what is ramadhan
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What is Ramadhan
#1 - It's a month.
Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and lasts for 29 or 30 days. A
new full moon indicates a new month, so all Muslims can easily estimate when
Ramadhan starts and ends. After Ramadhan is Syawal, the first day of which is Hari
Raya Aidilfitri.
#2 - Atonement and Fasting.
The month of Ramadhan is the holiest time of the year for Muslims. It's a time for
atonement, fasting, prayers and spiritual reflection. Muslims fast from dawn to dusk
during Ramadhan. In Malaysia, that's 12 hours of no food, no drinks, and religiously
observing all five prayer times every day as well as 'tarawikh' prayers.
While it is not mandatory to attend 'tarawikh' prayers, it is however encouraged, as
these prayers will cover readings from the entire al-Quran over the duration of
Ramadhan.
The act of fasting is meant to pull Muslims away from worldly thoughts and deeds,
to physically cleanse the body, while prayers and reflection cleanse the mind.
Fasting is one of the main pillars of Islam, making it compulsory for all Muslims to
fast during Ramadhan. The only ones exempted are the sick, the old, the mentally
disabled, pre-pubescent children, and pregnant women. In short, if you are able to
fast, then you must.
#3 - Appreciation for food.
After abstaining from food for 12 hours, Muslims naturally start planning their meals
from sahur to buka puasa or iftar.
Sahur is the last meal you have before fasting starts and is meant to last you the
whole day before iftar comes around at about 7.30pm. It's traditionally served at
5.00 am and could consist of oats or fibre-rich cereal, even full meals with rice and
noodles.
Traditionally for buka puasa, Muslims break their fast with water and three dates,just like Prophet Muhammad did, before beginning their meal. Buffets at hotels and
restaurants are common during the fasting month. Malaysians, Muslims or not, like
to gather together for merry making over sumptuous food, as Ramadhan is also a
time to heal, mend or enhance relationships.
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#4 - Charity.
One of the main reasons for fasting is for Muslims to reflect on their blessings over
the year and to provide insight to the hunger and thirst that an extremely poor
person would have to endure.
This then gives way to another purpose of Ramadhan - doing charity. Muslims also
pay annual tithes also known in Malay as 'zakat fitrah' - this cleanses oneself of
worldly possessions, and is a form of 'taxation' that will be channelled towards
charity or fund religious activities.
Some mosques around Malaysia also provide bubur lambuk (a type of porridge) for
free come iftar time.
#5 - Syawal.
Eid-Al-Fitr, or locally known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Eid marks the start of Syawal,
which is the month after Ramadhan, and is celebrated by Muslims the world over.
Like all the other months in the Muslim calendar, the arrival of Eid is indicated by
the full moon.
In Malaysia, Muslims don their new clothes and throng the mosques in the morning
to mark the start of another year before the next fasting month. Muslims believe
that if you do everything right during Ramadhan, all your sins are cleared and you
begin Syawal again on a clean slate. The rest of the day is then spent merrymaking
with family and friends over good food and fireworks in the evening.
Why do Muslims fast?
The religion says so
Yes, the religion says so - it is one of the five main pillars of Islam. The rest being
proclaiming the shahadah, praying five times a day, paying annual zakat or tithes,
and fulfilling pilgrimage or the Haj. But then again, so do Christians fast during the
month of Lent, only not quite so stringently. While Christians opt for liquid fasts
(where you're allowed to drink liquids), fruit fasts (where you're allowed to eat
fruits), or simply go vegetarian, Muslims have a much more uniform set of rules.
These rules are then policed by the religious authorities in Malaysia. Muslims,however, are not a bunch of people so quick to do something without purpose, just
because the book says so.
To appreciate food and water
Muslims fast in order to appreciate what other less fortunate people in the world
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struggle to have on a regular day. The absence of regular meals and clean water is
a very real scenario in so many poverty-stricken places in the world.
To channel charity and good deeds
Muslims gain brownie points, or pahala, in heaven when they do good deeds on
earth. Practising self-restraint while giving to charity in cash or in kind, or by simply
doing good deeds, gives those brownie points more meaning.
