Jalal al-Din al-Rumi taught, “Ritual prayer can be different in every religion, but belief never changes” (Fihi Mafih). In the light of this insight I would like to share why I think of myself, especially during Ramadan, as a Reform Rabbi and a Muslim Jew.

Actually, I am a Muslim Jew, i.e. a faithful Jew submitting to the will of God, because I am a Reform Rabbi. As a Rabbi I am faithful to the covenant that God made with Abraham – the first Muslim Jew, and I submit to the commandments that God made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.

As a Reform Rabbi I believe that Jewish spiritual leaders should modify Jewish tradition as social and historical circumstances change and develop. I also believe we should not make religion difficult for people to practice. These are lessons that Prophet Muhammad taught 12 centuries before the rise of Reform Judaism in the early 19^th century. As Bukhari reported in a Hadith (Volume 3, Book 31, Number 145),

Narrated ‘Abdullah: The Prophet fasted for days continuously; the people also did the same but it was difficult for them. So, the Prophet forbade them (to fast continuously for more than one day). They said, “But you fast without break”… The Prophet replied, “I am not like you, for I am provided with food and drink (by Allah).”

Reform Jews are the largest of the Jewish denominations in the US and Canada. In the UK, Reform Judaism is called Liberal Judaism. All Reform Jews would agree with this teaching of Prophet Muhammad.

I have been studying Islam for almost 55 years. I think it is vitally important for our generation to understand how much Islam and Judaism have in common. Fasting is one area where this commonality is very evident. Jews and Muslims are the two religious groups that most noticeably practice fasting. Muslims fast for the entire month of Ramadan, from first light until sundown, and Jews fast on days like Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and the 9^th of Av (a day of mourning, much like the Shi’a observance of Ashura on the 10^th of Muharram). The rules about fasting are very similar in both Jewish and Muslim law.

Many people may wonder: why should someone restrict their culinary pleasures? Why should we afflict ourselves by fasting? Don’t most people think that being happy is the most important thing? Isn’t eating one of the most accessible pleasures we have? Why do Islam and Judaism restrict their adherents from the simple pleasure of food each year?

The Qur’an says, “Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint” Qur’an 2:183. Meanwhile, the Torah decrees for Jews a day of fasting (Leviticus 16:29, 23:27) when, for twenty-four hours, adult Jews (in good health) are supposed to afflict their souls by abstaining from eating, drinking, and marital relations. Also for religious/spiritual reasons, both Jews and Muslims do not eat pork. Both religions teach us that what we do not eat may be even more important than what we do eat.

There are many ways fasting brings Jews and Muslims closer to God. First of all, fasting teaches compassion. It is easy to talk about the world’s problem of hunger. We can feel sorry that millions of people go to bed hungry each day. But not until one can actually feel it in one’s own body is the impact truly there. Compassion based on empathy is much stronger and more consistent than compassion based on pity. This feeling must lead to action. Fasting is never an end in itself; that’s why it has so many different outcomes. But all the other outcomes are of no real moral value if compassion is not enlarged and extended through fasting. As the prophet Isaiah said, “The truth is that at the same time you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers. Your fasting makes you violent, and you quarrel and fight. The kind of fasting I want is this: remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor” (Isaiah 58:3-7).

Secondly, fasting on Yom Kippur serves as a form of penance for Jews as it does for Muslims when they fast during Ramadan. Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven” (Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol 1).

Though self-inflicted pain may alleviate some guilt, it is much better to reduce one’s guilt by offsetting acts of righteousness to others. This is why contributing to charity is an important part of Yom Kippur and Ramadan. Indeed, Judaism teaches that fasting that doesn’t increase compassion is ignored by God.

The concept of fasting as penance also helps us understand that our hunger-pains can be beneficial. Contemporary culture desires happiness above all else. Any pain or suffering is seen as unnecessary and indeed evil. Though we occasionally hear people echo values from the past – such as the notion that suffering can help one grow – many today seem to think that the primary goal in life is to always be happy and free of all discomfort.

