Today, we’re in the first week of the sacred month of Dhul Hijjah. That means this is one of the best times in the entire year to fast.
And in this post, I’m going to share some Prophetic inspiration as to why we might want to consider taking the time out to do these fasts… And I’m going to share a few little tweaks you can do to normal Muslim fasting, to make sure that by the time you’re celebrating Eid next week, you’ll be enjoying it with lean abs.
First, here are some things the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, said about fasting during these sacred days.
- “To fast one day of one of the sacred months (Dhul Qaida, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram & Rajab) is better than fasting 30 days during any other month. And to fast one day in Ramadan is better than fasting 30 days during one of the other sacred months.”*
- “For anyone who fasts three days of a sacred month – Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – God will record for each of those days the worship of 900 years.”*
- “There are no days for devotional practice more beloved to God than the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. Fasting during one of them is equal to fasting the entire year, and standing for prayer during one of their nights is equal to standing for prayer on the Night of Power.”*
- Finally, it is a well-known prophetic practice to fast on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the year. If we do this by default, we would gain three fasts during the sacred 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
So there are a lot of spiritual reasons to fast during these days. Now, let me give you some physical reasons.
By fasting correctly, the Islamic way, during these summer days you are ‘nil by mouth’ for some 18 hours of the day. In order to get the maximum benefit from these fast, I highly recommend that instead of gorging on unhealthy foods after fasting, you can burn unwanted body fat and get lean abs for your efforts by doing this:
- Have minimal intake for suhur, (the early morning meal), for example, just water and one date.
- Do iftar (the evening meal at the end of the fast), with a very healthy filling 300 to 500 calorie meal, e.g. a fish fillet/other lean protein steaks with a big pile of steamed green veggies.
- Drink lots of water at night, especially if you plan to fast the following day.
- You’re already doing 95% of the hard work of fat loss by going for such a long time without taking in any calories. Just by controlling yourself during that one meal at night, you’ll be totally satisfied and full, and you’ll be much thinner when you wake up the next day. Do this a couple of times a week, and you’ll be in approximately a 3000 calorie deficit each week, which is about one pound of fat. Do it for 3 days in a row (like Thursday to Saturday based on the Prophetic saying above) and you’ll be noticeably thinner and leaner when you wake up on Sunday).
