Quranism Misconception: 19:26
[19:26] "Eat and drink, and be happy. When you see anyone, say, 'I have made a vow of Sawm (silence); I am not talking today to anyone.'"
The Misinterpretation
The verse above is used by a small number of Quranists to justify the claim that Siyam - traditionally understood as fasting - is not abstinence from food and drink, but rather abstinence from speech.
This conclusion, however, stems from the assumption that the model of Siyam is the vow of silence Mary undertook in 19:26, which is then connected to 2:183 by quoting, "as it was prescribed for those before you."
Not only does this require significant mental gymnastics, but it also demonstrates a lack of careful Quranic comprehension. Let us read attentively:
[2:183] O you who believe, Siyam (fasting) is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
Verses 2:184-186 then go into detail regarding the ritual of Siyam during Ramadan.
[2:187] ...You may eat and drink until the white thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn. Then, you shall fast until sunset...
Critical Questions
At this point, several critical questions arise:
• Why does God consistently use the same term, Siyam, rather than Sawm, when referring both to what was prescribed to those before us and to what is prescribed during the month of Ramadan? This alone raises serious concerns for the silence-only interpretation.
• What are the "difficulties" mentioned in 2:184 if Siyam merely meant abstaining from speech? Not speaking to one's manager? It is difficult to argue that such an act constitutes genuine hardship.
• Why are believers prescribed an entire month of Siyam if Mary was optionally observing a single day of Sawm? If the practices were the same, they should have been decreed similarly.
• Most importantly, why are believers commanded to stop eating and drinking at the break of dawn and resume at sunset? According to 19:26, eating and drinking would be irrelevant if the fast were only a vow of silence.
The Coherent Answer
There is only one coherent answer to these questions:
19:26 is a narrative prescription within a specific miraculous context.
By contrast, 2:183 is a general command addressed to the believing community. It does not define Siyam through Mary's vow of silence. Instead, the surrounding verses define Siyam on their own terms, explicitly including abstention from food, drink, and intimate relations from the thread of dawn until nightfall.
The Linguistic Argument
There is also a so-called linguistic argument often circulated, claiming that Ṣawm denotes abstinence from a single act, while Siyam denotes a more general abstinence. Attempting to derive a theological conclusion from this distinction is unwarranted.
The Quran itself does not define these terms narrowly enough to override the clear and explicit context of 2:187, where the physical acts of eating and drinking are plainly mentioned. This linguistic speculation cannot outweigh the Quran's direct contextual evidence.
"As It Was Prescribed for Those Before You"
So what, then, is the Quran referring to in 2:183 when it says, "as it was prescribed for those before you"? Let us consider examples:
The Fasting Procedure within Isaiah 58:1-10:
<1> Shout out; do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. <2> Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they want God on their side. <3> "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers. <4> You fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. <5> Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <6> Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? <7> Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin? <8> Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. <9> Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, "Here I am." If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, <10> if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
Moses - Exodus 34:28:
Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water.
Jeremiah - Jeremiah 36:6:
So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord…
Esther - Esther 4:16:
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.
Daniel - Daniel 10:3:
I fasted for three weeks, not eating any choice food or drinking wine. I did not anoint myself with oil, and I was distressed all the days of my fast.
Elijah - 1 Kings 19:8:
He went to a cave and spent the night there. Then an angel came and gave him food and water. He ate and drank, then continued his journey for forty days and nights.
Jonah - Jonah 1:17:
Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. He fasted during this time.
Jonah - Jonah 3:7:
This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink."
Anna - Luke 2:37:
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, Saul - Acts 13:2-3:
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
David - Psalms 69:10:
When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;
Jesus - Matthew 4:2:
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
These examples, among many others, demonstrate the same practice of fasting: abstention from food and drink.
Biblical Wisdom on Fasting
To conclude, we will close the argument with a final piece of wisdom from the Bible:
Matthew 6:16-18:
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."