The satisfaction one derives from the self-induced pain of fasting provides insight into a better way of reacting to the externally caused suffering we experience throughout life. Taking a pill is not always the best way to alleviate pain, especially if by doing so we allay the symptoms without reaching the root cause.

The third outcome of fasting is improved physical health. Of course, one 24-hour fast will not have any more effect than one day of exercise. Only prolonged and regular fasting promotes health. The annual fast on Yom Kippur can, however, awaken us to the importance of how much and how often we eat.

Since our society has problems with overabundance, fasting provides a good lesson in the virtue of denial. Health problems caused by overeating are among the most rapidly growing health problems in affluent Western countries. America’s consumer culture urges us to constantly over-indulge ourselves; now, even our children suffer from our bad behavioral models. About 17 percent of kids and teens in the US are obese, a figure that has more than tripled since the 1970s, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now a report in the New England Journal of Medicine lays out one of the consequences of all this excess weight: a corresponding increase in childhood diabetes.

After reviewing data on 10-to-19-year-olds in five states (California, Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington), researchers determined that 12.5 out of every 100,000 of the youth studied had a bona fide case of diabetes in 2011 and 2012 compared with nine cases per 100,000 youth in 2002 and 2003. The study authors found the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in this age group had risen by an average of 4.8 percent per year during the nine-year study period.

Thus, going without all food and drink, even water, on Yom Kippur and Ramadan challenges us to think about the benefits of the very important religious teaching, that less is more.

A fourth benefit of fasting, is that it can help us in our struggle against dependencies. We live in a consumer society. We are constantly bombarded by advertising telling us that we must have this or that to be healthy, happy, popular, or wise.

By fasting, we assert that we need not be totally dependent on external things, even such essentials as food. If our most basic need for food and drink can be suspended for twenty-four hours, how much more of the nonessentials might we cut out?

Judaism and Islam do not advocate asceticism as an end in itself. In fact, it is against Muslim and Jewish law to deny ourselves normal physical pleasures. But in our overheated consumer society it is necessary to periodically turn off the constant pressure to consume and to remind ourselves forcibly that “Man does not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Fifth, fasting is an exercise in willpower. Most people think they can’t fast because it’s too hard. But actually the discomfort of hunger pangs is relatively minor. A headache, muscle pains from too much exercise, and most certainly a toothache … all are more severe than the pains hunger produces. The reason it is so hard to fast is because it so easy to break your fast, since food is almost always in easy reach; all you have do is take a bite.

Thus, the key to fasting is the willpower to decide again and again not to eat or drink. Our society has increasingly become one of self-indulgence. We lack self-discipline. Fasting encourages discipline and urges us to use our will-power. When people exercise their willpower through fasting, they are affirming their self-control and celebrating mastery over themselves. We need to continually prove that we can do it, because we are aware of our frequent failures to be self-disciplined.

Sixth, fasting is good for the soul. It often serves as an aid for spiritual experiences. For most people, especially those who have not fasted regularly before, hunger pains are a distraction. People who are not by nature spiritual/emotional individuals will probably find that a one-day fast is insufficient to help induce an altered state of consciousness. Jews who have already fasted for Yom Kippur can simply extend the fast another twenty-four to thirty-six hours.

Muslims can select a night or two to fast in addition to their daily fast; preferably during the first two weeks of Ramadan, when the moon is waxing. Jews are prohibited to fast prior to Yom Kippur; eating a good meal prior to Yom Kippur Eve is a mitzvah (religious duty), because Judaism, like Islam, opposes excessive asceticism.

The seventh outcome of fasting is the performance of a mitzvah (religious duty), which is, after all, the one fundamental reason for fasting on Yom Kippur. We do not do mitzvoth (religious duties) in order to benefit ourselves, but because our duty as Jews requires that we do them. Fasting is a very personal mitzvah, with primarily personal consequences.

Fasting on Yom Kippur is a personal offering to God, from each and every Jew who fasts. For over 100 generations, Jews have fasted on this day. A personal act of fasting is part of the Jewish people’s covenant with God. The principal reason to fast is to fulfill God’s commandment.

