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I. INTRODUCTION
Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, the holy month of fasting
for adult Muslims. According to the Qur'an (Koran), the sacred scripture of Islam,
God requires the fast of Ramadan so that believers "may cultivate piety." The month
of Ramadan is particularly sacred to Muslims because the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad,
the prophet of Islam, during this month.
II. START OF RAMADAN
In the pre-Islamic Arabic calendar,
the month of Ramadan fell during the heat of summer.
The word Ramadan means "scorcher" in Arabic. The early Arabic calendar,
like the current Islamic calendar, was lunar. Because a lunar month has only 29 or 30 days,
a year of 12 lunar months falls short of the 365 days in a solar calendar. In the pre-Islamic
calendar, the lunar months kept their place in the seasons by the insertion of an extra month
every two or three years. The Islamic calendar abolished this practice and fixed the Islamic year
at 12 months totaling 354 days. As a result Ramadan occurs about 11 days earlier each year, and
it rotates through the seasons in a cycle totaling about 33 years. In the year 2000 Ramadan
began on November 27.
The appearance of the new moon signals the beginning of Ramadan. The end of Ramadan is signaled by the sighting
of the new moon of the next month, Shawwal. The new moon must be reported by at least two trustworthy witnesses.
Because of this requirement, neither the beginning nor the end of Ramadan can be determined in advance. Depending
on the visibility of the new moon, Ramadan can begin on a different date in different parts of the world.
III. FASTING
Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam,
the essential religious duties of all adult Muslims. These pillars are described in
the Qur'an. Fasting, according to the Qur'an, begins each morning when "the white thread can
be distinguished from the black thread of dawn." It continues until sunset. Fasting consists
of abstinence not only from food and drink but also from smoking,
sexual relations, and the inhaling of fragrance.
A. Who Is Required to Fast
All Muslims who have reached puberty and who are mentally and physically able
to sustain fasting are obliged to fast during Ramadan. People who are sick or traveling,
and pregnant or nursing women, are exempt from fasting, but they must later make up any missed
days upon recovery or return, or after weaning. Women who are menstruating or bleeding after
childbirth are not allowed to fast, but they too must make up missed days. The elderly and
incurably sick need not fast, but they are expected to feed one
poor person for every day of fasting they miss.
B. The Significance of Fasting
Ramadan is a month of worship, and fasting is a means of fostering piety.
Muslims celebrate the glory of Allah (God) during Ramadan and thank Him for revealing
the Qur'an, which they consider a guide for humanity. Muslim thinkers emphasize the religious
significance of fasting and its implications for self-purification and spiritual growth, rather
than the outward observance of the many rules regarding the fast. Muhammad reportedly said,
"He who does not abandon falsehood in word and action in accordance with fasting,
God has no need that he should abandon his food and drink."
Al-Ghazali, an outstanding Islamic jurist, theologian, and mystic of the late 11th and early 12th centuries,
observed that fasting has three levels. The first level, that of the common crowd, does not extend beyond literal
observance of the laws regarding the fast. The second level consists in keeping all one's senses and limbs from sin.
The third and highest level consists in abstaining from all worldly desires and withdrawing the heart from
everything except God. For those who achieve this level, thinking of anything but God or the Last Day or the
world in relation to God and the Last Day breaks the fast. The third level is the one attained by saints and
prophets.
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