Spirit of Ramadan

Fasting, a form of training to create the capacity in a man to become the most devoted worshipper, makes him most grateful to God and creates a fear of Him, which makes him shiver. The very hardship of fasting carries a man from the material world to the plain of spirituality. One who keeps such a real fast is that of one whose whole life is cast in the same consistent mould: who applies in all his affairs, the constraints and bounds that God has laid down, who checks his tongue from abusing others, who stays his hand from persecution, who halts in his steps towards injustice. As the Prophet said, “Such a man can be likened to a horse tied to his rope, who moves only as far as his string permits him. He cannot transgress.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 11335) FASTING: A SPIRITUAL CULTURE According to Islamic teachings, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Hijra calendar, is the month of fasting. In this month, believers refrain from food and drink for a limited period each day, that is, from dawn till sunset. They eat and drink during the night. This practice continues for one month. What is fasting? Fasting does not simply amount to observing hunger for a temporary period. In fact, it symbolizes a lifelong culture, that is, a culture of dedication. According to Islamic ideology, a believer is a man of mission. A man of mission is a different person. He has little time for anything other than his mission. He eschews all such activities as are irrelevant to his mission. This is the spirit of the man of mission and fasting symbolizes this spirit.