The outcome of one’s fast can be any among a half-dozen forms of self-fulfillment. But simply knowing that I have done one of my duties as a faithful Jew is the most basic and primary outcome of all.

It is my hope that fasting is a first step toward the removal of the chains of self-oppression and narrow mindedness that enslave us, our neighbors, and our world! I hope the future holds years of shared fasting by Muslims and Jews, leading to a greater amount of understanding and respect through increased acceptance of religious pluralism. 

Fethullah Gülen points out that the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and some non-Abrahamic faiths (Hinduism) accept that there is only One source for all religions. All faiths pursue the same goal. Gülen states,

As a Muslim, I accept all Prophets and Books sent to different peoples throughout history, and regard belief in them as an essential principle of being Muslim. A Muslim is a true follower of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and all other Prophets. Not believing in one Prophet or Book means that one is not a Muslim.
Thus we acknowledge the oneness and basic unity of religion, which is a symphony of God’s blessings and mercy, and the universality of belief in religion.

Gülen’s description of universal religion as a symphony is an excellent illustration. One cannot have harmony if everyone plays the same notes; and one cannot have a symphony if everyone plays the same instruments.

Individual conductors and composers are different, but the source of musical creativity is One. According to a Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, Prophet Muhammad said, “The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, yet their religion is one (because they all have the same father)” (Bukhari, Book #55, Hadith #652).

This has always been the case, although few knew it because world travelers were rare in the past. But Ibn Battuta, the famous 14th century Muslim jurist and world traveler, who visited many Muslim countries and observed many local customs, relates a good example of local custom: “Each of these Khanqahs is set apart for a separate school of Darwishes, mostly Persians, who are men of good education and adepts in mystical doctrines.

“They have many special customs, one of which has to do with their food. The steward of the house comes in the morning to the Darwishes, each of whom indicates what food he desires, and when they assemble for meals, each person is given his bread and soup in a separate dish, none sharing with another.”

This custom mentioned by Ibn Battuta is a local custom meaning that it was, and still might be, practiced in one local area, and/or by one select group of men.

Immigrant Jews also have been surprised to learn that many customs that had great religious significance in the “old country” are not practiced in the “new country” by other Jews from other lands.

In Israel, the differences between Orthodox Jews from Christian Europe and Orthodox Jews from Muslim North Africa and the Middle East, are great, although Jewish law and prayer are basically the same for both groups.

In both Islam and Judaism local folk customs, and even folk beliefs, are often examples of the common people’s desire to be better Muslims or Jews. But sometimes these beliefs and customs are the result of local superstitions and are rejected by the Ulama or the rabbis.

Sometimes local religious leaders support modest innovations in practice or belief that are not deemed unIslamic or unJewish, and sometimes religious scholars oppose them as unsupported by scripture.

For example, in both Islam and Judaism, a folk belief grew up in the Middle East, unsupported by religious scholars, that if it were not for a small number of very righteous people, the whole corrupt society we live in would collapse.

Neither the Torah nor the Qur’an support such a belief, but the concept does support the ideal that a few people who continue to live in righteous purity when everyone else has become corrupt, can really make a big difference.

After all, even today the whole earth seems to be filled with violence, cruelty, oppression and injustice. This is made worse by the corrupt and oppressive behavior of many high and low government officials; as well as the immoral activities many economic, intellectual, political, and even religious leaders, which are constantly being exposed.

Of course, our generation is not the first to suffer from these universal social, political, cultural and national maladies; and religious people know that God is merciful and compassionate as well as just.

God’s patience and forbearance with widespread human inequity and sin can be understood in many ways.

One explanation, that developed within some parts of both the Jewish and Muslim communities, is that in every generation there are a small number of very special hidden saints (60 or 40 Abdal in Islam and 36 or 30 Tsadikim in Judaism), whose souls are so kind, honest, trusting and righteous, that for their sake alone, the rest of the society of sinful human beings avoids collapse.

Thus, the idea of the hidden saints emphasizes the importance God gives to a small number of very kind and righteous people who serve as the supporting foundations of the civilized world, and in some way known only to God, support human civilization against total collapse.

