Ramadan Mubarak!

Asalamualikum! (Peace be with you!)

I can’t believe a whole year has passed, but it has and it’s here again! Ramadan, the blessed month of the year in the Islamic calendar started on 4th October 2005 As usual there is some debate in the Muslim community about the starting of Ramadan and the day of Eid, it basically works by the sighting of the new moon. at Maghrib The fourth prayer in the day at sunset time. To elaborate - at sunset on Tuesday the day of Ramadan started. Today (Wednesday 5th) was my first day of fasting and so far it’s been fine. I don’t make any changes to my actual routine, my primary method of transport is still my bike and I still take part in everything that I would do on a daily basis - apart from eating and drinking obviously. Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset everyday for the duration of the month, about 30 days. Then at the end of the month there is the celebration of Eid-Ul-Fitr The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. It is one of the two Eid festivals in the Islamic year (the other being Eid ul-Adha). It’s also referred to as the Little or Small Bayram (which originates from Turkish), or the “Little” or “Small Feast”..

There is a difference though. Ramadan is much more then just restricting from food and drink, its a spiritual and psychological month too.

The Prophet Muhammed (SAW) Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammed , Peace and Blessings be Upon him, was the final messenger sent by Allah , God. said:

“He who does not give up uttering falsehood and acting according to it, God has no need of his giving up his food and drink.”

There are many other reasons why we fast in Ramadan:

1. To develop and strengthen our powers of self-control, so that we can resist wrongful desires and bad habits, and therefore “guard against evil”. In fasting, by refraining from the natural human urges to satisfy ones appetite, we are exercising our ability of self-restraint, so that we can then apply it to our everyday life to bring about self-improvement.

2. To attain nearness and closeness to God so that He becomes a reality in our lives. As we bear the rigours of fasting purely for the sake of following a Divine commandment, knowing and feeling that He can see all our actions however secret, it intensifies the consciousness of God in our hearts, resulting in a higher spiritual experience.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, may be 29 or 30 days long.
3. To learn to refrain from usurping others rights and belongings. In fasting we voluntarily give up even what is rightfully ours; how can then we think of taking what is not ours but belongs to someone else?

4. Charity and generosity is especially urged during Ramadan. We learn to give, and not to take. The deprivation of fasting makes us sympathise with the suffering of others, and desirous of alleviating it; and it makes us remember the blessings of life which we normally take for granted.

Fasting in Islam does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing. The fast is not merely of the body, but essentially that of the spirit as well. The physical fast is a symbol and outward expression of the real, inner fast.

Fasting is a spiritual practice to be found in all religions. The great Founders of various faiths (Buddha, Moses, Jesus, etc.) practised quite rigorous fasting as a preliminary to attaining their first experience of spiritual enlightenment and communion with God. That last part was borrowed from muslim.org here.

Pray for me to perform to the best of my ability in this blessed month! I have intentions to improve myself and my charachter as well as my Islamic knowledge and understanding which I would so wish to implement in my daily life.

Other plans I have for this month include organising an Iftar Maghrib prayer time which is also the time Muslims break their fasts with the AGSB Islamic Society committee for the school pupils, and an Eid event!

Waslaam (Peace be unto you).