Fasting, Detoxification & secrets of sahur

This post is labeled under book review because I'm sharing some points I took from an interesting book that I've read, however this is only a partial review of the book as I am only sharing the points of fasting, detox and sahur(Due to the upcoming Ramadhan), InsyaAllah if given the chance I'll cover on other topics in this book.

This is the book: Quran saintifik (Scientific Quran) by Dr. Danial Zainal Abidin. A worthy book to read, revealing much of The Quran's wonders that probably are unknown to the majority of Muslims, including me. It's in malay, I've no idea if it comes in an english edition, anyway for all malays if you're looking for a good book to read, try this.

The Blessings of Fasting

Fasting is one of the five 'pillars of Islam'. The other four are;-

• Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad.
• Establishment of the daily prayers.
• Concern for and almsgiving to the needy.
• The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able.

The order for fasting is mentioned in the Quran[1].  Fasting in the month of Ramadhan is beneficial for health. For example, in 1984, Dr.Soliman from the University Hospital of Amman made an experiment involving 42 men and 26 women whom all fasted in the month of Ramadhan. They all had a blood test taken to measure their potassium, sodium ,urea, cortisol, testosterone, glucose, cholesterol and fatty acids levels. Also recorded was their weight, before and after a month of fasting.
Apart from that,Dr. F. Azizi and associated from the Science University of Tehran made an observation over 9 men, all fasting through out the month of Ramadhan. Blood tests taken to measure levels of glucose, bilirubin, calcium, phosphorus, protein, albumin, follicle stimulating hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, testosterone, prolactin, luteinising hormone, thyroxine-4 and thyroxine-3. Their blood were tested before Ramadhan, day-10 of Ramadhan, day 20th of Ramadhan and on the 29th of Ramadhan. Also, weight recorded.
The tests showed that with fasting, blood sugar level was reduced to a lower lever without harmful effects. The harmful LDL(low density lipoprotein) cholesterol was decreased and the good HDL(high density lipoprotein) cholesterol was increased.
General fat count in the blood was reduced, this proven.These experiments showed that, fasting in the month of Ramadhan (also significant for fasting, other than the month of Ramadhan) does not affect health negatively. It's the opposite, fasting is proven to improve metabolism and prevents various kinds of diseases, especially those associated with excessive fats or sugar. This matter was brought up in the Islamic Perspective in Medicine by Dr. Shahid Athar, published by American Trust Publications, Indianapolis.

Fasting and Detoxification

Generally, fasting is one of the best detoxifying process.Detoxification means to clean or cleanse the body wholly from toxins or poison. According to Dr. Lonny J. Brown(Ph.D) in Adventures in therapeutic Fasting, "the habit of today's society is whenever someone falls sick, he/she will take some sort of medication to treat the symptoms. It is time we take make a maneuver, try something different when we get ill, try fasting. Fasting is really, a remedy. It stimulates changes to the body's metabolism and these changes assist cleansing and healing in the body.
As we fast, our organs chill and rests. This rest helps elimination of harmful materials in the body and rejuvenate our cells. Fasting is one of the oldest treatment in the world. It was done by many folks of the past, even Hippocrates, Galen and Paracelsus made fasting a treatment for their patients. Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras and Mahatma Gandhi often fasted. Based on experiments and testimonials of the patients, fasting was found to cure insomnia(sleeping difficulty), asthma, joint inflammation, digestion disorders and skin diseases.
According to Dr. Cindy Engles(Ph.D) in Wild Health:How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them, "When animals falls sick, they avoid food. Researchers observing this phenomenon concluded that avoiding consumption while being unwell is a natural process in assisting healing. It benefits not only for animals, but men as well. Fasting hasten healing as bacteria in general lives on iron to strive, thus by not eating iron is lacking and this weakens the bacteria"
Fasting, in the sense of no food and no water in a short period does wear out the body. In a prestige medical journal, The Lancet, it wrote, "The fast that does not cause weakness to the body, does not bring about any negative side effects to the body.If a death was to occur due to fasting, other factors other than fasting should be investigated first.." (Stewart, W.,Fragmentation of Cardiac Myofibrils After Therapeutic Starvation, Lancet i:1154. 1969)
Leon Chaitow (N.D., D.O., M.R.O.), a lecturer at University of Westminster, London, also an author of more than 50 books about health and alternative medicine, concluded that, "Even fasting does has some risks and side effects, fasting with no eating nor drinking in a short duration is very safe." Fasting in the month of Ramadhan is considered short term,thus basically it is safe and does no harm to the body.
In 1994, the first international congress themed 'Health & Ramadhan' was heald in Casablanca. Medicinal specialists from all over the world laid out more than 50 of their experimental work sheets. All experiments and observations proved that Ramadhan fasting brings no harm to the body, instead it heals and strengthen body constitution.
However, there is an exception from fasting for those with chronic illnesses such as, heart problems, kidney failure, intense migraine, kidney stones and what qualifies. Exceptions is permitted, even so by Allah SWT, as it is stated in the Quran[2].

