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RAMADAN

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

We hope that this presentation will make your fasting purposeful and rewarding. In another way, this is Ramadan gift for you.

Ramadan sacred month in the Islamic Calendar

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Islamic Calendar or the Hijri Calendar is based on the lunar year.

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Muharram

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Safar

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Rabi al Awwal

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Rabi at thani

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Jumadi al Awwal

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Jumadi at thani

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Rajab Shaban

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Ramadan

Shawwal

11 12 Dhu al Qaidah Dhu al Hijjah It is obligatory on Muslims to fast in this month.

Fasting means abstinence

4 To stop eating, drinking

from dawn until dusk

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Smoking is also prohibited during fasting !

People who are exempted from fasting

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Very natural, very considerate religion

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

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

Pregnant Women**

Suckling Women**

Menstruating Women**

Mentally Retarded

* Should donate a meal to the needy * * Should fast an equivalent number of days afterwards

Why fasting?
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The goal of fasting is to develop self-restraint.

Holy Quran 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) Example: God says about Mary in the Quran that [2:183]

she said: Verily!, I have vowed a fast to the Most Beneficent[Maryam 19:26].

What is Taqwa?
Love of God +

Taqwa is an Arabic word. It is the state of heart that motivates virtuous conduct and prevents evil action.
leads to

Fear of God

Taqwa (Self-restraint)

Taqwa is the ability to safe-guard.

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.

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

Ramadan Time-table: What does fasting involve?

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Eating before dawn

Special Prayers

Eating and drinking permitted

Night

Day

Eating and drinking forbidden

Special Prayers

Break fast

Fasting and sins dont go together 9

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.

Annual training for character-building

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

Ramadan

Rest of the year

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Benefits of Fasting in Islam : How character-building is achieved 11

God-fearing nature Afterlife Accountability Patience

Fasting

Taqwa (Selfrestraint)

Self-control Self-discipline Responsibility Obedience Purification of soul

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Days of Ramadan
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Gods Mercy

Gods Forgiveness

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Salvation from Hell-fire
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Accordingly, Let's beg for Allahs mercy, His forgiveness and salvation from the hell-fire

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 14

Social responsibilit y

Benefits are two-fold. One has to abstain from food and drink in order to feel in ones body what the poor 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, an aspect of individual morality strongly accentuated in all 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 selfdiscipline-began to discern the outlines of Islams ethical outlook.

Selfdiscipline

Islamic Ethics

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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 15

The month of the Revelation of the Qur'an

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The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinctionHoly Quran 2:185
[Buy]

you know this about the Quran?

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 16

Fasting for Good Health

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Recent Perspectives by others
Fasting gives the body the environment to heal itself--physiologic rest Abstinence from food for a short time can in no way operate to the disadvantage of a normal person. In fact, individuals affected with certain types of gastrointestinal disorders are benefited by fasting. Fasting has also been used in cases of diabetes and obesity.
Stated 1400 years ago

Fast and you shall become healthy

-Prophet Muhammad
(peace and (peace and blessings blessings of Allah be upon him) of Allah be upon him)

It is a cleansing process and a physiologic or functional rest which prepares the body for future correct living.

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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 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

Fasting is good for the human body

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

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 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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May Allah swt reward us all in this Holy month and bring in peace and mercy to all out brothers and sisters recently affected by the floods in SE Asia.

A CLOSING MESSAGE

The Messenger of Allah Muhammad [Peace be upon him] is reported to have said:

"Pass on knowledge from me even if it is only one verse" [Hadith]

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