Each additionally emphasize elevated prayer and charity, he mentioned.
“It gives us discipline,” mentioned Ahmed. “When we are fasting for 30 days, it is like a boot camp for us. It is going to transform us into a better Muslim, a better family member, a better neighbor, a better human and a better worshiper of God.”
Bishop Timothy O’Malley of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago supplied his ideas on fasting, saying, “It’s a type of prayer, and the self-denial helps folks notice, ‘Wow, I’m lacking these items, nevertheless it’s not God. It’s not crucial factor on the earth.’
“Our relationship with God is much more important than our relationship with food.”
O’Malley additionally talked about self-discipline as a technique to give attention to the non secular.
“It’s a discipline, so OK, I’m not gonna eat that candy (or meat). It’s a good day to be focused on God,” he mentioned.
Each traditions have roots within the holy writings of Christianity and Islam, mentioned Imam Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari of the Muslim Training Middle Masjid in Morton Grove. He quoted a verse from the Quran that prescribed fasting for Islamic believers “the way it was prescribed for the people before you,” which means the Judeo-Christian prophets and key figures Moses and Abraham, in addition to Jesus, whom Catholics regard as God, the son of God, and one of many three who make up the holy trinity. Muslims regard Jesus as a prophet, Ansari mentioned.
