Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar. It is a communal celebration where Muslims Celebrate worldwide with fasting, night prayers and charity.
Ramadan is celebrated as it is the month in which the Quran was received by the Prophet Muhammed (s) from God.
Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan consists of 29-30 days depending on the moon sighting due to the course of the lunar calendar.
Muslims fast during Ramadan as God has commanded Muslims to do so. Mentioned in the Quran in Chapter 2 Verse 183.
“O you who believe! SAWM (Fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may acquire God’s Consciousness.” (Quran 2:183)
The word used in the above verse in Arabic is Sawm which means abstinence, self-restraint.
Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement and importantly gaining God’s consciousness. Fasting is one part of the aspect of Ramadan. In this holy month, Muslims are called forward to be more generous and charitable.
When Muslims Fast they abstain from eating, drinking during the day and foul language. Muslims believe that the fasting process helps to attain self-discipline, patience and mindfulness of the blessings.
Fasting helps me to understand how people with lack of food and clean water will feel. Which also helps me empathise with their pain.
This year’s Ramadan was quite different compared to the last 2-3 years of Ramadan as we were not going through lockdown or the covid 19 pandemic. This year we were able to go pray Taraweeh and break our fast in the mosque with ease.
The Ramadan of communal celebrations and congregational prayers with my friends had commenced again, I was able to do everything that I couldn’t since almost 2020 Ramadan.
There were no restrictions in place this year allowing our local mosque, Townsville Mosque to hold an open Iftar inviting many non-Muslims to ask questions and understand how the breaking of the fast works. Many non-Muslims enjoyed this event and gave positive feedback which I believe was a great way to make people aware of Islam.
The end of Ramadan is much anticipated, however, it’s sad that Ramadan has come to an end. Muslims celebrate Eid (Celebrations) at the completion of Ramadan, which is called Eid Ul Fitr. On this day, Muslims come together to share food, exchange gifts, see friends and family.
This time is used to remember the importance of the completion of Ramadan and not succumbing to the worldly distractions.
Ramadan is an outcome-based month as whatever was done during the month is strongly advised to continue outside of the month. This brings us closer to God and makes us a better person spiritually, physically and mentally.
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