The Secrets of Sahur

In Islam it's a sunnah that we fast, and I bet many of us feel better when we sahur  compared to missing it. Like any other sunnah, there is a hikmah in sahur, here I reveal the secrets of sahur. (Taken from this book, of course..)
There are many hadiths that strongly suggest sahur in the Ramadhan. Among them Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidzi, and Nasai[3]. In these hadiths sahur is associated with blessings and goodness. In other hadiths by Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Daud and Nasai[4] we are asked to sahur to differentiate our fasting from the people of the book. The times we are recommended for sahur is further towards dawn, as it was said that we are told to delay sahur but hasten our fast breaking[5].
According to Imam Ibn Abdil Bar, all hadiths regarding to the delaying of sahur and the hastening of breaking fast are all sahih and mutawatir.There is a significance in a delayed sahur, as it can be considered as breakfast, thus we don't feel hunger upon our regular chores of the day. A researched showed that the most important meal of the day is breakfast, BBC News dated March 7th 2003 reported that taking breakfast preserves health compared to other meals in the day.

A research carried out by Dr. Mark Pereira and pals from the Harvard Medical Center concluded that those who skipped breakfast are at higher risk of obesity, heart-related diseases and diabetes. In the same research, it shows that those who regularly ate breakfast cuts the risk by 50% off regarding blood sugar level disorders from those who skipped their morning meals.
This matter is vital when kids are involved, and kids need their breakfast as without breakfast their development is retarded due to their tiny physique. Studies show that  upon waking up(in the morning), blood glucose level is decreased and without breakfast this condition is prolonged and defects children's learning capacity.
Another research by Dr.Theresa Nicklas and friends from Baylor's College of Medicine, on 700 participants from Lousiana, all skipped breakfast, resulting in twice the risk of iron deficiency and anemia. As reported by Kerry Neville from Chicago Tribune, Sept. 24th 2001.
Clearly, those who fast with sahur gains benefit. The time of sahur is also known as the time of blessings(dawn)[6].

Quran translation taken at--->quran.com

Thanks all for the read~~ (^_^)
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[1]QS, Al-Baqarah, (2:183): O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.

[2]QS,Al-Baqarah, (2:184): (Fasting for) a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey (during them) - then an equal number of days (are to be made up). And upon those who are able (to fast, but with hardship) - a ransom (as substitute) of feeding a poor person (each day). And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew.

[3]Rasulullah SAW said, "Have sahur, in sahur there is a blessing"

[4]Rasulullah SAW said,"Verily, the difference between our fast and the people of the book is sahur"

[5]As told by the Prophet SAW, Narrated by Ahmad.

[6]QS, Ali' Imran, (3:15-17): Say, "Shall I inform you of (something) better than that? For those who fear Allah will be gardens in the presence of their Lord beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and purified spouses and approval from Allah . And Allah is Seeing of (His) servants.Those who say, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,"The patient, the true, the obedient,those who spend [in the way of         Allah ], andthose who seek forgiveness before dawn.