What is meant by fasting? (ii) Describe and explain the fast of Ramadan. (b) Explain the importance of Ramadan to Muslims and way in which it may affect thei lives.
(a) (i) What is meant by fasting?
(ii) Describe and explain the fast of
Ramadan.
(b) Explain the importance of Ramadan to
Muslims and way in which it may affect
thei lives.
(c) 'For Muslims fasting has both
advantages and disadvantages.'
a) What is meant by fasting?
(i) Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very important month
for Muslims because it is the month when they fast (fasting means not eating for a
period of time). For 29 or 30 days Muslims do not eat or drink during the hours of
daylight. Nothing must past the lips (not even chewing-gum, a cigarette or even the
smoke of someone else's cigarette). Hunger, comfort and sex are the three things which
have to be brought under control. No evil thought or deed should be committed, if the
emotions or the heart or behaviour of the Muslim are wrong then the fast looses it's
real significance. 'There are many who fast during the day and pray
all night, but they gain nothing but hunger and sleeplessness.' (Hadith)
This quote from the Quran basically
means that fasting must be done from the heart, no matter how much you fast or pray,
sometimes it just won't make a difference this could be because you don't have a clear
mind this results in you loosing your appetite and sleep.
(ii) Describe and explain the fast of Ramadan
Fasting is one of the 'five pillars of Islam'. The fast starts from the moment the new
moon is seen, which is the beginning of the month. It finishes when the new moon is
seen again at the beginning of the next month. Eid-Ul-Fitr is celebrated the following
day.The reason why Ramadan is celebrated is because God commands it in the Quran,
Ramadan was the month when Muhammed first heard the words of God, which were
later written down as the Quran. So during Ramadan Muslims remember especially to
thank God for his gift of the Quran. Another reason is that it teaches self-control, as
it can be hard to go on without food or drink. It is also a reminder of what it is like
to be poor and hungry and of the sufferings of the people in the world who do not have
enough to eat. In Ramadan Muslims fast the following way: They wake up before sunrise
and have a big breakfast as this is all you will have to eat throughout the day. An
extra meal called suhur can be squeezed in before first light. Approximately half an
hour later you pray the Fajr namaaz (2 sunnat, 2 farz), after reading this many people
would go back to sleep, although some may continue by reading the Quran or more
nafals for themselves. Later on, the majority of Muslims are ready to begin their day
but they cannot brush their teeth so that has to be done before sunrise, the day is
quite normal except nothing is to pass their lips. The month of Ramadan is spent praying
and remembering Allah and the last prophet Muhammed. Round about half past 1,
Muslims pray the Zuhur namaaz (4 farz, 4 sunnat). Muslims are strictly instructed to
finish reading a whole Quran within the month of Ramadan, as it was the time when the
Quran was completed and sent to Muslims through the prophet Muhammed. Muslims are
also stringently told to pray their namaaz 5 times a day (the namaaz involves a prayer
mat). After Zuhur the asr namaaz (4 farz) is prayed at half past 3. Maghrib ...
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and remembering Allah and the last prophet Muhammed. Round about half past 1,
Muslims pray the Zuhur namaaz (4 farz, 4 sunnat). Muslims are strictly instructed to
finish reading a whole Quran within the month of Ramadan, as it was the time when the
Quran was completed and sent to Muslims through the prophet Muhammed. Muslims are
also stringently told to pray their namaaz 5 times a day (the namaaz involves a prayer
mat). After Zuhur the asr namaaz (4 farz) is prayed at half past 3. Maghrib (3 farz, 2
sunnat, 2 nafal) is prayed at half past 5. The namaaz times vary throughout the year,
in summer and winter they are different due to the movement of the moon. Since
Muslim months are based on the moon, Ramadan falls 11 days earlier each year. The
final namaaz of the day is Isha and that is prayed between half past 9/10 (4 farz, 4
sunnat, 3 witr). Farz are prayed for God, Witr also for God, Sunnat for the prophets
and Nafals for ourselves. The duty of fasting cannot be avoided unless you are
expecting a baby who will need food to keep itself healthy and strong. If you are ill
and need medication at the time you have to fast then you are let off and also if a
woman is on her monthly periods then she cannot fast as she will be unclean and in
Islam you have to be pure in order to fast. Likewise if you are under 12 then there is
no need to fast and if you are on a journey which may cause real pain or suffering.
