RAMADAN
the blessed month
of the year
why Muslims fast for a month

HAPPY EID
WHAT KIDS LIKE ABOUT EID

FEATURE

Allah (SWT) says in the Quran
‘O you who believe fasting is prescribed on you as it was prescribed to those
before you so that you may become self restrained’
The aim of fasting is that Muslims should learn how to be patient, to have good morals, to purify their hearts, noble their character and to practice the gentle way of dealing with people. Fasting the month of Ramadan is looked upon by the many millions of Muslims all around the world as their way to lighten their scale of bad deeds and make heavier the scale of good deeds, for this month is blessed with the kindness of Allah as He in this month forgives the deeds of Muslims who bow down and pray for forgiveness.

Ramadan is practiced by Muslims all over the world and involves the keeping away form food, evil thoughts and actions. To perform the fast in such a holy month is to develop a sense of taqwa, God consciousness. This sense of taqwa is reinforced by Muslims by performing a special prayer at the end of each night called taraweeh.

Ramadan is seen often referred to as the blessed month of Ramadan and occurs once a year in the Islamic calendar. It commences at the sighting of the new moon and stops on the sighting of the new moon. Fasting the blessed month of Ramadan is seen by Muslims as a chance to rid themselves of their past sins, in order to begin the new month with a fresh and humble start.

Ramadan is a period of remembering the many blessings given to us by Allah, the Beneficent the Most Merciful, which are often over-looked and hardly appreciated, such as food and water, which are seen as essential substances for survival. A Muslim fasting from these things for a month from sunrise till sunset enables them to look back at the many blessings bestowed upon them by their Lord. It is regarded as being a month of generosity, a month where all Muslims should feel for those who are in need of their help.

It is a season of good, during which the Mercy of God is sent down to His servants. The gates of good action are opened and the opportunity of forgiveness and of pleasing God the Almighty are available. Those who fast during the month of Ramadan for the sake of God and hoping for His mercy, have been promised forgiveness by God, according to the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

‘Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and prays during the night for his
belief in God and for the sake of God, his previous sins will be forgiven; and whosoever spends the night of power (Lailat al Qadr) in
worship for the sake of God, his previous sins will be forgiven.’

The reward of fasting is paradise. God the Almighty gives great reward for fasting as much, or more, than we can realise. This is because fasting is seen as an action of secret between man and his Lord, therefore it is only one of the aspects of worship that has been attributed to God. Any kind of good action performed by a Muslim in this blessed month is rewarded from ten times to seven hundred times and it may be more according to the will of God.

It is believed that Allah sent down the Quran during the month of Ramadan on the Night of Power, known in Arabic as Lailat al Qadr. The meaning of Qadr is worship, honour, power or decree. It is a night that is valued because of its special characteristics and because one who stays up during this night becomes a person of honour. It was said that Qadr means limitation, in the sense that the knowledge of precisely when this night is, is hidden. Allah called the night Lailat al Qadr because of its great value and high status with Allah, and because so many sins are forgiven and so many faults are concealed during this night. Worshipping Allah in this night is better than worshipping him a thousand months. For it is often viewed as the night of forgiveness, as it was reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said

‘Whosoever stays up during Lailat al Qadr out of faith
and in the hope of earning regard, all his previous sins will be forgiven.’

Ramadan is solely a month of purification, a month that Allah has blessed Muslims with to cleanse their souls from evil, by abstaining from hearing, seeing, thinking, speaking or even wanting evil. With the will of Allah, Muslims may find it within themselves to make the most of this month in order to purify their souls and hearts from the harsh absurdities of this world.

HAPPY EID
WHAT KIDS LIKE ABOUT EID