 As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an Ya ayyuha al-ladheena aamanu Qutba alaykum as-siyamu Kama Qutba al-ladheena min qabalikum La alakum tattakun That fasting has been prescribed upon you just as it was prescribed upon those before you that perchance they may have taqwa of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala So there's an axiom amongst the Ulama that says a thing is known by its objective and the objective of fasting is to gain taqwa therefore fasting is a highly exalted thing and we become conscious of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala through our fasting and part of being conscious of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is to be conscious of our fellow creature our fellow man and this increases empathy when we fast we experience what it's like not to have food that people live like this on a daily basis and when we increase our empathy we increase in our compassion and when our compassion increases we become like the holy prophet which Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala describes him by saying you're almost killing yourself grieving over them that he is harisun alaykum that he's deeply concerned about us so this is something that we need to inform our non-muslim friends and neighbors that fasting is not something that comes out of thin air it's not something that Islam invented or that the Quran invented that fasting has deep Abrahamic roots in fact the word for fasting in Hebrew and in Syriac which are the languages of Musa alayhi salam and Isa alayhi salam respectively the word for fasting is also som it's pronounced exactly the same it is an exact cognate of the Arabic and this word is mentioned dozens of times in the Old Testament for example David writes in the Psalms chapter 35 verse 13 he says inayti but som nafshi he says I have disciplined or I have humbled my soul through fasting not only is fasting found deeply rooted within the Abrahamic tradition but the prophet sallallahu alayhi salam his typologies are also found within the books of Ahlul Kitab of course we know the events that happened during the month of Ramadan during Laylatul Qadr Allah s.w.t says Inna Anzal Nahufi Laylatul Qadr Wa Ma Adraqama Laylatul Qadr Laylatul Qadr khaylu min alfi shah that this night of power is greater than a thousand months we read in proto Isaiah chapter 29 12 he says the book shall be given to one lo yadaa saifar he doesn't know a book meaning he's unlettered and it shall be said to him qaraa which is the exact cognate of the Arabic iqra present active imperative read and he shall answer lo yadaa saifar I don't know a book I am unlettered this is what it says in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12 this Laylatul Qadr was prophesized in the books of Ahlul Kitab of course we know when the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi salam when he went to Medina tul Manawara and the Jews were fasting on Yomi Ashura he said Ma hadha in other words why are you doing this and they said this is the commemorate the exodus of Musa alayhi salam from the fir'aun and the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi salam he said we have a greater claim to Musa alayhi salam and interestingly back then the day of Ashura corresponded exactly with the ninth with the 10th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar which is called Asalabit Tishri and this is also known as Yom Kippur this is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar and after the Christian era the Jews began to use a leap month every so often every three or four years to put their calendar more in line with the Gregorian Christian calendar but Muslims continued to fast on the true authentic Yom Kippur this is something we should tell our non-Muslim friends and neighbors about we read in Matthew chapter four that he went to the wilderness just before the injeel the gospel was revealed to him and Matthew writes in the original Greek he says he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights we have to let people know that Yisa alayhi salam fasted this is a confirmed practice of Yisa alayhi salam and of course devout Christians will fast during this 40 day period which begins on Ash Wednesday in Good Friday this is called Lent that Yisa alayhi salam also did and of course Yisa alayhi salam is mimicking the fast of Musa alayhi salam Musa alayhi salam according to the Torah he fasted 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai Allah SWT says in the great medieval Jewish theologian systematic scholar Nahmanides he said that Musa alayhi salam during this time he neither ate nor did he drink and this happened over 40 day period so the number 40 is very significant in salvation history and this is something we should inform people about as well that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he was preserved from idolatry for 40 years before the Quran was revealed to him on Laitat al Qadr which by the way again was prophesized in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 there's also an interesting document called the dideke dideke means teaching in Greek this was written around the time 100 or so of the common era the dideke is believed by many pre-Nicene church fathers patristic scholars as being authentically from the disciples of Yisa alayhi salam and many scholars believe it was actually originally written in Syriac the language of Yisa alayhi salam it was lost for a long time but then rediscovered in a monastery in 1873 this represents the teaching of the original Hawariyun to the Gentile believers and what does it say? it says Christians are expected to fast two days a week Christians fast two days a week and of course the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he used to fast regularly on Mondays and Thursdays as well so this is something that we've inherited from our Abrahamic ancestors in Matthew chapter 6 verse 16 through 18 it's very very clear Yisa alayhi salam during the sermon on the mount he says whenever you fast don't be like the hypocrites who walk around groggy and they're tired he says wash your head anoint your face because your father in heaven and when he says your father in heaven he means your spiritual father this has nothing to do whatsoever with God being the literal father of anyone this is still found in Jewish literature even today when Yisa alayhi salam taught his disciples how to pray according to Matthew chapter 6 in the Syriac language he said our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name all of us but this idea was corrupted by Christian theology therefore we don't call Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala our father but when it occurs in the Old Testament it's meant to be like Rab he is our Rab he is our sustainer he is our cherisher so he says when you fast do it in secret so your father in heaven will reward you in secret and this reminds us of course of the beautiful Hadith Qutzi which the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said kullu amali ibn Adam lahu illa siyam fa innahu lii wa ana ajdibihi that every act of the son of Adam is for himself except fasting that is for me and I will reward my servant and the reward of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is manifold without any parameters there's no storehouses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he gives and gives and gives subhanahu wa ta'ala there are also health benefits of fasting that we should convey to our non-muslim friends and neighbors fasting reduces our caloric intake it reduces the risk of obesity which is the number one killer of Americans even more so than heart disease obesity also it's confirmed in research that fasting reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease and diabetes it slows the aging process it increases the maximum lifespan of a human being Dr. Mark P. Matzin who's chief of neurosciences at the National Institute of Aging he says fasting every other day which is called intermittent fasting intermittent fasting of course we know this as being the fast of Dawood alaihi salam and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam he said the most beloved type of siam to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the fast of Dawood alaihi salam now we have this Dr. Matzin saying that fasting every other day has major major health benefits and includes a significant reduction of bad cholesterol in the blood may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase all of us and accept our fasting for his sake wa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam walhamdulillahi rabbil a'lamin