Questions and Answers

During Ramadan one goes through a spiritual training course, the outward form of which is abstinence from food and drink for a given period, and the inner form is the strengthening of one’s character. What is the rationale behind the period of 30 days of fasting, why not less or more? During the month of Ramadan, a believer, of his own free will, abstains from food and drink in the daytime. It is only after sunset that he satisfies his hunger and quenches his thirst. In this way he builds up his self-control. By practicing restraint for one month in a year, he is able to lead a life of self-discipline in all matters for the rest of the year. The rationale behind fasting for a month is made clear by psychological studies. It tells us that thirty days are required for a habit to be inculcated. It is not an overnight miracle but a lengthy process. The practice becomes a part of one’s personality only when it is observed every day for at least thirty days and only then it may continue for the rest of the year. Ramadan is a training course aimed at inculcating in people a truly religious spirit and making them conscious of their responsibilities to God. For one month in the year, people spend all of their time in worship. All of their days and nights are spent in prayer and fasting. In this way, people are trained to perform every action in the divinely appointed way. Their waking and sleeping, their eating and their abstinence, their actions and their inactions; all must be in accordance with the commands of God. Are there any rituals that we should observe at night? There are no rituals as such. One has to spend the whole night in prayer and supplication. It could be done in the mosque or in the privacy of one’s home. It should be observed in all seriousness and sincerity.