Starting this weekend, 1.6 billion Muslims plus around the world will be observing fasting during the month of Ramadhan. Here’s what you should know about the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan;
Ramadhan is a month when Muslims fast and pray to increase their faith to Allah. It’s a time to improve moral character and focus on positivity. Observance is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the testimony of faith, prayer, charity/giving and making pilgrimage in Makkah. Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) reportedly said, “During the month of Ramadhan, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.”
Muslims believe it was during this month that God revealed the first verses of the Quran, Islam’s sacred text, to Prophet Mohammad, on a night known as “The Night of Power” (Laylatul-Qadr).
When is Ramadhan?
Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it lasts between 29 and 30 days. The dates vary each year, depending on a moon-sighting methodology. The length of fasting also changes based on location. For example, fasting hours range between 10 hours in Chile and 21 hours in Greenland this year. In Kenya (East Africa) the fast will last 13 hours from 5:15am to 6:40pm. In North America, the fast will last 19 hours from 2:56 am to 9:03pm.
Purpose
Ramadhan, is meant to be a time of spiritual discipline with God, offer extra prayers, increase in giving charity and intense reading of the Quran—all for getting rewards from Allah. Through fasting, Muslims get to feel the plight of the needy and the poor, and they (Muslims) are urged to share/give what extra they have to charity as a symbol of remembering those in the world that don’t have. It is also a time of celebration and joy, to be spent with loved ones.
At the end of Ramadhan there is a three-day celebration called ‘Eid al-Fitr’ or “the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast.” Thisis where Muslims get to pray in congregation, visit friends, family and the sick, invite people to have a meal in your house, offer prayers among others.
Performing Saum (Fasting)
All Muslims are required to fast every year, though there are special dispensations for those who are ill, pregnant or nursing, menstruating, or traveling, and for young children and the elderly.
During Ramadhan, Muslims abstain from eating any food, drinking any liquids, smoking, arguing, swearing, backbiting and engaging in any sexual activity, from dawn to sunset. Doing any of those things “invalidates” your fast for the day. Some people may also choose to give up or limit activities like listening to music and watching television, often in favor of listening to recitations of the Quran. To make up for days you didn’t fast, you can either fast later in the year (before the next Ramadhan) or provide a meal to a needy person for each day you missed.
Saum (Fasting) as a Health Benefit
Scientific studies on the effects of fasting the entire month of Ramadhan reveal that there are changes in reduction of an individual’s weight. This is because when someone is observing his/her fast (saum) the fats are usually broken down to energy for the body to use in time of hunger, in the process the person losses weight.
Although this point is proven to be true, it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. During this month, there are others who are known to have gained weight. That’s because there are people who eat large portions of food during meal times (when breaking first and the early morning meal) with a long period of low or no activity during the day, thus ending up gaining weight.
Therefore, fasting is not merely physical but is rather the total commitment of the person’s body and soul to the spirit of the fast. Ramadhan is a time to practice self-restraint; a time to cleanse the body and soul from impurities and re-focus one’s self on the worship of God and charity to mankind.
Relationship between Fasting and Children
During the month of Ramadhan elders are taught as always to take care of the children’s welfare especially those who are not fasting. A child must be fed, clothed and sheltered. In this period, children and youth also learn the virtues of giving, sharing, forgiving, repenting and appreciating; such abiding principles are what cultivates a child into a responsible adult. And at the end of Ramadhan, parents/guardians reward their children for fasting Ramadhan.
Therefore, fasting is not merely physical but is rather the total commitment of the person’s body and soul to the spirit of the fast. Ramadhan is a time to practice self-restraint; a time to cleanse the body and soul from impurities and re-focus one’s self on the worship of God and charity to mankind.