Thus, Abu Darda’ said: “When Prophethood ended – and they were the supports (Awtad) of the world – Allah substituted their places with 40 men from the nation of Muhammad called “Abdal” (Substitutes). Not one of them dies except that Allah replaces him with another one, and they are now the supports of this world. The hearts of 30 of them contain the same firm certainty (yaqin) which Prophet Ibrahim had.”

“They did not succeed or rise above other people due to much fasting or prayer … but rather through being honest, having noble intentions, having sound wholesome hearts … They do not curse anyone, or harm anyone, nor do they see themselves as being higher or nobler than anyone under them, or envy those above them. They do not fake their humility… nor are they ostentatiously impressed with themselves.”

Most Islamic scholars think the ahadith relating to the Abdal are weak. And since acquiring religious knowledge is highly valued in both Islam and Judaism, most Jewish and Muslim scholars have rejected this elevation of religiously ignorant yet pious individuals.

However, I am a Reform Rabbi who thinks of himself as a Muslim Jew, because I faithfully submit to the one and only God of Abraham; and I am faithful to the Torah of Prophet Musa which I study continually, and to the covenant that God made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.

Yet in my heart, I see the need for religious scholars to increase the respect people in general, and the religious and educated elite in particular, should have for the many simple, poor, good hearted, righteous believers within their own community. This is especially true in our generation.

I also see many parallels between this Islamic and Jewish revolutionary concept that society is supported and sustained, not by the high and mighty, not by the rich and famous, and surely not by the media celebrities of sports and entertainment, but rather by a small number of poor, hidden and rarely acknowledged saints.

As Abu Hurayra said: “I entered the mosque, and the Prophet said to me, ‘Abu Hurayra, in this hour, a man will walk through this door, who is one of the seven people of the world through whom Allah diverts punishment from the Earth’s inhabitants.”

“Just then an Ethiopian entered through that door. He was bald, maimed, and carrying a container of water on his head. So he said, ‘O Abu Hurayra, that’s him,’ and then said to the man three times, ‘Welcome.’ This man used to sweep and clean the Mosque.”

Perhaps a weak Hadith, but certainly one with a strong message to respect every human being regardless of class, status or appearance.

Even more revolutionary, is that within the Muslim tradition some people explicitly included Christians and Jews within the Abdal: Hudhayfa ibn Yaman said: “The Abdal in my community in Syria include 30 men on the path of Ibrahim (Jews)… And the group (of righteous Awliya’) in Iraq are 40 men… 20 of them are on the path of ‘Isa (Christians) and 20 of them have been given some of the instruments which Khalifa Da’ud (King David) was given.”

According to Jewish folklore the hidden saints number at least 36 in each generation. Called in Yiddish lamedvovniks (36ers), they are responsible for sustaining and supporting the civilized world. At times of great peril, a 36ercould make a dramatic appearance to defeat the enemies of Israel, and then return to humble obscurity.

The 36+ people are unnoticed by other people because of their humble nature, status, education and vocation. The 36+figured in Kabbalistic folk legends of the 16–17th centuries, and in Hassidic folklore from the end of the 18th century.

Yiddish proletarian writers in the 19th and 20th centuries expanded the folk tradition of the 36+ righteous people whose simple role in life justifies the value of all mankind in God’s eyes; by adding that if even one of them was missing from the minimum 36, society would come to a bad end.

For the sake of these 36+ hidden saints, God preserves our world even if the rest of humanity degenerates to the level of total barbarism. This idea is based on the story of Sodom and Gomorra in the Torah, where God told Abraham that he would spare the town of Sodom if there were at least 10 righteous people in it.

Since nobody knows who the 36+ are, not even they themselves, every Jew should honor and respect all the simple, honest, unselfish, hard working and long suffering people around us, for one of them may be one of the 36+. I think this lesson rings true for all religions.

Unlike the rich, the famous, the pious, the scholars, the powerful, the beautiful or the successful, who everyone else thinks are very important, according to this concept, the 36+ are the really important people, because without a few of them society could destroy itself.

