Intermittent Fasting as a Halal Lifestyle: A Content Analysis

Abstract

The pandemic is gradually overcoming but this should not make us neglectful of health. There are several things that are a problem for people in Indonesia, namely obesity. This is not only due to the mindset of the people who think that fat is healthy, but also as a result of the pandemic which requires people to limit outdoor activities. This impaired mobility also reduces the daily rate of calorie burning. In addition, a lifestyle that is increasingly facilitated by the convenience of devices such as ordering food and drinks through applications makes calorie intake increase. This makes some people obese. In fact, in addition to reducing aesthetics, obesity can reduce the quality of life. Therefore, a breakthrough is needed to change the post-pandemic lifestyle, namely by implementing a halal lifestyle by fasting. In this study, the fasting in question is fasting Ramadan, fasting David, and fasting Monday-Thursday. This turns out to be in line with a diet method practiced by non-Muslims called intermittent fasting. The method used is qualitative with an interpretive paradigm on Youtube media. The analysis used is reception analysis —an analysis that examines the relationship between media content and the audience as an active interpreter who gives meaning to videos that combine the concept of intermittent fasting with fasting. The purpose of this research is as exploratory research. While the approach taken is integrative interconnective, namely combining the viewpoints of two branches of science, namely religion and science. The results obtained are that there is great potential that sunnah fasting can be applied as a halal lifestyle that has been studied for its benefits in terms of science. So, this does not make the branding of sunnah fasting a dogma but reaffirmation of sunnah fasting as a sensible halal lifestyle.