What you always wanted to know about Ramadhan, but were afraid to ask
By SAMIR HARITH
It’s that time of the year again. The time when Muslims all over the world start fasting while their non-Muslim friends stare in disbelief at their ability to forego lunch for an entire month.
As a Muslim growing up in a Muslim family, Ramadhan has always been a regular part of my life. It is something which some of us look to with anticipation and some of us dread, but for the most of us, it’s, well… normal I guess.
As a kid, I didn’t start fasting the whole 30 days until I was about 10. Before that I would always skip a few days or I would fast for half a day… sometimes even skipping the entire day if I had the slightest stomachache. But as I grew older, I began to gradually accept fasting as something integral to me, being a Muslim.
So what is this whole deal about Ramadhan and fasting, you may ask?
Muslims believe that Ramadhan is the holiest of all months. It is also the month in which the Qu’ran was sent down to man.
Fasting during the month of Ramadhan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is essential for any Muslim to practice these five Pillars as they are the cornerstones of Islamic faith.
Fasting helps to purge the spirit of spiritual ills and is seen as a form of spiritual cleanser. Basically, when the body is not so preoccupied with food and other worldly desires, it is easier for the mind to take control and achieve greater spiritual awareness. Therefore Ramadhan is taken by many to be a time to renew our faith. I suppose you could call it a form of spiritual recharge.
For the Muslims, fasting means to abstain. Not just to abstain from food and drink, but also to abstain from sinful acts as well as sexual intercourse from dawn till dusk. When fasting, Muslims have to watch their language, their conduct and their appearance. It is also a time for us to reflect, a time for us to focus on our priorities in life and our roles as human beings and Muslims.
On a more practical side, fasting has its physical benefits too.
Fasting helps to detoxify the body. This is done when the body calls upon its fat reserves to be used as a source of energy. Foreign chemicals and additives are usually stored in our fat reserves, and when our fat reserves are burned as energy as a result of fasting, these toxic substances get expelled via our urine and sweat.
Furthermore, fasting diverts energy away from the digestive system, due to the reduced amount of food coming. The body then directs more energy towards the immune system. Which is why whenever the body is sick, we tend to lose appetite as it is a natural reaction to conserve energy. So, fasting helps to boost our immune system.
I could go on and on about the physical benefits, but then again, this isn’t exactly a biology paper.
A day in Ramadhan sounds a bit like this:
We wake up early at 5 a.m. to have our sahur (a really early-morning breakfast). The fast starts at around 5.30 a.m., after which we usually stay up until our morning prayers. During sahur we eat dates and drink water, lots of it. The general idea is not to eat too much, because that would defeat the whole purpose of fasting.
After prayers, most of us sleep the morning away but some of us do stay up until we go to class or work and resume our regular, daily routine, minus the lunch of course.
So most Muslims go through the day quite fine after having a filling sahur, although most of us do think about food every now and then during the fast.
During the fasting month, Muslims are usually allowed home early in order to break fast or iftar.
Iftar starts at dusk, when the sun is no longer visible in the sky—when we enter the evening prayer time. Iftar is traditionally done with water and dates, much like ‘sahur’ and it usually is a family thing (although a lot of working Muslims break fast alone). ‘Iftar’ is also done in moderation. Which is why Buka Puasa Buffets are generally not encouraged in Islam.
After Iftar we go for prayers at the mosque. These are not our regular five-times-a-day prayers but they are the optional Tarawih prayers which are conducted after our last regular prayer for the day. Tarawih prayers can last from one hour to one hour and a half, depending on the speed the imam (prayer leader) and how many repetitions we go through (most people do eight, while some stay the entire course of 23). Tarawih is a form of spiritual fulfillment and due to the various movements incorporated into the prayer, it becomes a form of light exercise.
While some of us would go out for late-night suppers, others retire to bed after a long day of fasting. Before we sleep, we say a little prayer and psyche ourselves for the next day of fasting.
For those of you who want a day by day description of fasting in Ramadhan, you can check out my blog.
theCICAK would like to wish all their Muslim readers a Happy Ramadhan!
Happy Fasting!
–
SAMIR HARITH is an editor for theCICAK.
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very nicely done, and fairly thorough i must say!
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Wow, thanks for all the information!! It’s great that you posted this so that people will not think of Ramadhan as just puasa LOL Happy fasting!! ^^
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i think fasting month is a very stressless month and i can think and study better if i’m fasting…
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An interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing it with us :)!
