Mandaeism Mandaeism (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, S ...

, ṣauma ( myz, ࡑࡀࡅࡌࡀ) is a term that means

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

. Although ''ṣauma'' can refer to physical fasting, it is more often used in Mandaeism to refer to spiritual piety and abstaining from

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

. On some days of the

Mandaean calendar The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people.Drower, Ethel Stefana. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of ...

, Mandaeans perform light fasting. Unlike the

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

tradition of

sawm In Islam, fasting (known as ''Sawm'', ar, ; . Or ''Siyam'', ar, ; , also commonly known as Rūzeh or Rōzah, fa, روزه in non-Arab Muslim countries) is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. ...

during

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

, Mandaeans do not completely forgo food and water for long periods of time. Instead, Mandaeans typically perform light fasting, such as abstaining from meat during certain ''mbaṭṭal'' (ominous) days.

Spiritual fasting

The

Mandaic Mandaic may refer to: * Mandaic language * Mandaic alphabet ** Mandaic (Unicode block) Mandaic is a Unicode block containing characters of the Mandaic script used for writing the historic Eastern Aramaic, also called Classical Mandaic, and the m ...

term ''Ṣauma Rabba'' ( myz, ࡑࡀࡅࡌࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, translit=Ṣauma Rba, lit=Great Fast) refers to a kind of "spiritual fasting" in which devout Mandaeans do not partake in the vices of the world and abstain from performing sinful activities. The precepts of the ''Ṣauma Rabba'', which exemplify the Mandaean tenets of

pacificism Pacificism is the general term for ethical opposition to violence or war unless force is deemed necessary. Together with pacifism, it is born from the Western tradition or attitude that calls for peace. The former involves the unconditional refus ...

, are mentioned in Book 1 and Book 2, Chapter 1 of the ''

Right Ginza The Right Ginza is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl (2007 ...

''. Both have eight precepts that are identified with different parts of the body.

References

{{Mandaeism footer Fasting Mandaeism Mandaic words and phrases Codes of conduct Religious ethics

Spiritual fasting

See also

References