Ramadhan - The Month of Fasting

Just like past years' Ramadhan, when I went to the masjid last night, I saw something funny - the masjid was filled with people. Masha Allah, this is awesome!! Where did these people come from? Did they just come out from hibernation or something? I mean, what about the rest of the year? Why is it just because it's Ramadhan, people start praying in masjid? What about the five daily fard prayers, the ones we should perform everyday? Subhanallah, what have we been doing? They think that tarawih is the most important solat in Islam, but it's not. It's just sunnat (Islamically encouraged). This condition confuses many people, especially the non-muslims. If you think the masjid is full during Ramadhan, you should see Eid. Come down to Eid prayers. You won't see more Muslims at the masjid than the rest of the year. People are dressed nice, they smell good, and subhanallah, they should dress nice and dress good, alhamdullillah it's Eid. I'm reminding you just so that I'm able reminding myself. I hope we won't be like the kind of people that only pray during Ramadhan or Eid.

Now, let's get down to the real business. What is Ramadhan all about? It's the month where Muslims, who meet all the requirements of fasting, are obliged to fast. It's already stated in the Holy Al-Quran :

"O you who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil)." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183)

The time for Muslims to fast is from the rise of "white light" (fajar sadiq), or commonly known as dusk, until the sun sets. In Malaysia, the rise of white light in this year's Ramadhan is around 5:40 to 5:50 and the set of the sun is around 7:10 to 7:20. So, you can say that Malaysian Muslims fast for about 13 hours. That's just a short period of time.

What kind of person is obliged to fast during Ramadhan? The person must be a Muslim. Yeah, Christians, Hindu and Buddhist can choose whether they want to fast or not. The person must also has reached the age of maturity. In Islam, we consider people who have reached puberty as mature. Children who have not reached puberty are encouraged to fast at early age, as this will prepare themselves when they have reached puberty. Besides that, the person must be sane. That means, people who can't differentiate bad and good, this and that, or whatsoever, are exempted from fasting. The person must be present at his or her own settlement, and not travelling to other places. Wayfarers (people who travel more than 90 km) have the option whether they want to fast or not. Why? Because long time ago, when Muslims were commanded to fast for the first time, cars and other motorised vehicles were not invented yet. So, they had to travel by walking or riding camels, horses, etc. This condition may cause them to be extremely tired when travelling. So, they are also exempted from fasting. But now, we have many vehicles. If people nowadays don't fast just because they're travelling, it's a big joke!! But still, they can choose whether they want to fast or not. Those who meet the requirements of fasting but did not fast during Ramadhan, must fast again after Ramadhan to replaced the missed ones.

People who are exempted from fasting are children under the age of puberty, wayfarers and insane people who are unaccountable for their deeds, as stated above. Besides that, people who are exempted from fasting include people who are too old to observe fasting, sick people who are likely to have their health affected if they fast, pregnant women and women who are breast-feeding their children if they are worried of their foetuses and children and women who are in the period of menstruation.

It's obvious that Muslims who are fasting in the month of Ramadhan are prohibited from eating and drinking during daytime. They must not do something that penetrates into their body (e.g. picking nose or ear). Besides that, they must not carry out ****** intercourse. Smoking is also not allowed for those who are fasting. Talking bad words and hearing bad words decrease the reward of Muslims who fast. Doing something that may stimulate sexual desire (e.g. looking at a sexy woman) may also decrease the fasting reward. Exposing aurat (for males, their aurat is between navel and knees ; for females, their aurat is the whole body except their palms and faces) is itself prohibited in Islam. So, people who continue to do so during Ramadhan won't get
any reward even if they fast.

People who fast during Ramadhan can avoid dangerous diseases such as high blood pressure. This is proved in the research carried out by Dr Soliman from Hospital University in Amman. In Tehran, Dr F. Azizi and his research team carried out a test on 9 men who fast during Ramadhan. The result shows that fasting reduces the level of sugar in blood without harming them. The level of harmful cholesterol (low density lipoprotein) decreases and the level of good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein) increases. Besides that, the level of fat in blood also decreases. These researches show that fasting during Ramadhan does not bring harm. The body metabolism becomes better, and our body can avoid diseases, especially diseases which are linked to excess fat and sugar. Fasting also trains people to be patient, as people who are fasting are not encouraged to get angry.

I hope that this simple article provides you with some useful information, insha Allah. Jazakumullahu khairan (may Allah grant all of you goodness) and happy fasting to all the Muslims.