Ramadan and Self-Purification

RAMADAN AND SELF-PURIFICATION x Ramadan, the month of fasting and selfpurification, is a blessed spiritual period for believers, for it is during this month that they do their utmost to awaken and enhance their spirituality and purify themselves. It must be borne in mind that Ramadan entails much more than fasting; it is the fostering of a culture of abstinence aimed at purification of thought, speech and general behaviour and inculcating humility, truth and honesty in oneself. A tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, “There is purification for all things, and purification of the body is fasting.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1745) Just as bathing purifies the body, so does fasting purify the soul.