Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar[1], is a special time for the Muslim community. As a most blessed month, it is a time for reflection, prayer and renewal of faith. Muslims worldwide fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining totally from food, drink, smoking and other sensual pleasures to complete one of the five pillars of Islam and to achieve greater self-discipline, self-purification, and compassion for those less fortunate.

 One Islam – Many Muslims

Though Islam is a single religion, it is important to recognise that Muslim people are not a single homogenous group. There are approximately +500,000 Muslims in Australia, who have come from over 70 countries all around the world: from Europe (ie Albania, Bosnia, Turkey), Africa, Asia (including Central Asia, South Asia, South East Asia), Pacific Islands, and North and South America.

Muslims believe in the one God. Allah is the Arabic word for God, and Muslims believe in all the Prophets including Jesus, Moses, Abraham and others including Muhammad, peace be upon them.

Q: What is Ramadan?

 A: Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, which every Muslim must endeavor to observe or fulfill. The others pillars are:

(i)                Shahadah – declaration of faith;

(ii)              Salat – the five daily prayes;

(iii)             Zakat – Purification of wealth by the charitable donation of 2.5% of annual savings;

(iv)             Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, obligatory once in a lifetime for those who are physically and financially able.

Q: How did the fast during Ramadan become obligatory for Muslims?

 A: The revelations from God to Prophet Muhammad that would eventually be compiled as the Qur'an began during Ramadan in the year 610 A.D., but the fast of Ramadan did not become a religious obligation for Muslims until the year 624 A.D. The obligation to fast is explained in the second chapter of the Qur'an: “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint...Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting...” (2: 183 & 185)

Q: Why does Ramadan begin on a different day each year?

 A: Because Ramadan is a lunar month, it begins about eleven days earlier each year. Throughout a Muslim’s lifetime, Ramadan will fall both during winter months, when the days are short, and summer months, when the days are long and the fast is more challenging. In this way, the fast is evenly distributed between Muslims living in the northern and southern hemispheres. In Australia, the Australian National Imams Council is the peak religious body which decides the start and end of Ramadan for Australian Muslims.

Q: What do Muslims believe they gain from fasting?

A:

·        Compassion – When one does not eat or drink at all during the day, you feel in your body what the poor and hungry go through.   Thus social responsibility is introduced into one’s conscience through religious acts. 

·        Renewed focus on spirituality –During Ramadan, Muslims are encouraged to engage their time in reading the Qur'an and offering extra prayers at night.

·        Character building – In the state of fasting, anti social habits are forbidden. E.g. backbiting, indulging in foul speech, telling of lies, losing one’s temper, etc.  Perhaps the greatest practical benefit is the annual lesson in self-restraint, patience and discipline that can carry forward to other aspects of a Muslim’s life such as work and education.  Abstention from food is only one step to make a man realise that if he can, in obedience to Divine injunctions, abstain from that which is otherwise lawful, how more necessary it is that he should abstain from that which is evil and temptation.

·        Social interaction – Muslims are encouraged to share their food with family, friends and neighbours during the time they break their fast.

Q:  Is not eating and drinking all day for 15 hours or more during summer harmful to the body?

 A: According to health studies, fasting is practically the most powerful of all remedial measures.  It enables one to get rid of toxins, which may have accumulated within the body; it purifies the blood stream and renovates the entire system.  While purifying and cleansing the body, fasting, at the same time, adds to the actual vital strength of the body, by removing toxic material which can weaken the nerves of the body and the cells of the various organs. 

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