking away from caffeine scares me the most, because of the headaches

 

Seems like you've got it the other way around. So far, I've seen people's personal decisions to fast called stupid, really really stupid, idiotic, silly, ridiculous, and lunacy.

I thought it was the religious people who were supposed to be so intolerant. It always seems to be the opposite on this bbs. Why can't everyone just live and let live?

 

In this case though its not that paltry. Sunrise now in Minnesota is about 6AM and sunset is about 8:30PM. We've had a stretch the last week where temps have topped 90 along with dew points in the 60's and 80's. The weather in MN in August is not much different from the weather in Houston and this year summer has been particularly hot and humid. Add to that rigorous workouts in pads this is going to be a severe test. Another issue is that in 2001 Korey Stringer died during Vikings training camp so the organization is very sensitive about the potential dangers of camp.

I respect Husain Abdullah for making a stand but he is putting his health at risk.

As it happens I have a Judo student who is also keeping the Ramadan fast. I know last year he was noticeably weaker and we monitored and limited his workout. I think the Vikings are doing the same with Abdullah but at the same time they can only go so far as this is a professional sports team and its the coaches job to see that their players are in top form for the season.

In general over fasting I agree that it is a good thing to experience and I see it as a way of teaching of compassion. I have fasted before including not drinking anything for as long as 36 hours. I am older now so I wouldn't try it again but it was a good experience.

 

One question about this though.

Does everyone get up really early and eat a big breakfast, and then wait until dark to eat and drink?

It is only for the daylight hours, correct?

DD

 

finals, was there any health reason for stopping the water intake, or was this just because you wanted to? Sounds encouraging for other folks.

I did this during lent. It took GUTS and WILL not to drink or eat ANYTHING with caffeine in it, including Coca Cola and coffee. It was a b*tch, all right.