Although you cannot fast at the time, Allah still expects you to make up for the days
you have missed, everyone is commanded to fast, and so everyone should be treated
equally but if you still have a reason for not making up for the fasts you have missed
then you should provide food for the needy. Fasting times change everyday, you don't
know what exact time to start eating, so the time it says on the timetable that is when
you begin to eat. Timetables are distributed to the Muslim community free of charge in
Mosques or Islamic centres. Even
more exciting is the end of the fast. There is a wonderful feeling of joy and
achievement after each day's successful discipline. The fast is opened by eating a date,
most Muslims do this as the last prophet had done so. Muslims like to follow his
examples as he was sent on Earth to set examples. The date is the only important
special food eaten in Ramadan. We know that the prophet liked opening his fasts by
eating dates as it says so in the Hadith (a book full of quotes of what all the prophets
said or did). After the date has been eaten (a fruit grown in warm countries), then you
can eat however much your heart desires but it is sensible not to eat too much
otherwise you can feel sick (Muhammed himself only had a couple of dates or a drink).
The food that breaks the fast after sunset is called iftar, at the end of the day all
Muslims will pray the tarawee namaaz unless they have the problems listed above. It is
possible to cheat, but Muslims believe that God sees everything, human beings may be
deceived, but you can never deceive God. At the end of the day the tarawee namaaz is
prayed by men in the Mosques and women pray it at home but if a woman wants to pray
in the mosque there're are separate facilities for them. The tarawee namaaz is only
prayed in Ramadan, it's a vital part to the day because without reading the tarawee
namaaz you have not fully fasted. In Islam men and women have to be strictly
segregated so instead of reading the namaaz they don't have desire for the opposite sex
because the purpose of namaaz is to remember God. This is probably the only service in
the Mosque in the month of Ramadan because aswell as reading the tarawee namaaz
there are people who give talks about the religion. More substantial meals follow, for at
night feasting is allowed. Ramadan is not a slimming exercise and because some of the
feasts are so liberal that Muslims actually gain weight. This is how all the 30 or 29
days are spent, even the not so religious Muslims change their lifestyles when it comes
down to the holy month of Ramadan.
b) Explain the importance of Ramadan to Muslims and the
way in which it may affect their lives.
Ramadan affects Muslims in many ways, it helps them develop self-control and overcome
selfishness, greed and laziness. When Muslims eat to their heart's content, it is being
greedy because they are not thinking about others, who cannot afford the luxeries
they are entitled to. The only thing going through their mind is themselves and any way
in which they can comfort their bodies. Fasting involves eating from sunrise and sunset.
It is not very easy waking up at sunrise and when they do this for 1 lunar month, it
automatically becomes a habit and prevents them from being lazy. Fasting makes their
self-control increase because they are limited, and when they eat and this is having
control over themselves as they are stopping themselves from being tempted to eat food.
It is good to restrain passion because that way it controls their desires or actions
towards the opposite sex and this will stop Muslims from breaking their fast. People who
have large appetites will also learn to hold back because they have to fast for a lengthy
period of time and having a large appetite will only make fasting worse for them.
