Al Husna | Ramadan 2019

05| An Introduction to Ramadan ~Article

Article by: defineus452

Edited by: M4Hayati, HopeGossamer and writer_muslimah

Introduction

To anyone with any sort of knowledge on the "Muslim" culture, it is no surprise that Ramadan is an important time in the yearly calendar for Muslims. Yet, even among the Muslims themselves, Ramadan has an assortment of meanings. 

To some people, it's the time to take a break from normal activities "because it's Ramadan!"; to some others, it's the time to have a tightened schedule, trying to fit Ramadan into the daily life routine; and yet to others, it's time to whip out those glossy recipe books for delicious iftar (dusk) and suhur (pre-dawn) meals. It's an array of meanings, but one thing is clear to all: fasting is an integral part of the equation.

The Holy Month

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which comprises of twelve lunar cycles, running from Muharram to Dhul-Hijjah. Like any other month in the Islamic calendar, it can be 29 or 30 days long, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon or completion of a whole thirty-day duration when the moon is not sighted. Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, mainly characterised by fasting or Sawm in Arabic. 

Sawm is one of the five pillars of Islam. It comes fourth, after Zakat (charity) and before Hajj (pilgrimage).

Literally, the word Sawm means "to stop." Technically, that is, according to the Islamic law (the Shari'ah), it means abstinence from food, drink and all other forms of nullifiers of fast from the break of dawn to dusk.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is considered obligatory, termed as fardh 'ain, for every sane and mature Muslim (one who is above the age of puberty), with the ability to do so. Therefore, persons such as the prepubescent, pregnant, menstruating and sick are temporarily exempted from the obligation of fasting, while others like the chronically ill (depending on their personal conditions), the elderly and mentally challenged are permanently exempted from fasting. The temporarily exempted are expected to fast on a later date to make up for the dasy they missed, termed as "qadaa'". The compensation for the permanently exempted, except the insane, is giving out a certain weight of food for every missed day of fasting. 

Nullifiers of sawm (fasting during the day) include: eating or drinking, engaging in sexual intercourse, apostasy, menstrual flow and childbirth. Things such as using ear drops, brushing the teeth after noon, blood withdrawal and blood cupping are discouraged.

However, apart from the nullifiers, there are many actions which either diminish or strengthen the value of the sawm. For example, while Salah (five daily prayers) is a distinct form of worship from Sawm, not performing Salah would diminish the value of one's fast, while an action such as reading the Noble Qur'an or engaging in charity work while fasting would increase the value of a Sawm. This basically ticks all the requirements of a fast by the Islamic law. 

On this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said in a hadith,

"Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink."

(Al-Bukhari, 6057)

"The true fast is not to merely abstain from food and drink, rather true fast is to abstain from futile activities and obscene talk."