Were People Aware Of And Used To Observe Fasts Before Quran?
In the Arabia of pre-Islamic times, the fast was a well known ritual of worship. The mere existence of the word صوم ( ‘sawm’ ) in Arabic is evidence enough to show that the Arabs were fully aware of it. Dr Jawwad Ali writes: “ Some narratives mention that the Quraysh used to fast on the day of Ashur. On this day, they would gather, celebrate id and enshroud the Kabah. According to the historians, they fasted on this day to atone for a sin they had committed in the days of jahiliyyah – a sin whose burden laid heavily upon them. They would fast on this day to express their gratitude to God for saving them from the evil consequences of this sin. It is mentioned in certain narratives that Muhammad (sws) would also fast on this day before his prophethood … another reason that historians have cited for this fast observed by the Quraysh is that when once they were struck with famine, the Almighty rescued them from it, and in order to show their gratitude to Him they started to observe this fast “. ( Jawwad Ali, Al-Mufassal fi tarikh al-arab qabl al-islam, vol. 2, 339-340 ). For further details , please refer to the video below from 30:37 to 36:07 https://youtu.be/HXVUaOuZauk?t=1837