The tradition of the 36ers, others say 30, is found in the Talmud where RabbiAbbaye says: “There are not less than 36 righteous people in the world who receive the Sakina – Divine Presence” (Sanhedrin 97b and Sukkot 45b). “Not less” is not a fixed number, and there may be many more than 36 (40 or 60) in some generations.

These righteous people are usually and incorrectly called men because in Hebrew grammar a mixed group of males and females always uses a male noun and verb. It is much more likely that the 36ers are 18 men and 18 women, since in Hebrew the number 18 is the numerical equivalent of the letters in the word life.

Ibn ‘Asakir (1105–1175) and Ibn Abi Khaythama narrate that Uthman ibn ‘Ata was having a conversation with his father, who told him, “The Abdal are forty Insan (humans).” So Uthman ibn ‘Ata said to his father, “Forty men?” and his father replied, “Do not say men, but rather say humans, for there could be women among them.”

The number 36 is not the only number offered in this connection. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai believed, “the world never lacks 30 righteous people” (Genesis Rabbah 35:2) while Rabbi Simeon ibn Yehozadak says (Ḥullin 92a. and Midrash Psalms 5:5) “the world exists by the merit of 45 righteous people”; perhaps 30 in the land of Israel and 15 in Iraq/Babylonia where Rabbi Simeon ibn Yehozadak lived.

According to Rav Judah, the number 30 represents the number of “righteous gentiles among the nations of the world” (Ḥullin 92a). Thus, some Rabbis felt that women and non-Jews should be counted among the hidden saints, just as some Islamic sages have taught.

All of these statements about the 30 or 36+ Tsadekim (saints) are the views of individual rabbis. Their views did not become part of Jewish law or general belief, just as the Abdal did not become part of general Muslim belief.

The power of the prayers and the tears of a 36er to bring rain from God was rarely mentioned in accounts from Europe about the 36+, because droughts are very rare in Europe. But both the 36+ Tsadekim and the Abdal 40 (or 60) share this trait.

As ‘Ali said: “The Abdal are in Syria, and they are 40 men. Whenever one of them dies, Allah substitutes another in his place. By means of them, Allah brings down the rain, gives victory over enemies, and diverts punishment from the people of Syria.”

A Jewish folktale from Syria illustrates the theme of the power of a pure hearted simple man’s righteous plea. Once, in the land of Syria, there was a great drought. A rabbi called all the Jews of his village to the synagogue. They prayed day and night, but still no rain fell. Then the rabbi declared a fast, and asked God to answer their prayers.

That night he heard a voice from heaven, saying, “God will send rain only if Rahamim, who always sits in the back corner of the synagogue, prays for it.” “But he’s an ignoramus,” protested the rabbi. “And I am not sure how kosher his home is.” Silence was the response.

When Rahamim came to the synagogue the rabbi said, “Tomorrow you will lead the congregation in prayers for rain,” “But I do not know how to pray,” said Rahamim. “There are so many others who know more than I.” “Nevertheless,” said the rabbi, “it is you who must lead the prayers.”

The next day the rabbi called all the people together to pray. The synagogue was filled to bursting. All eyes were on the placewhere everyone expected to see the rabbi leading them in prayer. How great was their amazement to see poor Rahamim standing up there before the Holy Ark, holding a clay jar with two spouts in his hands. “Now I ask that you pray with all your heart,” he told the congregation.

So they opened the Ark, where the Torah scroll was kept, and the people poured out their hearts to heaven, wailing bitterly and beating their breasts. Then Rahamim lifted up his jar, first placing one spout to his eye and then the other to his ear. Instantly there was a rumble of thunder and then the sky opened up, drenching the earth with rain.

The rabbi later asked Rahamim, “Why did you bring that jar to the synagogue? What did you do with it?” “Rabbi, I’m a poor, ignorant man,” Rahamim replied. “What I earn as a shoemaker barely feeds my many children. Every day they cry for bread and I have little to give them. When I hear their cries my heart breaks, and I too cry. So I collect my tears in this jar.

