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what is ramadhan

Ramadan

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Ramadan 2010 (the year 1431 AH, according to the Muslim reckoning) runs from approximately August 11 to September 9. The exact dates depend on one's geographical location.

A blessed month has arrived. Observing it in fasting is mandated on you. During this month, the gates of Paradise will be opened and the gates of Hellfire will be closed. (Abu Hureirah)

Ramadan mubarak! (a blessed Ramadan!)

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the most sacred of the twelve months. The name Ramadan derives from the Arabic word for intense heat and sun-scorched ground. A number of reasons have been advanced to explain the linguistic connection:

It refers to the hot, dry sensation of thirst during this month of fasting
Ramadan scorches out evil like the sun scorches the earth
Just as heat shapes and influences all matter — organic and inorganic — so does Ramadan shape and influence the believer

Fasting

The Koran mandates fasting during the month of Ramadan:

The month of Ramadan is that in which the Koran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days... (sura 2.185, known as The Cow)

Fasting, or sawm, during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Sunni Islam.

Why fast?

to develop patience and self-control
to learn sympathy for the deprived
to cleanse the body and mind
to gain appreciation for Allah's bounty
to demonstrate the depth of one's commitment
to protect against sin. A hadith states: "Satan runs in the circulatory system of the son of Adam in the same way blood circulates in our system; so tighten his passages with hunger."

There are, then, three levels of the Ramadan fast:

refraining from the physical things that are forbidden (performed with the mouth/stomach/sexual organs)
restraining oneself from saying, hearing and looking at forbidden things (performed with the senses)
renewing one's devotion to Allah (performed with the heart and mind).

Special meals are eaten before and after each day of fasting: suhoor before the dawn prayers, and iftar, the evening meal often eaten communally and often including dates.

I swore by the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the faster is sweeter to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the scent of musk. (Abu Hureirah)

In addition, Ramadan is a time for increased devotion, reading of the Koran, self-improvement, community involvement, charity and good deeds.

He who does not desist from obscene language and acting obscenely, Allah has no need that he did not eat or drink. (Bukhari)

Ramadan and the new moon

When does Ramadan begin and end? This question is complicated by a number of factors. One, the Islamic calendar (hijrah) is based on the moon, and does not compensate for the extra days the solar calendar has over the lunar one. Thus, while the fast of Ramadan always begins on 1 Ramadan according to the Islamic calendar, the Gregorian date changes every year. So whatever date Ramadan starts on a given year, it'll start about 11-12 days earlier next year, and so on. This means the holy month can fall in any season of the year; it takes about 35 years for Ramadan to complete a whole cycle through the seasons.

Second, the beginning of Ramadan (as with all months of the Islamic calendar) is traditionally based on a sighting of the hilal — the crescent, or new, moon. If it is reported by a witness in front of a committee of elders by the evening of the 29th day of the previous month, Sha'aban, then Ramadan starts on day 30. If not — because the sky is cloudy or the moon set before the sky grew dark enough to see it — then Sha'aban lasts 30 days and Ramadan starts the next day. Western countries are more likely to begin Ramadan a day earlier than eastern countries, since moonset occurs later farther west and there's more chance of the moon being seen on the 29th of Sha'aban.

Some Islamic legal opinions rule that the date of Ramadan can be determined by astronomical calculations and does not require the sighting of a new moon.

The same procedure applies at the end of Ramadan.

The night of power

The Night of Power is better than a thousand months,
The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord for every affair,
Peace, it is, until the break of the dawn. (Sura 97)

Laylat al-Qadr (lit., the night of destiny) is the night of revelation and the night of judgment. This night lends Ramadan its special character. On this night, Muhammad, alone in the wilderness near Mecca, was first taught Koranic verses by the angel Jibril, and the teaching continued for 10 days. Also on this night, Allah determines the course of the world for the coming year. Thus, pious Muslims spend the night (when possible, the entire 10-day period) in their mosques and devote themselves to extra prayers and study. Children are taught to watch for the opening of the sky on Laylat al-Qadr and make a wish.

There is no consensus which night of Ramadan is Laylat al-Qadr. It could be any odd-numbered night from the 19th to the 29th. Sunni Muslims tend to celebrate this night on the 23rd, while many Shias believe it falls on the 27th.

Breaking the fast

When Ramadan is over, on the first day of the next month, Shawwal, Muslims celebrate Id al-Fitr (lit., feast of the breaking of the fast).

Id al-fitr is a day of joy, thankfulness, piety, forgiveness, peace and brotherhood. Worshipers dress in their finest clothes, preferably new ones, and, after special early-morning prayers held in large mosques or other venues, visit each other to exchange greetings and good wishes. Special alms, zakat, are given; children receive gifts; and feuds and disputes are settled. Together with the sadness at the end of Ramadan comes the joy at having been granted by Allah the strength to perform the fast.

Eid mubarak!

