BEGINNING OF RAMADAN.
It all starts with the
astronomical new moon. Since the new moon is seen in the beginning of the new
month in Muslim calendar, Muslims can usually estimate the beginning of the new
month. This day is known as Hilal (the crescent). From then onwards, RAMADAN
begins.
Night
of Power
The Arabic Laylat al-Qadr,
translated to English is "the night of power" or "the night of
decree", is considered the holiest night of the year. This is the night in which Muslims
believe the first revelation of the Quran was sent down to Muhammad stating
that this night was "better than one thousand months [of proper
worship]", as stated in Chapter 97:3 of the Quran.
Also,
generally, Laylat al-Qadr is believed to have occurred on an odd-numbered night
during the last ten days of Ramadan, i.e., the night of the 21st, 23rd, 25th,
27th or 29th.
Eid
This
day is declared after another crescent new moon on the completion of 30 days of
fasting. The new month that starts with the end of Ramadan is shawaal. This
month may also be an invitation towards the festive nature of ending the
fasting season and coming back to more natural disposition (fitra) of being
able to eat, drink and resume intimacy with spouses during the day.
Religious practices
The common practice during Ramadan is fasting
from dawn to sunset. The pre-dawn meal before the fast is called the suhur,
while the meal at sunset that breaks the fast is the iftar.
Muslims are engaged in prayers and charity during Ramadan. They try to practice
increased self-discipline. Famous hadith mentioned that, "when Ramadan arrives,
the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of hell are locked up and devils
are put in chains".
Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection,
improvement and increased devotion and worship. In this whole journey, Muslims
restraint themselves from sexual relations, and avoids sinful speech and
behavior. Ramadan also teaches Muslims how to better practice self-discipline,
self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who
are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity
(zakat). The act of fasting is said to
redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful
impurities. It becomes compulsory for muslims to start fasting as long as they
reach puberty. Many children endeavor to complete as many fasts as possible as
practice for later life.
Exemptions to fasting are travel,
menstruation, severe illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. However, many
Muslims with medical conditions insist on fasting to satisfy their spiritual
needs, although it is not recommended by the hadith. In the Quran it says that,
"if somebody has difficulty participation in fasting then they do not have
to".
SUHROOR
Each day, before dawn,
Muslims observe a pre-fast meal called the suhoor. After stopping a short time before dawn, Muslims
begin the first prayer of the day, Fajr. All the prayers are equally important for muslims,
but the evening prayer is given more weightage.
IFTAR
At sunset, families sit together for the
fast-breaking meal known as iftar. The first food that goes in the
mouth are usually Dates. Prophet prophet muhammad pbuh) broke his first fasting with three
dates, in those times. Following that,
Muslims generally sit for the Maghrib prayer, the fourth of the five
daily prayers, after
which the main meal is served and the first day of the Ramadan ends with peace,
harmony and discipline.
In the Middle East,
the iftar meal consists of water, juices, dates, salads and appetizers, one or
more main dishes, and various kinds of desserts. Typical main dishes are lamb
stewed with wheat berries, lamb kebabs with grilled vegetables, or roast
chicken served with chickpea-studded rice pilaf. Over time, iftar has grown
into banquet festivals. This is a time of fellowship with families, friends and
surrounding communities, but may also occupy larger spaces at masjid or banquet
halls for 100 or more diners.
CHARITY
Charity is very important in
Islam, and even more so during Ramadan. Zakāt, often translated as "the poor-rate", is
obligatory as one of the pillars of Islam; a fixed percentage of the person's
savings is required to be given to the poor. Sadaqah is
voluntary charity in giving above and beyond what is required from the
obligation of zakāt. In Islam, all good deeds are more handsomely rewarded
during Ramadan than in any other month of the year. Consequently, many will
choose this time to give a larger portion, if not all, of the zakāt that they
are obligated to give. In addition, many will also use this time to give a
larger portion of sadaqah in order to maximize the reward that will await them
at the Last Judgment.
.
LAWS DURING RAMADAN.
In some Muslim countries, failing to fast during Ramadan is
considered a crime and is prosecuted as such. For instance, in Algeria, in
October 2008 the court of Biskra condemned six people to four
years in prison and heavy fines.
In Kuwait,
according to law number 44 of 1968, the penalty is a fine of no more than
100 Kuwaiti dinars, (about US$330, GB£260 in May 2017) or jail for no more
than one month, or both penalties, for those seen eating, drinking or smoking
during Ramadan daytime. In
some places in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), eating or drinking in
public during the daytime of Ramadan is considered a minor offence and would be
punished by up to 150 hours of community service. In neighboring Saudi Arabia,
described by The Economistas taking Ramadan "more seriously
than anywhere else", there are harsher punishments,
including flogging, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation.
