Ramadan

the fasting month

a month of…
prayer
brotherhood
knowledge
family
taqwa
unity
 “O ye who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you as it
was prescribed to those before
you, that you may (learn)
self-restraint…”
Quran 2:183
The Meaning
Siyam: Fasting
The able Muslim fasts from sunrise to
sunset everyday during Ramadan,
the ninth month of the Islamic year

Physically…
The Prophet (S) directed us to
abstain from food, drink, and sexual
relations with one’s spouse during
the time from Fajr (predawn prayer)
to Maghrib (dusk prayer)
The Meaning
Morally…
Ramadan is not just a time for giving up food.
The siyam is for the tongue, the hands, the
eyes, the whole being. A fasting Muslim
refrains from all manners of vice and evil:
arguing, backbiting, laziness, wastefulness,
miserliness…

Spiritually…
Spiritually
We turn our attention to Ibadat: worship—
through extra prayer, reciting the Quran, being
charitable, and practicing self-restraint. It is a
month, above all, of spiritual and moral
renewal. The days are spent in constant
remembrance of Allah, in consciousness of the
Hereafter rather than this temporary
existence.
"purpose and significance"
of Ibadah.
• "Not without purpose did We create
heaven and earth and all between! "
[38: as-Sad: 27].

• "I have only created Jinns and human

beings, that they may offer their
Ibadah (to Me)." [51: al-Jariyah: 56]
• Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala says:
• “O ye who believe! Fasting is
prescribed to you as it was prescribed
to those before you, that ye may
become righteous (achieve Taqwa).”
AlBaqara 2:183.
• “O ye who believe! if ye fear Allah, He
will grant you a Criterion (to judge
between right and wrong)…” AlAnfaal
8:29.
 "O people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month
in which is a night better than a thousand months; a month in which Allah
has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by
night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the
(optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as
performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges
an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing
seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and
the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month
in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a
fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be
saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the
fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all."
Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah
The Benefits
Humility and Charity
Every day there are millions around the world who
go hungry—men and women for whom poverty is
an unforgiving reality, children who are sorely
malnourished, elderly who die of hunger.

Fasting for a month gives us just a taste of what

they must go through. What better way to humble
ourselves because of the blessings we have been
given and open our hearts to charity?

Health
Many scholars and doctors, Muslim and non-
Muslim alike, point out that fasting in the manner
of Ramadan improves one’s health. The body is
cleansed of its impurities much like the soul is
cleansed of its own.
The Benefits
Purification
Every year, Muslims around the world begin
Ramadan with anticipation of purifying their
bodies and souls. This holy month is a time of
self-renewal, of prioritizing the spiritual over
the worldly.

For thirty days, many Muslims try to give up

their bad habits. It is, in effect, a training
period for the rest of the year.

It is related that during Ramadan, Allah SWT

locks up the Shayateen (Satan) so that we are
free of their temptations.

During this blessed month, a good deed is

worth seventy times more than usual. On the
other hand, such is God’s mercy that a bad
deed is worth no more than usual.
The Benefits
Purification
Our aim is to free ourselves of our carnal desires
and to establish taqwa—consciousness and love
of God—in our hearts.

“The purpose of fasting is not to make us hungry and

thirsty, or to deprive us some of our comfort and
conveniences. The real purpose of fasting is that we
learn taqwa. Taqwa is highly emphasized in the Qur’an
and Sunnah…Taqwa is Islam itself. It is the sum total of
all Islamic values and virtues. If one has taqwa one has
achieved everything. Taqwa is the consciousness of
Allah. It is to do one’s best efforts to live by His
commands and to avoid His prohibitions. The Qur’an
has used the word taqwa to mean consciousness of
Allah, fear of Allah, worship of Allah, sincerity in faith,
and avoidance of disobedience to Allah.”
Muzzamil H. Siddiqi
“Every deed of the child of Adam
is for him except fasting; it is for
Me and I shall reward it. The (bad)
breath of the mouth of a fasting
person is more pleasing to Allah
than the perfume of musk.”
Al-Bukhari
The Elements
Suhoor
It is highly recommended to have suhoor, or a
predawn meal. The Muslim may eat and drink
until the time for Fajr prayer begins. This
meal gives one strength and makes fasting
through the day easier.