See also:
Basic Muslim Beliefs
Pillars of Islam (Sunni)
Branches of Religion (Shia)
List of battles fought during Ramadan by Muslims

❤ "what is ramadhan" was Posted On: Sunday, August 7, 2011 @2:30 PM | 0 lovely comments ✿

benefits of fasting in islam

Benefits of Fasting

Taken from: Fast of the Month of Ramadan
Philosophy and Ahkam
By Yasin T. al Jibouri
International Islamic Society of Virginia, Inc.In Islam, the spiritual, social, economic, political and psychological benefits of fast are interrelated, each affecting the other. Rituals regulate the Muslims' social and individual life and bring them closer to their Creator. A combination of fast, prayers, and meditation may be the very best dose for any and all psychological, financial, and spiritual ills from which one may be suffering. They purify the soul, cleanse the intention, and bring about an abundance of good from the Almighty Who is ever-watching over us and Who desires nothing but good for His sincere servants. On p. 353, Vol. 94, of Bihar al-Anwar, al-Majlisi traces a saying of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (as) saying that if one fasts at the beginning of a month, reciting in the first rek'at the Fatiha once and al-Ikhlas thirty times (i.e., as many as the maximum days of the lunar month), and the Fatiha once and al-Qadr thirty times in the second rek'at, following that with offering the poor something by way of charity, it will dispel everything about which he is apprehensive during the entire month. Two other rek'ats are described in the same reference as having even a greater effect on a believer's life: Imam al-Jawad (as) is quoted saying,

Whoever offers two optional rek'ats at the very beginning of the month of Ramadan, reciting in the first the Fatiha and the Fath, and in the other whatever surah (Qur'anic chapter) he likes, Allah, the most Exalted One, will not let him suffer anything bad during his entire year, and he will remain thus protected till the next year.

During the month of Ramadan, the believers learn to curb their desires and check them against transgression, extravagance, and the yielding to the lower desires, all of which degenerate man and bring him to the pit of self-destruction and annihilation. Fast fosters a strong will, teaches patience and self-discipline, the ability to bear hardship and tolerate hunger and thirst. In short, it brings about a clear victory over one's illicit desires and selfish impulses. It regulates and systemizes the energies of instincts. It trains the body to submit to lofty spiritual impulses. It safeguards the body's health by protecting it against extravagance. It grants its organs a respite so that they may be ready to resume their activities. As medical science has proved, it is a medicine for many bodily and nervous ailments. It is a moral education, a nourishment of supreme virtues. It teaches the believer to abandon vices, to control emotions and instincts, to curb the tongue against saying what is wrong or inappropriate and the conscience against contemplating upon wrongdoing or subversion. It promotes the spirit of unity among members of the fasting commu- nity; it teaches them humility and humbleness and instills within them the feeling of equality before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The rich have to observe it as well as the poor, the women as well as the men, the influential and powerful as well as the weak and downtrodden: they all have to observe the fast. It promotes the spirit of charity and compassion towards the poor and the needy, and it reminds each believer of the needs of other believers. Muslims share with each other Allah's blessings unto them. The believers strengthen their ties with the Almighty, since they express through fast a continuous desire to obey His Will and carry out His commandments. They also strengthen their ties with one another, since the month of Ramadan is the month of giving. It is the month for productive social inter- activity. Islam places a great deal of emphasis on moral excellence during this holy month. The holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) has said,

One who, while fasting, neither guards his tongue from telling lies nor refrains from doing bad deeds does not respect his fast, while Allah does not approve of mere abstention from food... When you fast, you should not speak ill of anybody, nor should you be boisterous or noisy. If anybody speaks ill of you or tries to pick a quarrel with you, do not respond to him in the same manner; rather, simply tell him that you are fasting.

The institute of the fast is one of the signs of the Almighty's mercy on those who adhere to His divine creed, and it is never meant to put a hardship on anybody. The Almighty does not gain any benefit from putting hardship on anyone; on the contrary, He always tries to pave the way of happiness for His servants in this life and the life to come, and sometimes He even "pushes" them to do what is good for them, as is the case with making the fast of the month of Ramadan obligatory on every believing man and woman. But if you afford this great month a sincere and profound welcome, you will receive your rewards in many, many ways both in the short life of this fleeting world and in the eternal abode, Insha-Allah. Page 83, Vol. 1, of the first edition of al-Kulaylu's Al-Kafi, as al-Majlisi tells us on p. 354, Vol. 94, of his own Bihar al-Anwar, citing his own father quoting his mentor Shaykh the renowned faqih Ali ibn Muhammad al-Madayni quoting Sa'eed ibn Hibatullah al-Rawandi quoting Ali ibn Abdel- Samad al-Naisapuri quoting al-Dooryasti quoting Shaykh al-Mufid saying that on the first day of the month of Ramadan, one ought to supplicate thus:

Lord! The month of Ramadan has arrived, and You have required us to fast during it and revealed the Qur'an as guidance to people and a clear distinction of the guidance and the right criteria. O Lord! Help us observe its fast; accept the same from us; receive our fast from and safeguard the same for us in an ease from You and good health; surely You can do everything.

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu

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