In Malaysia, Muslims who break the fast
during daytime are simply arrested by the religious police. People who sell
food, drinks, or tobacco to Muslims for immediate consumption can be fined for
up to RM1,000 and imprisoned for up to six months, and repeated offenders will
have their penalty doubled.
Some countries have laws that amend work
schedules during Ramadan. Under UAE labor law, the maximum working hours are to
be six hours per day and 36 hours per week. Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and
Kuwait have similar laws.
In Egypt, alcohol sales are banned during
Ramadan.
HEALTH
Ramadan fasting is safe for healthy people,
but those with medical conditions should seek medical advice if they were to
encounter health problems before or during fasting. The fasting period is usually
associated with modest weight loss, but weight can return afterwards.
The education departments of Berlin and the United Kingdom have
tried to discourage students from fasting during Ramadan, as they claim that
not eating or drinking can lead to concentration problems and bad grades,
according to their own research.
A review of the literature by an Iranian
group suggested fasting during Ramadan might produce renal injury in patients with moderate (GFR <60 ml/min) or
worse kidney disease, but was not injurious to renal transplant patients
with good function or most forming patients.
CRIME RATES DURING RAMADAN.
The
correlation of Ramadan with crime rates is mixed: some statistics show that
crime rates drop during Ramadan, while others show that it rises. Decreases in
crime rates have been reported by the police in some cities in Turkey (Istanbul and Kenya)
and the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A
2005 study found that there was a decrease in assault, robbery and
alcohol-related crimes during Ramadan in Saudi Arabia, but only the decrease in
alcohol-related crimes was statistically significant. Increases
in crime rates during Ramadan have been reported in Turkey,[ Jakarta, parts
of Algeria, Yemen and
Egypt.
Various
mechanisms have been proposed for the effect of Ramadan on crime:
·
Fasting during Ramadan makes people less
likely to commit crimes due to spiritual reasons.
Muslims who commit crimes while fasting during Ramadan as "fake and
superficial".
·
Police in Saudi Arabia attributed
a drop in crime rates to the "spiritual mood prevalent in the
country".
·
In Jakarta, Indonesia, police say
that the traffic due to 7 million people leaving the city to celebrate Eid al-Fitr results
in an increase in street crime. As a result, police deploy an additional 7,500
personnel.
·
During Ramadan, millions of pilgrims enter
Saudi Arabia to visit Mecca. According to the Yemen Times,
such pilgrims are usually charitable, and consequently smugglers traffic
children in from Yemen to beg on the streets of Saudi
Arabia.
Everything has pros and cons. It depends on
us, how we take it. Ramadan is a festival of peace and harmony. This festival
also helps a lot of species to continue the food chain cycle meanwhile for a
month. Crime rates are decreased, poverty is minimized as most of the rich Muslims
goes for charity and donations every day. Most importantly, hundreds of Muslims
sit together and break their fasting and talk about harmony, sharing joy and
sorrow with each other.
Ref:
1.
Muslim-Ibn-Habaj, Abul-Hussain. "Sahih Muslim – Book 006
(The Book of Fasting), Hadith 2378". hadithcollection.com.
Retrieved 25 July 2012.
2.
^ Muslim-Ibn-Habaj,
Abul-Hussain. "Sahih Muslim – Book 006
(The Book of Fasting), Hadith 2391". hadithcollection.com.
Retrieved 25 July 2012.
3.
^ Fasting
(Al Siyam) – الصيام –
p. 18, el Bahay el Kholi, 1998
4.
^ "Ramadan in the Farthest
North". Saudi Aramco World. Archived
from the original on
4 February 2015. Retrieved 16 June2015.
- Abu
Dawud-Ibn-Ash'ath-AsSijisstani,
Sulayman. "Sunan Abu-Dawud –
(The Book of Prayer) – Detailed Injunctions about Ramadan, Hadith
1370". Center
for Muslim-Jewish Engagement of The University of Southern California.
Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Bukhari-Ibn-Ismail,
AbdAllah-Muhammad. "Sahih Bukhari – Book
031 (The Book of Fasting), Hadith 199". hadithcollection.com.
Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Ad-Dausaree, Mahmood
Bin Ahmad Bin Saaleh (2006). The Magnificence of Quran. Darussalam Publishers.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Aliyev, Rafig Y.
(2013). Loud Thoughts on Religion:
A Version of the System Study of Religion. Useful Lessons for Everybody. Trafford Publishing.
p. 129. ISBN 978-1490705217.[self-published source]
- ^ al-Uthaymeen, Shaikh
Saalih. Explanation of the Three
Fundamental Principles of Islam (Salafi): Sharh Usool ath-Thalatha of
Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahaab.
Salafi Books.
- ^ Quran Chapter 2,
Revelation 183.
