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ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered Is fasting to do with not eating and drinking for a few hours during the day and then eating as one desires past the restricted hours? Fasting does not simply amount to observing hunger for a temporary period of time. In fact, it symbolizes a lifelong culture of dedication. The Arabic equivalent of fasting is sawm, which means abstinence. Abstinence is the gist of fasting. Abstinence from food and water for a limited period is symbolic training. Fasting reminds a faithful person that if the acts of abstinence were to reach the extent of refraining from food and water for a temporary period, then he would be ready to do so for a higher purpose. Although this training is for a temporary period it enables one to lead one’s whole life in accordance with this spirit. Fasting is not a set of rituals. It is the adoption of the well-known principle—simple living, high thinking. Simplicity in one’s food habits will be an integral part of a believer’s life. One of the teachings of the Prophet is ‘simplicity is a part of faith’. Extravagance of any kind will not be the way of a true follower of the Prophet. Is it true that during Ramazan Muslims are encouraged by their religion to call people for Iftar parties and are supposed to give sumptuous food? Iftar is an Arabic word, which literally means ‘to break’. In the Islamic context, it means to break the fast, to eat and drink in the evening after the daylong fast. Iftar is not simply a matter of having dinner. It has great significance. It is a combination of spiritual and physical food. According to the Islamic teachings, iftar should be a simple meal and not a lavish affair. Simplicity saves us from distraction and will make us concentrate on the spiritual aspect of fasting. On the other hand, if the iftar takes the form of a lavish affair, all attention will be focused on the taste and the physical aspects, and the spiritual benefits will be lost. These days, organizing iftar parties has become a tradition. But this party should not be like any other party. Such a party should give us an opportunity for spiritual exchange, turning our individual experiences into a social experience. Is the blessed night observed on the 26th of Ramazan by Muslims, a night where everyone gets whatever they ask for from God? Is it to be searched for during the last ten nights of the holy month?