Is fasting ‘extreme’?

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - June 28, 2015

OUT of the blue, a friend asked me whether fasting during Ramadan is “extreme” or “moderate”. I replied it is neither. It is mandatory or wajib as part of the Islamic belief system.

Not all things can be oversimplified as “extreme” or “moderate”. Islam is more sophisticated than that. Between the two ends of “mandatory” and ‘‘forbidden”, there are various shades of what is allowed before total prohibition depending on the circumstances.

However, he insisted that fasting is extreme compared to his practice of being allowed to drink and only abstaining from food.

If he can liquefy the food and drink it, then it is acceptable. That is why his fast is “moderate”.

I thought it an interesting way of classifying “moderate” which has always been slippery.

He argued that “fasting” from dawn to dusk is “extreme” because it affects the food business. Many have to close their eateries because Muslims are refraining from food and drink during the day for a month. Business is slow and it damages the industry unnecessarily.

I begged to differ saying that, on the contrary, there are many new vendors at Ramadan bazaars throughout the country offering special dishes that we would otherwise not be able to savour. The industry becomes more vibrant.

As these bazaars are patronised by people from all walks of life irrespective of race and religion, they are a practical way of nurturing a “moderate” way of life. It is truly food as a moderator!

Notwithstanding my argument, he said that Ramadan bazaars compounded the “extreme” view since they compete with existing “bona fide” food outlets and restaurants.

He regarded the religious departments as “extreme” for withdrawing the halal certification from a family chain of restaurants found to be unhygienic.

My defence that it is good to keep a check on unhygienic food preparation, similar to bureaucrats from various departments and ministries keeping tabs on unsavoury practices, did not cut ice with him. The religious departments were singled out as scaring away investors in the food industry.

This could allegedly lead to a decline in tourism which the so-called “extremists” in the religious departments could only regard as a source of sin and corruption.

He was of the view that the religious authorities are all powerful and going against them will be dicey.

Just when I thought he had meandered far enough and wondered to myself how “moderate” fasting would boost tourism, if not the food industry, he came out with another “extreme”, far-fetched argument.

He blamed the receding blood bank supply during Ramadan on the many donors who are fasting and taking a break from donating blood.

I will leave it to your imagination as to how “fasting” qualifies as an “extreme” act from his viewpoint.

He foresaw a humiliation in store for the country which has the ambition to be a developed country in five years. He contended we will be a laughing stock instead.

By then I was exasperated at the way “fasting” had been framed as “extreme” by garnering myopic views despite instances where you are exempted from fasting but have to make up for it later — when you are ill, you are forbidden to fast; if you are on journey of a certain distance, you are not encouraged to fast; and before reaching puberty, fasting is not incumbent upon you.

Indeed, forget about fasting per se. Muslims can even eat pork (which is forbidden under normal circumstances) if their survival is threatened.

Yet you are expected to make up for the fasting days that are missed. If you do not do so, you can opt to feed the poor according to the measure set forth by Islam instead.

Still, the clarification was not enough to change his “extreme” notion of fasting.

He was more interested in the simplistic “extreme-moderate” dualism rather than try to understand the deeper “mandatory-forbidden” continuum with its many shades of interpretations under various circumstances.

In short, unless the latter is fully comprehended then the former will continue to be clouded by the application of a simplistic, dualistic approach to resolving today’s highly complex issues.