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Familiar information, but thanks for sharing from a personal perspective
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i’m a non-muslim but i still belief muslims can fast though;if there’s a will,there’s a way!before i read your article, i don’t know there are so many benefits about fasting. But now,i know. maybe non-muslims will be interested to fast after reading your article. NIICE!
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I’ve an interesting question if you don’t mind taking the time. Are most Malaysian Muslims Sunni or Shi’a and what is the nature of the relationship between the 2 schools? Is it correct to say that it is analogous to Catholicism and Protestantism or Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism? and thanks for the very informative article Samir.
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Heya idealist
Good Question.
The division between Sunni and Shia Muslims stems from a political schism which happened in the Muslim world after the passing of the third Khalifah (Caliph), Osman ibn Affan.
To cut a long story short, Muhammad’s (saw) nephew, Ali ibn Abi Talib was elected as the fourth Khalifah which saw opposition from some quarters, mainly the Umayyan family (Osman’s family). Then, a civil war was fought, peace was brokered, a rebellion broke out and eventually Ali’s family passed the reins of power to the Umayyans to prevent further bloodshed.
So those who sympahtised with Ali were called Shi’ah. The word ’schism’ actually is derived from Shi’ah/
Back then there were no Sunni mind you.
So the shi’ah were very much a political faction then. However over the years they have developed their own practices and cultures, differing slightly from the Sunnis.
The Sunnis are themselves divided into four schools of thought:
Maliki, Hambali, Hanafi and Shaf’ie.
Sunni is actually an abbreviation of Ahlil Sunnah Wal Jamaah. Which basically means ‘Members of the Sunnah and Congregation’. Sunnah here means the teachings and sayings of the prophet, sometimes referred to as Hadtih. Basically the four schools under the Sunni are slightly different interpretations of the prophet’s Hadith. This deeper thinking and interpretation (ijtihad) only came about in the subsequent years of the Muslim Caliphates, post Ali.
In terms of faith, there is no difference between Sunnis and Shi’ahs as we all practice the five pillars of Islam and the Six articles of faith.
We both believe in the word of the Qu’ran to be true..etc..etc..
Howver we do differ in terms of more day to day practices, really insignificant stuff mostly.
But there are some festivals which are Shi’ah exclusive, i can’t remember their names but it involves a pilgrimage to Karbala and some self-flagellation (ouch!).
The major difference between Sunnis and Shi’ahs today is that Shi’ahs tend to glorfiy Ali and his Family and some quarters go so far as to even condemn the other three Khalifah prior to Ali (Abu Bakar, Omar and Osman).
This has caused some friction between the Sunnis and Shi’ahs.
So today, we do have sectarian violence which flares up between Sunnis and Shi’ahs (especially in Iraq/Pakistan) due to minor squabbles over differences.
But on a more fundamental level, we are essentially the same. We are merely different schools of thought , much like the Sunni schools of thought mentionaed earlier.
So to answer your question, i would say that politically, Sunnis and Shiahs are as separated as the Catholics and Protestants, however on a religious level, we are more like the Theravadas and Mahayanas, differing only in terms of smaller matters.
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Happy Fasting Month
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Hey Samir, thanks for the reply. If you don’t mind i’ve another question. :p In the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) of which Malaysia is a member, do these differences result in friction in the workings of the Organization? Forgive me if the question sounds silly but this is not something I hear about in the media so i’m curious.
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Another good question Idealist,
On a larger political scale, these differences don’t really matter, just like how the Pope doesn’t condemn the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Either that or like i said the differences are of a symbolic/practical nature which doesn’t really affect international relations on a big scale.
But admittedly, the OIC doesn’t exactly work :p.
Malaysia has no problem getting along with other countries, regardless if they are Sunni/Shiah however tensions have existed between countries such as Iraq and Iran whose differences go beyond that of religion.
Sometimes i feel the inability of the OIC stems from unresolves issues between member countries, some of whom have fought wars against each other (Iraq and Kuwait) and the liberal and conservative (Saudi and Jordan).
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quite fascinating tho… we should never take Ramadhan for granted…. for muslims out there, benifit this year Ramadhan as if you don’t have next time… HAPPY RAMADHAN… and since raya is near… i want an article for raya… hehe.. SELAMAT HARI RAYA 2 all muslims
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Other than its common use in Greek to refer to a crack in a wall or an egg, the original use of schisma (σχισμα) as a technical term was in ancient Greek music theory, and referred to a slight difference in pitch.
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