The blessed month of Ramadan

10 May, 2019 - 00:05 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Anwar Khan
The Blessed Month of Ramadan is the ninth of Islamic calendar, a special month of the year for Muslims worldwide.

Ramadan is the month of fasting from dawn to dusk, a time for additional prayers, charity, caring and sharing.

Muslims regard it as an ideal time to concentrate on inner, spiritual development and spend less time on the mundane and material aspects of life. It is a time of worship and complementation, a month of purification, a training ground to instill good habits which can continue throughout the past sins committed, a month of sympathy with one’s fellow man.

During the past Ramadan, strict restrictions are placed on the daily lives of Muslims.

When fasting, no eating or drinking is allowed during daylight hours. At the end of the day, at sunset, the fast is broken with a meal called iftar, followed by the evening prayer. The fast is resumed before dawn of the next morning from sunrise to sunset.

Benefits of fasting

Fasting for thirty days is the most important deed of Ramadan, and has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of developing will power and internal discipline.

This is useful to withstand temptations, peer pressure and other undesirable influences.

The will power developed through fasting helps to resist the ever-menacing scourge of drugs, substances abuse and anti social behaviour. In addition, fasting helps on to feel compassion for those who are less fortunate and underprivileged, since each day a greater empathy with the poor is felt as a result of experiencing hunger and thirst first hand.

It also helps to enhance a higher level of God consciousness and heightened spirituality.

It offers a time for Muslims to develop a greater sense of humanity, compassion and community bonding.

A greater sense of generosity and forgiveness is also a characteristic of this time. Huge amounts are contributed in charity in this month in a bid to eradicate poverty and alleviate the suffering of the poor.

A secondary goal, fasting is also beneficial to health and provides a break in the cycle of bad eating habits and overindulgence. It provides an excellent detox programme for that preceding eleven months of indulgence.

Abstinence of sins

The first that we should bear in mind is that in this blessed month we should not commit any act of disobedience to God. We must save ourselves from sins completely, for example adultery, gambling, drinking, smoking, telling lies, backbiting and quarreling, eating unlawful things and any other acts which may harm a person that also includes burdening servants of employees with a job that is beyond their ability of any form of oppression.

In short we should try to refrain from all kinds of sins and protect the eyes ears tongue and all other organs from indulging in any unlawful activities.

Once a Muslim spends a month of Ramadan in this way the person will be equipped with spiritual strength which will facilitate a good Islamic life in accordance with the pleasure of Almighty God throughout the year.

Fasting is one of the most important pillars of Islam. Not to fast during the month of Ramadan without a proper reason leads to transgression of the highest degree, it destroys a person spiritually.

Peace and Blessing to all Muslims in this month of Ramadan

 

Anwar Khan is the chairman of M.H.A — Manicaland-HALAL —Authority and can be contacted on 0772891894

 

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