“When you asked me to come here to pray, I looked into the jar and said, ‘Master of the Universe, if you do not send rain, I will break this jar in front of the whole congregation.’

“Then I heard a voice that said, “Ask again when you stand before the congregation. So I did and I heard a voice say: ‘Do not break the jar’.” And then it began to rain.

Looking back, I’m not sure why they believed that the rarity of life in our universe proved that God must have created life only on this planet. Perhaps they believed that if intelligent life were found on other planets, it would diminish the miracle of God’s creation of Human Beings.

For me, the opposite is true; that God’s universal creation is filled with life is simply the result of God’s mercy and love of living things. What science can teach us is the awesomeness of God. As Said Nursi, an influential early 20th century Turkish Muslim theologian, taught, “God created the universe as a ‘book’ to be ‘read’ by those who want to learn of and draw close to Him.”

I am a Reform Rabbi who first became interested in Islam 55 years ago, when I studied it at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I have continued my study of Islam off and on since that time. I now consider myself to be a Reform Rabbi and a Muslim Jew – i.e., a faithful Jew submitting to the will of God.

As a Rabbi I am faithful to the covenant that God made with Abraham – the first Muslim Jew – and I submit to the commandments that God made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. Thus, I see scientific things from the perspective of both the Qur’an and the Torah.

The Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible teach that the Living God created the whole universe to be conducive to the universal evolution of life. The Qur’an says, “We have not sent you but as a blessing for all the worlds” (Al-Anbiya 107). Many commentators say this refers to the 18,000 worlds created by God. Our world is one of them (Mir’at-e-Kainat, vol.1, p.77).

The Hebrew Bible says in the Zabur of Prophet David, King of Israel, “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the worlds; and Your dominion is for all generations” (Psalms 145:13).

Both of these readings suggest the likelihood of other planets with life on them – and new science suggests the same thing.

In January 2013, astronomers estimated that there could be at least 17 billion Earth-sized exoplanets¹ in just our galaxy, the Milky Way. They also said that one in six stars could host an Earth-sized planet in a close orbit.

Now, two years later, two new studies have offered additional evidence favoring widespread solar systems with earth-like planets, thus providing more proof that God’s universe is filled with life.

First, at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 2015, the NASA Kepler Space Telescope team announced its 1,000th discovery of a planet outside our solar system. This brings the total number of confirmed exoplanets to 1,795, with an additional 4,000 possibilities also located by Kepler.

Twenty years ago we had no proof at all that our planetary system was not unique in the universe. Now we know that we are one of thousands, perhaps even millions or billions, of systems.

Second, the Kepler Space Telescope has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth. The outermost planet, which is 50% larger than Earth, orbits in the zone where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water, and perhaps life, to exist. This means that proof that God’s universe is filled with life is literally coming closer and closer.

The star around which this planet rotates is a cool, red M-dwarf, about half the size and mass of our own sun. At a distance of 150 light years, it ranks among the 10 nearest stars known to have orbiting planets. The star is close enough for astronomers to study the planet’s atmosphere to determine whether oxygen is present and if it could possibly be conducive to multicellular life forms.

For those who believe in the One God of all the inhabitable worlds, these two new scientific studies are not shocking. For unlike the inquisition’s condemnation of Galileo, no Muslim or Jewish astronomer was ever condemned by a Muslim or Jewish inquisition, because Jews and Muslims never had an institution like the inquisition.

Also, because both Muslims and Jews had many philosophers who were critics of Aristotle’s and Ptolemy’s sciences, most medieval Jewish and Muslim religious leaders did not feel they had to prevent new science from disagreeing with Greek science.

Thus, even as new discoveries always change the scientific understanding of God’s universe, the religious belief that the whole universe exalts God and reveals God’s glory remains the same.

The Qur’an proclaims over and over again, “Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth exalts God” (Qur’an 57:1, 61:1, and 64:1); and the Zabur of Prophet David, King of Israel, states, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Zabur of David-Psalm 19:2).

Note

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20942440