Twenty-five hours with no food and no water. Forty days without meat or treats. Thirty days of nothing, not even a sip, from first light to sunset. Fasting is one of the oldest things people do for God, and one of the most argued about.
In 2027 something unusual happens. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 10 February, and Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February. For about six weeks, Christian and Muslim neighbours will be going without at the same time. Across Britain, shared iftars, the meals that break the fast at sunset, now fill cathedrals, town halls and football grounds. They are open to people of every faith and none.
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the fetters of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?”
Isaiah 58:6–7 · JPS 1917
Synagogues read this passage on the morning of Yom Kippur, while the congregation is fasting. The prophet asks the hungry worshippers what their hunger is for. His answer: it should turn into bread for someone else.
Who fasts, and who doesn't
Every tradition that fasts also says who should not. Children, people who are ill, pregnant or breastfeeding women, travellers and the very old are usually excused or told to stop. Muslims who miss days of Ramadan make them up later or feed someone instead. Rabbis say that breaking a fast to protect your health is itself a duty. If you have a medical condition, the advice everywhere is the same: talk to a doctor and to your faith leader first.
What each faith says
Judaism
“And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you.”
Leviticus 16:29 · JPS 1917
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish year. From sunset to nightfall the next day, adults go without food and drink, washing and leather shoes, and spend much of the day in synagogue asking forgiveness. The Torah calls it a day to “afflict your souls”.
There are other fasts: Tisha B'Av, a day of mourning in summer, and shorter fasts from dawn to dusk. The prophet Joel says what they are for: “rend your heart, and not your garments” (Joel 2:13).
Christianity
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:17–18 · World English Bible (British Edition), public domain
Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). Lent, the forty days before Easter, remembers it. On Ash Wednesday many Christians receive a cross of ash on the forehead. Many then give up something they enjoy, or take on something good, such as giving or prayer.
In the Orthodox churches, Great Lent is strict: no meat, dairy or eggs for weeks, beginning on Clean Monday. Orthodox Easter often falls later than the Western date, so in 2027 Great Lent begins on 15 March. Jesus also warned against fasting for show.
Islam
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)”
Qur'an 2:183 · Pickthall (1930)
Fasting in Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. From dawn to sunset, Muslims take no food, no drink and no smoking. Families eat suhoor before dawn and break the fast at sunset with iftar, often with a date and water, as the Prophet Muhammad did. Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was first revealed (2:185). Many Muslims spend its last ten nights in extra prayer, looking for Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power.
The month ends with Eid al-Fitr, a day of prayer, new clothes, gifts and visits. The Qur'an links this fast to those who came before.
Without religion
Plenty of people with no religion fast now, for health, for a charity challenge or simply to see whether they can. Some join a Muslim friend for one day of Ramadan to understand it from the inside, and find that the iftar afterwards is the best part.
Sikhi
“Those who make truth their fast, contentment their pilgrimage, wisdom and meditation their cleansing bath, kindness their god and forgiveness their prayer beads: they are the finest of people.”
Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1245 (sach varat santokh teerath) · our rendering
Sikhs do not fast as a religious duty, and the Gurus questioned ritual fasting as a way to reach God. Self-discipline, Sikhs say, shows in how you live: honest work, sharing and remembering God. Guru Nanak described the real fast in one line of the Guru Granth Sahib. Gurdwaras keep the langar open every day, so no one who comes in is left hungry.
Hindu traditions
A Hindu fast is called a vrat, a vow. It can mean no food at all, one meal, or only fruit and milk. Many Hindus fast on Ekadashi, the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, during Navaratri, or on Maha Shivaratri. On Karva Chauth, many married women fast from dawn until moonrise for their husbands' wellbeing. A vrat is an offering, a way of saying that devotion matters more than appetite.
Beyond the Abrahamic faiths
Jains are among the world's most dedicated fasters. During Paryushana, at the end of summer, some go without food for days. In the Bahá'í faith, adults fast from sunrise to sunset for nineteen days each March, ending at Naw-Rúz, the new year. Many Buddhist monks and nuns eat nothing after midday.
Same and different
Each fast has its own reason. For Jews on Yom Kippur it is repentance. For Christians in Lent it is following Jesus into the wilderness. For Muslims in Ramadan it is obedience and mindfulness of God. For Hindus it is a vow of devotion. Sikh teaching places the discipline in daily life instead. They agree more than they differ, though. The Hebrew prophets, Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad all warned that a fast without kindness is just hunger. The Prophet is reported to have said that someone who does not give up lying and bad deeds gains nothing from giving up food (Bukhari 1903).
A moment to reflect
- Have you ever gone without something on purpose? What did you notice?
- Isaiah says the fast God wants is to feed the hungry. What would your ‘fast’ look like if it had to help someone else?
- Why do you think going hungry together brings people closer?
- Guru Nanak says truth can be a fast. What would it mean to ‘fast’ from unkind words for a day?
Watch
Each tradition, in its own words
A Jewish telling
A Christian telling
A Muslim telling
Do it together
During Ramadan, look for an open or ‘big’ iftar near you: in a mosque, cathedral, university or town hall. Arrive before sunset, and bring dates to share. Ask someone what the fast has been like today.
Using our calendar, mark every fast and every feast for the year across six faiths. Talk about why so many fasts end in a feast, and what that says about the fast.
Pick one thing to give up for a day (screens, sugar, complaining) and one good thing to do with the time or money you save. Share at the end of the day what it was like.
Go deeper
- Yom Kippur 101 (My Jewish Learning) · article
- Lent (BBC Religions) · article
- Sawm: fasting in Ramadan (BBC Religions) · article
- Qur'an 2:183–187 (Quran.com) · scripture
- Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1245 (SikhiToTheMax) · scripture
- Open Iftar: find one near you · find out more
Sources (11)
- Isaiah 58:6–7, Leviticus 16:29, Joel 2:13 text: Sefaria, JPS 1917
- Isaiah 58 read as the Yom Kippur morning haftarah; Yom Kippur restrictions: My Jewish Learning, Yom Kippur 101
- Matthew 4:2 and 6:17–18 text: World English Bible (British Edition) via bible-api.com
- Orthodox Easter 2 May 2027, so Clean Monday 15 March 2027; Western Easter 28 March 2027: Calculated from the Orthodox and Western Easter rules; Great Lent begins 48 days before Pascha
- Ash Wednesday 10 February 2027; Ramadan expected about 8 February 2027: Site calendar (k2_calendar.csv) and Umm al-Qura conversion
- Ramadan practice: suhoor, iftar, exemptions: BBC Religions, Sawm
- Guru Nanak: sach varat santokh teerath: Guru Granth Sahib ang 1245, BaniDB / SikhiToTheMax
- Vrat: forms and occasions: Wikipedia, Vrata
- Jain Paryushana fasting: Wikipedia, Paryushana
- Bahá'í Nineteen Day Fast, sunrise to sunset, ending at Naw-Rúz: Wikipedia, Nineteen Day Fast
- Open iftars in cathedrals, stadiums and public squares, open to all: Ramadan Tent Project, Open Iftar