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Shabbir Ally SectionFounder of the Islamic Da'wah Centre, Toronto, Canada.

What Jesus on whom bepeacesaid about Fasting       »  The Gospel of Matthew shows that Jesus “fasted forty        days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:21). The Gospel of        Luke adds the detail that “in those days he did eat        nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward        hungered” (Luke 4:2). Since Jesus fasted, his true        followers will also fast, if they indeed follow his        teachings. He said, “If ye continue in my word, then        are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).People        had complained to Jesus saying, “Why do the        disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and        likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat        and drink?” (Luke 5:33). But Jesus replied that as        long as he is with them his disciples should not fast,        but after he is taken away then “they will fast in        those days” (Luke 5:35). This is why Jesus also gave        them instructions on how to fast for the sake of God        (Matthew 6:16-18). If they were never to fast, such        instructions would be pointless. The Bible shows that the        disciples were fasting afterwards: “they had fasted        and prayed” (Acts 13:3), and again they had        “prayed with fasting” (Acts 14:23).         The Bible mentions fasting as one of the observances        of a minister of God (2 Corinthians 6:5), and        “fastings often” as a proof of the worth of a        disciple of Jesus.        Luke 5:33 quoted above reveals that (a) fasting means        abstinence from eating and drinking, and, (b) that        although the disciples were not to fast until after Jesus        was taken away, Jesus himself continued to fast,        otherwise the complaint would have been against him also.        It is clear that the Jewish Rabbis were fasting (Matthew        9:14, and Mark 2:18). And Jesus too was called a Rabbi        (see John 1:38; 3:2; 6:25 and Matthew 23:8). So he too        must have been fasting.        The disciples were unable to drive out a demon from a        boy, but Jesus drove it out. When the disciples asked how        he did it, he said that this kind can be driven out only        “by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). This shows        that because the disciples were not fasting they could        not drive out the demon, and, that Jesus could drive it        out because he was fasting. Some copyists attempted to        change this verse by leaving out the words ‘and        fasting’. This is how, for example, the Revised        Standard Version reads. But this reading gives the        passage an impossible meaning that Jesus’s disciples        were not praying either. This is perhaps why the Catholic        Edition of the Revised Standard Version restores the        words ‘and fasting’. The New Testament From the        Ancient Eastern Text also includes the words ‘and        fasting’ (Mark 9:29).        God rescued us from this uncertainty by revealing his        final incorruptible message in which He instructs all        able believers to fast for a month each year. Today        Jesus' true followers are still fasting according to        God's pure instructions. Muslims are the true followers        of Jesus and all of God's Messengers.        All Bible references are to the King James Version        except where stated otherwise.