RAMADAN

1 A More On Islam Series Presentation

The Blessed
Month of
Fasting
Time to purify and train
body and soul

A quick and easy summary on the meaning, purpose

and benefits of fasting in Islam.
A warm welcome to you!
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The month of Ramadan is around. We are

happy to present information on Ramadan
which, we hope, will prove to be useful
source of knowledge for you.

This, we expect, would help you to

Introduction explore more about Ramadan, appreciate
the significance of this blessed month.

We hope that this presentation will make

your fasting purposeful and rewarding.

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Ramadan sacred month in the Islamic Calendar
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Islamic Calendar or the Hijri Calendar is based on the lunar year.

1 2 3
Muharram Safar Rabi al Awwal

4 5 6
Jumadi Jumadi at
Rabi at thani
al Awwal thani

7 8 9
Rajab Shaban Ramadan

10 11 12
Shawwal It is obligatory
Dhu al Qaidahon Muslims to fast in
Dhu al Hijjah

this month.

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Fasting means abstinence
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To stop eating, drinking and sexual activity

from dawn until dusk

X XX
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 Very natural,
People who are exempted from fasting very
5 considerate
religion

but whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast)

a Minors Aged*
(like) number of other Sick**ease for you,
days; Allah desires Traveler**
and He does not desire for you difficulty, and (He desires)
that you should complete the number and that you
should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you
and that you may give thanks. - Qur'an 2:185

Pregnant Suckling Menstruating Mentally

Women** Women** Women** disabled

* Should donate a meal to the needy

5 * * Should fast an equivalent number of days afterwards
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Why fasting?
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The goal of fasting is to develop self-

restraint.
Holy Qur'an states: O you who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you as it was
prescribed to those before you, so that you
may develop Taqwa (self-restraint)
[Quran 2:183]Example: God says about Mary in the Quran that
she said: Verily!, I have vowed a fast to the Most
Beneficent[Quran Chapter Maryam 19:26].

Taqwa is an Arabic word. It is the state of

What is Taqwa? heart that motivates virtuous conduct and
prevents evil action.

Love of God + Fear of God leads to Taqwa (Self-restraint)

Taqwa is the ability to safe-guard.

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A great blessed month
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Prophet Muhammads (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
address on the eve of Ramadan:

People, a great blessed month has come upon you.

Allah has made fasting during it an obligation, and steadfastly

observing its nights in worship a voluntary act.

Whoever undertakes an act of obedience to Allah during this

month with a righteous deed, it is as if he has performed an
obligatory act at other times,

and whoever performs an obligatory act during it is as one who

performed seventy obligations at other times.

It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is

Paradise.

7 It is the month of goodwill, during which provisions are multiplied.

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Ramadan Time-table: What does fasting involve?
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Eating before dawn

Special Prayers

Eating,
Eating, drinking
drinking and sexual
and sexual Night Day activity
activity forbidden
permitted

Special Prayers

Break fast

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Fasting and sins dont go together
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Prophet Muhammads (peace and blessings of Allah be

upon him) said:
Allah has no need for the hunger and the thirst of the
person who does not restrain from telling lies and
acting on them even while observing fast.

When one of you is fasting, He should abstain from

indecent acts and unnecessary talk, and if someone
begins an obscene conversation or tries to pick an
argument, he should simply tell him, I am fasting.

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Annual training for character-building
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Ramadan provides an
annual training
opportunity that is Ramadan
meant to fulfil the
character-building
needs for the rest of the
year.
Rest of the year

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Benefits of Fasting in Islam : How character-building is achieved
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God-fearing nature

After-life Accountability

Patience

Self-control
Taqwa (Self-
Fasting
restraint) Self-discipline

Responsibility

Obedience

Purification of soul

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Days of Ramadan
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Gods Forgiveness
Gods Mercy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Salvation from Hell-fire
Accordingly, Let's beg for Allahs mercy, His
forgiveness and salvation from the hell-fire
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Reward of fasting
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Prophet Muhammads (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) proclaimed the
reward of fasting:

Every action of the son of Adam is given

manifold reward, each good deed receiving
ten times its like, up to seven hundred times.
Allah the Most High said, Except for fasting,
for it is for Me and I will give recompense for
it, he leaves off his desires and his food for
Me. for the fasting person there are two times
of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a
time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the
smell coming from the mouth of the fasting
person is better with Allah than the smell of
musk.

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Developing ethics through fasting: Social responsibility and Individual
morality
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Muhammad Asad (formerly Leopold Weiss) perspective on fasting in his

book Road to Mecca [BuytheBook]

Two-fold, I learned is the purpose of fasting. One has to abstain

Social
from food and drink in order to feel in ones body what the poor
responsibilit
y
and hungry feel. Thus, social responsibility is being hammered
into religious consciousness as a religious postulate.

The other purpose of fasting during Ramadan is self-discipline,

Self-
an aspect of individual morality strongly accentuated in all
discipline Islamic teachings (as for instance in the total prohibition of all
intoxicants which Islam regards as too easy avenue of escape
from consciousness and responsibility).

In these two elements - brotherhood of man and individual self-

Islamic
Ethics discipline began to discern the outlines of Islams ethical
outlook.

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Cultivating feelings for poor and hungry
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These are familiar images from Africa. But

poor and hungry people may be present in
your neighbourhood. Do you feel how the
hungry and thirsty feel?
Photo courtesy: Reliefonline.org and refugeecamp.org

The condition of hunger gets highlighted on each

fasting person leading to:
Care and concern for the poor and hungry.
Helping attitude towards have-nots.
Charity and donations.
Refrain from wasting food and drinks.
Social responsibility.

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 The month of the Revelation of the Qur'an
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The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur'an

was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs
of the guidance and the distinction-
Holy Quran 2:185

[Buy]

you know this about the Qur'an?

And we have indeed made the Quran easy to understand
and remember, then is there any one who will
remember (or receive admonition) Holy Quran 54:17

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The role of fasting according to Dr Jack Goldstein*
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It gives vital organs a complete rest
It promotes elimination of metabolic wastes
It allows the body to adjust and normalize its
biochemistry and also its secretions

Fasting is good
for the human
body
It lets the body break down and absorb
swellings, deposits, diseased tissues, and
abnormal growths;
It restores a youthful condition to the cells
and tissues
It increases the powers of digestion and
assimilation (absorption and utilization of food into the system)
It permits the conservation and re-routing of
energy; It clears and strengthens the mind;
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* From the Book Triumph Over Disease By Fasting and Natural Diet
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Misbeliefs about fasting*
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Fasting does not:

cause the stomach to atrophy
paralyze the bowels
deplete the blood
produce anemia
cause the heart to weaken or collapse
produce deficiency or mal nutritional disease
reduce resistance to disease
harm the teeth, the nervous system, glands or
vital organs
weaken the vital powers or cause mental
disturbances.

Blood sugar is little depressed; it is synthesized from

protein.
* From the Book Triumph Over Disease By Fasting and Natural Diet

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Learn more
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Please get to know more and change your life.

For further information,

suggestions and
comments contact
[email protected]

Recommended Readings

The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary - by

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Qur'an Online

The nature of fasting - by Ibn Taymiyyah

Fasts as Ordained Before You - by Muhammad Umar Chand

Road to Mecca - by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)

Muhammad (Critical Lives) - by Yahiya Emerick, Yahiya J.

Emerick

Towards Understanding Islam - by A.A.Maududi

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This presentation is a part of More on Islam presentation series. For other titles please contact [email protected]