Ramadan: A Brief Overview

 

 

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar and Muslims around the world are commanded and obligated by God in the Quran and by the Prophet Muhammad in his Sunnah (his normative ethos and actions) to fast i.e. abstaining from food and drink during it as it is one of the five pillars of Islam alongside the declaration of faith, praying, charity, and performing pilgrimage to Mecca if one is able to.

 

“Islam is built upon five: to worship Allah and to disbelieve in what is worshiped besides him, to establish prayer, to give charity, to perform Hajj pilgrimage to the house, and to fast the month of Ramadan.” (Bukhari 8)

 

“Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the decisive authority. So whoever is present this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramadan˺. Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful. When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond ˹with obedience˺ to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided ˹to the Right Way˺. It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast. Your spouses are a garment1 for you as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves.2 So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you.3 ˹You may˺ eat and drink until you see the light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall. Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques. These are the limits set by Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to people, so they may become mindful ˹of Him˺.” (2:185-187)

 

The fasting is from the break of dawn to sunset so food is eaten before dawn and there is great blessing in it, “Take the pre-fasting meal, for surely there are blessings in the pre-fasting meal.” (Bukhari 1923). The month begins at the sighting of the crescent moon and the month ends at the sighting of the new crescent moon. However, the fasting is more than just about food and sexual relations, it is about becoming closer to God through taming one’s desires and carnal appetites as a struggle against one’s self and strengthens their ability to control oneself. One also becomes grateful to God for the food they have and sympathize with the less fortunate,

 

“Verily, fasting is not only from eating and drinking. Rather, fasting is from vanity and obscenity. If someone abuses you or acts foolish against you, then say: Indeed, I am fasting.(Sahih Ibn Hibban 3479).

 

Fasting is exempt for prepubertal children, women during their menstrual period, travelers, pregnant or breastfeeding women who believe fasting for long hours may cause harm to either themselves or their babies, the elderly who cannot tolerate it, and the mentally disabled. For those who did not fast for valid temporary reasons must make up their fast at a later time. For those who have a valid permanent reason must pay a redemption fee,

 

“˹Fast a˺ prescribed number of days. But whoever of you is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺. For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty, compensation can be made by feeding a needy person ˹for every day not fasted˺. But whoever volunteers to give more, it is better for them. And to fast is better for you, if only you knew.” (2:184)

 

At the end of Ramadan there is a feast known as Eid al-Fitr where individuals often gather as a community and celebrate as every Muslim in the world was fasting together so fasting during Ramadan has both a spiritual connection in the realm of one’s personal life and builds one’s community. Fasting has many health benefits as well.

The first night that the Prophet Muhammad received revelation from God through the angel Gabriel is known as Laylat al-Qadr or The Night of Decree and was during the month of Ramadan and revelation was continually given to him for 23 years. Also, the Prophet Muhammad said, “When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of the heaven are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the devils are chained.” (Bukhari 1899) and there is a great reward for praying the night during The Night of Decree,

 

“The month of Ramadan has come, a blessed month in which Allah Almighty has obligated you to fast. In it the gates of the heavens are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed, the devils are chained, and in it is a night that is better than a thousand months. Thus, whoever is deprived of its good is truly deprived.” (Musnad Ahmad 7148).

 

“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. Whoever stands in prayer during the Night of Decree due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari 1901).

 

Also, during the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel would do an annual review of the Quran with the Prophet Muhammad, “Gabriel would come to me to revise the Quran once every year. This year he revised with me twice. I do not think it means anything but that my term will come to an end.” (Bukhari 3623). Fasting is not something new that came with Islam but is something that was also instructed by God to the previous prophets as well, “O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you—so perhaps you will become mindful ˹of Allah˺.” (2:183). I hope this blog post informed you regarding the fasting done by Muslims during this month.