Muslims in Third World countries are basically given a headstart in preparing for any
sufferings that maybe faced later. In Britain we are highly unlikely to face any
suffering of any sort, Third World countries face problems like famine, drought,
floods, plagues etc. and these problems without a doubt cause concern for the amount
of food and water available. Many people die of starvation but if they have been
fasting and are used to the process then they could possibly survive longer or until
there is food available to eat. Experiencing hunger thus develops sympathy for the
poor. Many of us don't experience hunger that is near enough starvation, and undergoing
such an experience increases our feelings for the needy and it will make us want to help
them. If by any chance we came across a person who was hungry we would feed them
as we have experienced the pain of hunger. Muslims also gain spiritual health which
strengthens their confidence, it makes them confident enough to achieve their goal and
achieving their goal increases their confidence. They get better at fasting and they gain
strong spiritual health. The followers of Islam experience brother-hood through shared
'ordeals'. All Muslims experience the same thing at the same time (fasting). This brings
some sort of bond between Muslims. If 2 people get robbed on the same street, they
have shared an ordeal together, so Muslims are sharing the same 'ordeal' by doing what
their poor or rich brothers and sisters are doing (fasting). Ramadan is very important to
Muslims, the origin of fast is not known but Muslims observe it as 1 of the 5 pillars of
Islam of their faith explicitly mentioned in the Quran. 'You who
believe, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before
you, so that you may do your duty on days that have been fixed. Any of you who is ill
or on a journey should choose a number of other days. For those who can afford it,
making up for it means feeding a poor man; if someone offers even more, it is even
better for him; although it is better for you to fast.' (surah)
During Ramadan, especially in Muslim countries, even the
more lax Muslims are more regular in their observances. In the evenings the men will
gather in the Mosque to say their prayers, and most will keep the fast. Ramadan is not
only a month of fasting or seriousness. It is also a time for rejoicing. Ramadan is the
only month referred to in the Quran and it is mentioned for 2 reasons, the fast and
the giving of the Quran. This is indeed the greatest and unique merit of Ramadan that
the Quran, which is the last and only Book of Divine Guidance in the world, was sent
down in this month, One can imagine that without this source of right guidance the
world in spite of all its charms and fascinations would have been dark, gloomy place and
a veritable Hell. Without it, Man would still have been living the life of the beasts, full
of vice and sin.Before ramadan ends a final obligation must be observed, that of making
a special contribution for the care of the poor, Zakat-Ul-Fitr, 'the charity of fast
breaking'. Generosity, caring for the poor, is one of the great virtues encouraged in
Islam. The purpose of this requirement is to insure that no Muslim is unable to break
his fast. Ramadan has as 1 of its aims the reminding of the rich of what it means to go
hungry. The 30 day experience ought to make them thankful for their wealth, and more
prepared to share it with those in need. The fast also stresses the equality of
everyone, for when all go without food there are no rich and no beggars, and all share
the same duty to obey God by keeping this pillar of the faith.
The faster who abstains
from satisfying his most basic needs and powerful urges of life for hours together even
in hidden and secret places develops in him the feeling that he is an utterly helpless
and powerless creature, who is dependent upon Allah's compassion and beneficence for
the most ordinary necessities of life; then when he views Allah's blessings from which
he benefits day and night in hundred and one ways, he is inclined to adore and worship
Him with all his heart and mind. His abstinence from physical needs and desires of the
flesh even in secret places where none but Allah can watch him, produces in him a
deeper and deeper awareness of fear of Allah and an awe of His Presence so that even
a slight suggestion of sin sends shudders through his body.
Glossary
Asr- The third prayer of the day
Eid-Ul-Fitr- Eid is an Arabic word derived from `aada that means a recurring event.
In Islam it denotes the festivals of Islam.
Fajr- The first prayer of the day
Hadith- Quotes and sayings of the prophet
Hajj- A pilgrimage to Mecca
Iftar- When you break your fast
Isha- The fifth prayer of the day
Islam- A way of life, the relegion of Muslims
Maghrib- The fourth prayer of the day
Mosque- A Muslim place of worship
Muslim- A believer or follower of Islam
Nafal- A part of the namaaz, which can be prayed as many times, whatever reason,
whoever for
Namaaz- What Muslims pray five times a day on a prayer mat
Quran- Sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Mohammed
Suhur- An extra meal, before first light
Tarawee namaaz- Taraweeh is a recommended congregational prayer offered by the
Prophet
Zakat-Ul-Fitr- Also known as sadaqahtul-Fitr, Zakatul-Fitr is an obligation upon every
Muslim, who has in excess of his needs.
Zuhur- The second prayer of the day