To build endurance towards fighting temptation
It is said that the devil and all his unholy creatures do not walk the earth during the
month of Ramadhan. This gives Muslims a clear passage to performing all that they
need to during the month of Ramadhan, free of temptations, so they may be good
Muslims the rest of the year. Think of Ramadhan as an intensive, month-long,
closed-door training session, in preparation of the religious Olympics that occur the
remaining 11 months of the year, where there are nasty competitors waiting to tripyou during any part of the race.
To cleanse your body and soul
Fasting isn't just about the physical aspect of depriving your body of food and drinks
from sun up to sun down. It's about focusing on the right things, like prayer and
atonement, and about shying away from things that tempt you from your faith.
Muslims stay away from sex, alcohol, drugs (although alcohol and drugs are
absolutely forbidden all of the time and not just during Ramadhan), jealousy,
vindictiveness, anger, and bad intentions during Ramadhan. Practising patience,
love, understanding, generosity and all good traits are things that make up theother part of the Muslim fast that goes beyond physical restrictions. To add to their
spiritual cleansing, Muslims are also meant to pray five times a day and reflect upon
their sins the rest of the time.
(http://malaysia.msn.com/Ramadhan special)
Answer the questions
Month
..
Muslims pay
..
http://malaysia.msn.com/Ramadhanhttp://malaysia.msn.com/Ramadhan -
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What is
Ramadhan?
Holiest time
of the year
to
..
.
Muslims were abstained from
food
for
.
.Fast is compulsory for all
muslims except
Why do muslims
fast?
One of the
..pillar of
Islam
Appreciate
Gain
Cleanse body and
soul from
.
Build endurance
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Question
Write a summary on why do muslims fast
Muslims do fast in Ramadhan because ..................................................................................................................
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. Here are 9 simple things to try for a better you and a better society:
1.Talk to God: instead of talking to our friends for at least 6 hours a day, let's talk to God for 10 minutes a day. It
could be in the form of praying or just plain and simple talk, try it you'll feel relieved. In the end, there's no better
listener and word won't get out.
2.Help someone: anyone. A lot of people around us need help. Whether it's the blind man crossing the street, the
old lady carrying her groceries, your mum loaded with house work, or even a poor man asking for money; always
lend someone a hand, you never know when you'll need one.
3.Share: sharing isn't just for Facebook. Share your food with your neighbour, your car with someone who needs a
ride, your time at a shelter, or even your old clothes with the less fortunate. One man's trash is another man's
treasure, keep that in mind.
4.Read: I know the book of God isn't exactly 'Eat, Pray, Love' but if you read 4 pages after each prayer, by the end of
Ramadan you would've read the whole book. Remember, what's more important than reading the Quraan, is
understanding it and taking interest in what it says.
5.Smile: spread love, you never know who could be breaking down and waiting for you to cheer them up. A simple
smile to someone you don't necessarily know (and I'm not encouraging flirtatious, hair-flipping smiles at the hot boy at
the gym) will uplift their mood almost instantly.
6.Be useful: donations don't have to be just money. You can donate your time at a shelter or an orphanage to help
teach less fortunate kids something useful. There must be at least one subject you're good at that you can pass on to
someone else. You can also help plant fruitful trees in your neighbourhood, hand out ice-water bottles to traffic police,
paint a discoloured wall in your area, or compliment the garbage collector on how important his job is.
7.Feed someone: carry dates in your bag and hand them out at Eftar time. On a much bigger scale, help cook meals
and pack food bags to be sent to poor villages in your area. It's great to feed someone in Ramadan, but it's 10 times
greater if you do that all year long.
8.Keep your mouth shut: That kind of applies all year round. If you have something nice to say about someone say
it, if you don't be quiet.
9.Hold your horses: easy on the F-word. Not just because Eftar time came and you've broken your fast means you'll
be swearing at every person you see till the next morning. Words are very powerful, use them correctly.