Benefits of fasting for the brain

Wa alaykum assalam,

SubhanAllah...there is wisdom in everything Allah swt prescribes for us. It's actually interesting, because while I study for exams in Ramadan, a lot of people assume that fasting must make you lethargic and leave you unable to concentrate. There's nothing like that alhamdulillah. It has utterly zero negative effects on my studies.

If you fast occasionally, outside of Ramadan, you will notice a huge difference.

I used to be a little puzzled when scholars like al-Ghazali ect used to mention in their writings dire warnings that overeating impedes memory and learning - like what does that have to do with the brain? Yet it has everything to do with it, we are 100% what we eat.

So lesson is, fast regularly and don't over indulge in food, even at iftaar, it's not good for your soul, body or mind.

Definitely, even fasting regularily (Mondays and Thursdays) 2 times a week.. Has huge benefits. So beautiful. Allah only permits for us that which benefits us, and prohibits us from what harms us. in this case, fasting has benefits, while overeating (haram afaik) has harms.

And Allah knows best.

Jzk for the video, it confirmed a lot of what I just assumed based on experience and logic,

Fasting defo makes you a serious and sober person too.

And it's good for exams as long as you eat enough during the eating ours and don't burn out by the end, or go to exams feeling dizzy.

format_quote Originally Posted by noraina

we are 100% what we eat.

Now that part is difficult unless understood well, do you mean that the body consists of the breakdown of chemicals that it absorbs - or are you calling me a pakora, a mango, and a chicken with fried rice?

format_quote Originally Posted by Abz2000

Now that part is difficult unless understood well, do you mean that the body consists of the breakdown of chemicals that it absorbs - or are you calling me a pakora, a mango, and a chicken with fried rice?

Hmmm, I'd say both of these meanings have a causal relationship. Say if someone eats a mango, it will breakdown chemically into their body, and then any of those mango attributes that are absorbed will quite literally become a part of who they are. So I can see someone who ate nothing but mangoes, becoming more and more mango-like.

Based on this, I'm probably on a downhill slope to becoming a watermelon or strawberry.

Hmmmm,
So is the cow grass?
And the human who eats the cow - a cow? Or a grass?
Dad rings the bell - kid: Mom custard cake is here.... wallop
People just wouldn't eat two melons if it was the case.

Allah tells me I'm from clay - from water. More original and noble than pakora when I think about it in retrospect.


Nahnu min al-maa:

The armies began to approach each other; the Prophet, with his army, were nearing Badr, while the Quraysh were making their way out of Makkah. Neither of the armies knew of the exact position of the other army. The Prophet and Abu Bakr began to walk around the army and they walked away in the distance. They ended up meeting an old Bedouin man and the Prophet asked him, “Have you heard anything about the army of Muhammad, and the army of Quraysh?” So the man said, “Tell me who you are and then I will tell you where they are.” The Prophet said, ‘If you tell us, we will tell you.’ So the old man said, “I received information that Muhammad and his army left Madinah on such-and-such a date. If this information is correct, they should now be in such-and-such place.” He then pointed out the right position of the Muslim army, and that indicated his truth. He then said, “And I’ve received information, that the army of Quraysh have left on such-and-such date. If that information is correct, then they would be in such-and-such place.”

The Bedouin then asked the Prophet and Abu Bakr, “Who are you, were are you from?” The Prophet said: نَحْنُ مِنْ مَاء “We are from water.” And he and Abu Bakr walked away. The man began flipping his hands, saying: مِنْ مَاء؟ أَمِنْ مَاءِ العِرَاق؟ “What? From water? What do you mean? Are you from the water (rivers) of Iraq?” The Prophet meant that we were created from water as Allah says in Surah Anbiya, Ayah 30: “Allah has made every living being out of water.” (Also if you didn’t understand what the Prophet meant, refer to the Qur’an, 32:8)

Arabicأَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
TransliterationAyyaman maAAdoodatin faman kana minkum mareedan aw AAala safarin faAAiddatun min ayyamin okhara waAAala allatheena yuteeqoonahu fidyatun taAAamu miskeenin faman tatawwaAAa khayran fahuwa khayrun lahu waan tasoomoo khayrun lakum in kuntum taAAlamoona
Literal
(Word by Word) (Fasting for) days numbered. So whoever is among you sick or on a journey, then a prescribed number of days other. And on those who can afford it, a ransom (of) feeding a poor. And whoever volunteers good then it (is) better for him. And to fast (is) better for you, if you know.


Muhammad Asad

[fasting] during a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days; and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person. And whoever does more good than he is bound to do does good unto himself thereby; for to fast is to do good unto yourselves - if you but knew it.