A Theological Concept From A Non-Christian Tradition

One concept from a non-Christian tradition compared to a theological concept from a Christian tradition can be exemplified by the idea of fasting during the months of Ramadan in the Islamic community paralleled to the period of Lent in Christianity. Ramadan is considered to be a month of fasting according to the Islamic belief and is determined by early dawn to sunset which generally ends concurring to the sighting of the moon. Whereas, Lent is a period of forty days which comes before Easter according to the Christian calendar. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter day, the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. From very dissimilar religions, Ramadan and Lent have similar concepts of fasting from one another, as well as having

According to Muslims, fasting is defined as an absence from drinking, eating, smoking, and any physical relations. In order to withstand hunger and thirst throughout the day, one is able to eat or drink before dawn which is known as the pre-dawn meal, suhur, sahar. “The Quran says, “Eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast until nightfall” (2:187) (Nasr 4). The fast ends after the evening prayer at sunset, which is known as post-sunset. Subsequently, throughout the night one is then able to eat, drink, smoke, and have sexual intercourse until dawn of the next

Individuals willingly give up all matters in their life, leave their house and family and stay in the corner of the mosque for the last ten days of Ramadan. The meaning of this allows the individual to “remember God in all postures even when he or she is not engaged in prescribed prayers” (Nasr 10). Eid-ul-Fitr is the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan and is a major festival in Islam, which will be celebrated on June 25th and end on June 28th in the United States, and depending on the sighting of the moon, other countries start and end times of Ramadan will vary.

The season of Lent is a period of forty days that occur before Easter and begin on Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. Lent is typically celebrated by Catholics and the main concept of Lent is, “to open our hearts to God’s refining grace through prayer, confession, fasting, and almsgiving as we anticipate Holy Week” (Phillips 1). Lent allows individuals to reflect on themselves as a human being and to imitate Jesus Christ’s extraction from