Ramadan: A Month of Purification

FOREWORD x Fasting in Ramadan, the ninth month of the Hijri calendar, is training in self-purification for a believer. Saum, the Arabic word for fasting means abstinence. Abstinence from food and water for a limited period is symbolic training in self-restraint. In this way, the month of Ramadan trains us to live a disciplined life. Ramadan is a reminder to a sincere person that we are in the world of God, a world which has been created by God, not us. Its owner is God, not us. Here we cannot live according to our will. Here we cannot eat, drink or speak according to our will. Here we have to live in accordance with the will of the Creator. This kind of life is possible only when man apprehends God at the level of realization; when he discovers that in this world there is no place for those who lead a permissive (beqait) life. The secret of success in this world of God lies in leading a disciplined (paband) life. Prophet Muhammad said, “There is purification for all things, and purification of the body is fasting.”