Besides the association with Muhammad, the time of Ramadan is a period for reflection, during which the individual is to become closer to Allah. The focus is on submission to Allah, along with increasing connection to the community of Islam. In addition, it is a way of identifying with the poor and hungry in the world, to develop greater compassion (Esack, 1997).

While part of the fast of Ramadan involves the memory of Muhammad and that first time of sacred revelation, the fast associated with Yom Kippur involves the remembrance of one's relationships with others, and how those can be distorted. Yom Kippur is one of the Jewish High Holy Days, called the Day of Atonement. It is both fast and feast, as is Ramadan. The fasting precedes the feasting in both traditions. Both are designed to remind people that everything ultimately comes from God, that all is hallowed to God, and that the people of the faith must always strive to be in right relationship to God and to each other. Within Judaism, the rituals and procedures are laid out for the people within the Torah. This provides the guidance for the way to live by the Law which allows the observant Jew to exist in appropriate relationship to God. Jewish law does not impose austerity on individuals, as some Christian ascetic practices do, but provides for the properly ordered and ritual observance of Jewish life. For Yom Kippur, the emphasis is on

Hill, B.R., Knitter, P. and Madges, W. (1997). Faith, religion and theology. Mystic, CT: TwentyThird Publications.

This is the intent of fasting, to bring the individual to some form of spiritual awakening and connection. It is designed for remembrance of the past, of the connection to God and the spiritual community, and of the need to live a life dedicated to God's purposes, whatever the tradition.

ESACK, F. (1997). Qur'an, liberation and pluralism. Oxford: One World Press.

In the early life of the church, great asceticism was associated with the desert fathers and desert mothers who were considered to be the exemplary holy men and holy women. Fasting, too, has been associated with virgin martyrs, and with mortification of the flesh in the Catholic tradition, particularly during the Middle Ages. However, the tradition of asceticism, including fasting, became unpopular during the modern age.

Interestingly enough, it is currently enjoying a revival. According to Christian Gardner (1999), during the past five years, hundreds of thousand