History of Fasting: Adoption and Adaptation of Religions

History of Fasting: Adoption and Adaptation of Religions

The fasting practiced by Muhammad after being sent as a prophet is different from the fasting practiced by Arab Jews. The difference is as conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad himself, namely in eating the meal. If Arab Jews are not allowed to eat and drink after breaking their fast (ifthâr), the Prophet instead recommended eating before fasting (sahur).

In Sa h î h Muslim, hadith number 1096 is informed that the Prophet Muhammad said: "Fashlu mâ baina shiyâminâ wa shiyâmi expert al-kitâb aklatu as-sa h ari (The difference between our fast [the Prophet and his companions] and the people of the book [Jews] is eating sahur)”.

Ali al-Khathîb in his book, Ash-Shiyâm mina al-Bidâyah H attâ al-Islâm, explains that Jews are not allowed to eat and drink freely after sunset until dawn. (1980: 119-120).

As explained in the previous article, the fasting of Arab Jews starts from the time the sun sets until the sun sets again with a gap of about 15 minutes. In the matter of Arab Jewish time, the beginning of the day starts from, and ends at sunset (min ghurûbi asy-syamsi ilâ ghurûbihâ) . The time between sunset after breaking the fast until dawn is prohibited from eating and drinking.

In the span of the ban on eating and drinking after breaking the fast for Jews, the Prophet actually encouraged his people to eat and drink or sahur, the Prophet even stated, there is goodness in eating and drinking at that time. "Tasa hh arû, fa inna as-sa h ûra barakah (Sahur, because actually sahur is a good thing)". This is where the Prophet appeared to be different from the fasting of the Arab Jews.

Besides that in QS. Al-Baqarah 187 there is also an order to eat and drink until it becomes clear "a white thread can be distinguished from a black thread", namely dawn (Kulû wa-syrabû h attâ yatabayyana lacim al-khaithu al-abyadlu mina al-khaithi al-aswadi mina al -fajr) .

According to John C. Blair, in his book, Mashâdir al-Islâm, the idea of ​​the start of the day by using an explanation of the difference between the colors of "white" and "black" thread comes from the Talmud Berakoth 9b which contains the beginning of the day for reciting the Shema prayer (shalâtu syimâ'). . This prayer is performed in the morning when the "blue thread (al-khaith al-azraq) " can be distinguished from the "white thread (al-khaith al-abyadl) ". In Jewish tradition, these two colors of thread are used as fringes for shawls. (1925:107).

The sign of the arrival of morning or dawn by using the size of the thread color difference, said Blair, was later adopted by the Prophet Muhammad as "black thread (al-khaithi al-aswad) " instead of "blue thread (al-khaithu al-azraq) ". The time of dawn which in Jewish tradition is used to start reading prayers, was adopted by the Prophet Muhammad to be the start of fasting.

At first glance what Blair explains makes sense, but by reading the full narrative of Berakoth 9b you will find many irregularities. For one thing, in Berakoth 9b the description of the marking of the coming of dawn or the completion of the night does not only use the differentiating colors of the threads, but there are also other rabbis who propose using the distinction between a wolf and a dog, recognizing or distinguishing its companion within 4 cubits, and so on.

Regardless of agreeing or disagreeing with Blair's analysis, it is clear that many Islamic rituals adopted from the religions that developed in pre-Islamic Arab society. The absorption of this tradition is through modification and adaptation, so that if "Islamic Arab rituals" are compared to "pre-Islamic Arabic rituals", namely rituals belonging to religions before Islam, they will look "same but different".