“A human being has not filled any vessel which is worse than a belly. Enough for the son of Adam are some mouthfuls that can keep his back straight, but if there is no escape, he should fill it a third with food, a third with drink and keep a third empty.”
— Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), as cited in the Sunan Al-Tirmidi
It’s no surprise to anyone in Saudi Arabia that some people have a habit of engorging during and after the evening iftar meal — and then follow up with all night socializing while drinking sweet tea and nibbling on leftovers.
National Geographic recently produced a report on weight gain in Iran during the holy month. In the program, Dr. Ziaodin Mazhari, a fasting Muslim with a Ph.D. in nutrition, said that the eating habits of some undermine the whole point of the month of fasting.
“Most of our people in the holy month of Ramadan, which is the time for abstinence and eating less, overdo it by consuming foods filled with fat and sugar in such a way that not only do they miss the benefits of this month, but also put on weight and their fat and sugar goes up in comparison to previous months,” he told the magazine.
Indeed, it’s difficult for one to sit down to a delicious meal after fasting all day and not be lured into violating one of the recommendations of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): to leave a third of your stomach empty.
But if you think this Ramadan weight gain is just a problem in Iran, think again. Mazhari even jibed his country’s neighbors.
“Some people who live in Iran’s neighboring countries keep eating and drinking from sunset to dawn and obviously impose a heavy load on their stomachs and intestines,” he said. “Consequently, they won’t have the necessary freshness the following day.”
He wouldn’t be referring to Saudis by any chance, would he?
