Ramadan Kareem
RAMADAN KAREEM
The month of festivity and forgiveness for
the Muslims is here. Ramadan is a special season that signifies much for every
Muslim who fasts in the day and volunteers other form of worship in the night.
His motive is great prize of forgiveness of past sins. Fasting during the holy
month is one of the five pillars of Islam, which also include prayer and
charity. To fast, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and engaging
in sexual activity from sunrise to sunset.
Ramadan is a joyous month of spiritual
growth, charity, celebration, family gathering, sharing, shopping, and late
night family meals. Fasting is one of the greatest means of helping a person to
fulfill the commands of Islam. All this might sound miserable to non-Muslims but
for the followers of Islam it fills there heart with love and respect for
Allah. There are a few question that a number of non-Muslim friends and
colleagues often ask us, usually out of fascination with this
spiritually-uplifting practice of Islam faith, and at times out of pity and
sympathy for us, thinking, why should anyone suffer from hunger and thirst
like Muslims? I wouldn’t be surprised if many of us shared the same negative
perception of fasting. But for the Muslim fasting is not a burden it is a way
to show and believe how devoted they are, how much they admire their religion
and their god.
It is important to note that Fasting in
Arabic is called,” SWAN”, which literally means ‘to be at rest’.
Benefits of Fasting-
1-SWAN- to be at rest. We give rest to
gastro-intestinal tract, the sexual organs, the tongue, the eyes and ears, etc. Fasting is an additional safety device for
the regeneration process of the body and the brain including the memory.
2- Muslim who have been fasting regularly
since childhood have been exposed to different sleep/wake and light/darkness
cycles on a daily basis in one annual lunar month. Hence, it may be easier for
such persons to synchronize at a faster rate their circadian.
3-The
social contact during the night prayertaraweeh or qi yam and other social
spiritual activities should act as a ‘time-giver’ this is what regulates bio-rhythm.
This provides an adequate level of physical activity equivalent to moderate
physical activity which, for some, may be more than they usually exercise.
4-Fasting in Ramadan enables us to master
the art of mature adaptability and time-management.
5-It cultivates in us the principle of
sincere Love, because when we observe fasting, we do it out of deep love for
Allah.
6- In Ramadan, people tend to go for
healthier options such as dates, nuts, fruits and home cooked meals for
Muslims. Studies have noted that overall
saturated fat consumption, usually found in butter, lard, fatty meat, and fast
food is reduced in Ramadan.7-All the Muslims say goodbye to all the addiction be it smoking, lying or gossiping. It is the perfect time to give up all the addictions and bad habits as it is said that during the Ramadan all the evil i.e. ‘shaitan’ is send to the dark room and is locked there until Ramadan is over.
It is said that the holy Quran was
assembled and send from the almighty in the last ten days of Ramadan. This is
the period where the Muslims pray with all heart and soul in order to seek
forgiveness and fulfill the wishes they have. It is a month of sacrifice,
giving, piousness and self-training, it is a motivation with the hope that
these qualities will extend beyond this month and stay with them throughout the
year. Indeed, the essence of the fasting in Ramadan is beautiful. It is a month
of festivity.
So eat well, eat according to time and
sleep well. Show back to all the bad habits and negativity. Help yourself to
clean up your soul seek forgiveness and give charity as much as you can. Enjoy
the festive month. Good things don’t last long.
By~
Aayesha Nabeeha.
Aayesha Nabeeha.
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