“Partake (of) suhoor for there is blessing in suhoor.”

Bukhari, Muslim

Iftar
The fast is broken at the time of the Maghrib
prayer. Usually the family or local community
gathers to share the fast-breaking together.

“And eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn

appears to you distinct from its black thread; then
complete your fast till the night appears…”
Quran 2:187
The Elements
Taraweeh
These prayers, following the Sunnah of the
Prophet (S) are held only in Ramadan, daily
after the Isha prayer. They consist of an
even number of rakahs, usually 8 or 20, and
can be done individually or in congregation.

"Whoever establishes prayers during the nights of

Ramadan faithfully out of sincere faith and hoping
to attain Allah's rewards (not for showing off), all
his past sins will be forgiven."
Abu Hurayrah
The Elements
Laylat-ul-Qadr
The last one-third of Ramadan—that is, the last ten
days, are the most blessed. During this period, the
Prophet (S) would exert himself even more in
devotion and prayer through day and night.

Laylat-ul-Qadr, or the “night of power”, then, is the

most auspicious of these days. It is believed that this
was the night that the whole Quran was sent down
the lowest heaven, and that this is when destinies are
decided.

The night of power is worth more than a thousand

months of prayer, a night when the gates of heaven
are opened; and the diligent servant who spends it in
devotion is very blessed indeed.
The Elements

Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power. Ah, what

will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand
months. The angels and the Spirit descend
therein, by the permission of their Lord, with all
decrees. (That night is) Peace until the rising of
the dawn.
Surah Al-Qadr 97:1 – 5

Therein [that night] is decreed every matter of

ordainments.
Surat Ad-Dukhan 44:4
The Elements
I’tikaf
Also during the last ten days, the Muslim can
engage in I’tikaf, or spiritual retreat, where he
withdraws himself to the mosque away from
all other activities. He expends all his energy
in total devotion: prayer, reading the Quran,
and dhikr.

Zakat-ul-Fitr
In the last days of Ramadan, the able adult
Muslim gives his due charity to the less
fortunate. This is the Zakat-ul-Fitr, which is
especially for Ramadan.

Eid-ul-Fitr
The blessed month of fasting culminates in
Eid-ul-Fitr, a joyful occasion where the Muslim
community comes together to feast and
celebrate the successes of another Ramadan.
After the Salat-ul-Eid, or Eid prayer, one can
visit family and friends and exchange gifts.
The Elements
The Exceptions
Observing Ramadan is obligatory upon all
able adult Muslims, with the exception of a
few situations:

The ill, mentally disabled, weak, or traveling

people, and the pregnant or menstruating
women are not obliged to observe the
Ramadan fast. Once the situation passes,
these individuals should make up the missed
days of fast after Ramadan. If they are still
unable to do so, they are directed to specific
acts of charity, such as feeding a certain
number of needy people.
Fasting is not (mere) refraining from food and
drink. Fasting (is refraining) from vain talk and
even indecency. And if one slanders you or
aggresses against you then say to them ‘I am
fasting, I am fasting.’”
Al Hakim
 The Blessed
Month...
…a time for unity with the worldwide
Muslim community, for humble
devotion and reverence, for
moderation and sacrifice, for freedom
from the world and awareness of the
Hereafter.

“The Islamic fast which is the union of

asceticism and joy – and even pleasure in
certain cases – is the most natural and
most radical educational measure that has
ever been put into practice. It is equally
present in the king’s palace and the
peasant’s hut, in a philosopher’s home and
a worker’s home. Its greatest advantage is
that it is really practiced.”

Dr. Alija Izetbekovic

 © 2006 WhyIslam
Islamic Circle of North America
Content from:
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Islamicity.com
Siyam (Fasting) by Jamal A. Badawi