Ramadan is the ninth and greatest month on the Islamic Calendar, in which Fasting, another Islamic act of worship has been prescribed to all capable Muslims to fast for 29/30 days.
Ramadan is the only month in which Muslims Fast for the whole period of the month. Observing the Fast during Ramadan is compulsory for all healthy Muslims of sound mind.
To deliberately miss out on a day of fasting without a tangible reason is a great sin, which has to be atoned for.
Fasting during Ramadan is the third pillar of Islam, hence one-third of the faith. Allah said in the Holy Qur’an “O ye who believe, fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you can learn to be righteous.”
Ramadan is also the month in which the Qur’an was revealed to the Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) when in 610AD, the angel Gabriel appeared and ordered him to read. The first five verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed to him that night, which make up the first verses of Sura Al-Alaq (chapter 96) of the Holy Qur’an today. The remaining verses were revealed over a period of about 23 years.
The Qur’an testifies to this in Chapter 2:185: “The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Holy Qur’an, a guidance for people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion (between right and wrong).”
The significance of Fasting during this month is emphasised in the saying of the Holy Prophet who is reported to have said that Allah says every good action except Fast will be rewarded from ten to seven hundred folds, but Fast is only for His sake and it is He who will reward him for it.
Allay says, “The Fasting man gives up sexual intercourse, food and drink for my sake, so Fast is kept only for my sake and it is I who will reward him for it.”
During this Fasting month, Muslims who have attained the age of puberty and above and are of sound mind are enjoined to fast by refraining from food, water, sexual intercourse, gossip, backbiting, lusting after the opposite sex and indeed all other acts considered to be sinful and not in consonance with the tenets of Islam.
The Fast of a person is nullified if found to be indulging in these prohibited acts. Indeed just as little acts of goodness attract bountiful rewards during Ramadan, so do sinful acts also attract dire consequences when one engages in them.
Fasting, Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) said is half of patience and patience is half of faith, so to observe the fast as prescribed by Allah signifies that the person observing it has faith.
Of all the regulations of Islam, the Fast keeps a special connection between the Muslim and Allah and Ramadan is the period when a believer strives for decisive and productive events, including reading the Qur’an more often, offering more units of prayers, especially late at night and making the efforts to be in places where the words of Allah are being preached.
Ramadan is also the month that contains the night of Lailat-ul-Kadir, a very important night in which every Muslim is urged to keep vigil praying and asking for Allah’s forgiveness and blessings. And any believer whose prayers to Allah coincide with this night would be blessed greatly.
The idea of Fasting transcends the feeling of hunger a believer experiences. Fasting breeds self-control in the Muslim as one is able to restrain personal emotions such as greed, hatred and provocation.
It also inculcates in the believer the spirit of optimism as he/she hopes to please Allah by seeking His grace and bounty.
Fasting induces believers to show practical sympathy to the deprived and the starving and teaches the Muslim to be cognisant and sensitive to the plight of the less endowed in society. It also imbues in the believer the act of charity, for instance sharing and giving.
Moreover, from the point of view of health and hygiene, its curative and preventive values cannot be denied. It cleanses the bodily system internally and shakes off the unconsumed food materials which usually take the form of surplus fat and overweight, and become the cause of many diseases and discomforts. Fasting is a good precautionary measure against the incidence of a number of diseases.
Another important aspect of the month of Ramadan is that the month serves as a platform for learning, whereby the Muslim learns to disassociate himself/herself from acts that are sinful in the sight of Allah.
Islamic teachers say after Ramadan, a person whose fast and prayers have been accepted would manifest it in his/her lifestyle. In that, the person would continue to uphold the good practices observed during Ramadan and shun all unIslamic activities shunned during the same month.
Unfortunately for some of us, however, Ramadan is just a period we hibernate and prepare to launch into whatever unapproved acts we left off during Ramadan with much greater force.
The day this holiest month comes to an end is the very day some choose to mock the very essence of their religious identification.
Surprisingly, many young people now refer to the bedlam caused on the streets as ‘Eid’, and while all Muslims are preparing to go to the prayer grounds to offer prayers to Allah and receive blessings, some choose to prepare costumes with which they intend to make an appearance during the “street carnival.”
The day of the Eid, which is supposed to be a day of joy and receiving of blessings has been turned into a day of chaos and lawlessness, whereby city streets are blocked with impunity and the properties of those who protest are destroyed.
Innocent lives of people are put at risk by revellers who drive their vehicles and motorcycles carelessly on the streets, defying all traffic regulations.
Islamic teachers say the day of the Eid is sacred as such any person who commits a sin on that day is like a person who commits sin on the day of the great gathering, when all creatures are to be judged and when every human and jinn is running away from his/her sins.
Fellow Muslims, many of our brothers and sisters did not live to witness this Ramadan. Some saw the beginning of it but may not see the end. If, by Allah’s will, we are still alive, we should make all efforts to profit the month before it passes by.
May Allah pardon our sins with His infinite mercy. May He grant us long life to witness the end of this holiest month and many more of it and may He grant us his abundant blessings.