Ramadhan and Taq

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Ramadhan and Taqwa

• A More On Islam Series Presentation.
• Edited by A.S. Hashim, MD

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Time to purify and train body and soul

The BlessedMonth of Fasting
RAMADHAN
A quick and easy summary on the meaning, purpose
and benefits of fasting in Islam.
A More On Islam Series Presentation.
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A warm welcome to you!

• The month of Ramadhan is almost over.
• This, we expect, would help to explore more
  about Ramadhan, and appreciate the significance
  of this blessed month.
• We hope that this presentation will make your
  fasting purposeful and rewarding.
• In another way, this is Ramadan gift for you.

Introduction
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Ramadan sacred month in the Islamic Calendar
Islamic Calendar or the Hijri Calendar is based
on the lunar year.
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1
2
Muharram
Safar
Rabi al Awwal
5
6
4
Rabi at thani
Jumadi al Awwal
Jumadi at thani
8
9
Rajab
Shaban
Ramadan
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11
12
10
Shawwal
Dhu al Qaidah
Dhu al Hijjah
It is obligatory on Muslims to fast in this month.
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Fasting means abstinence
To stop eating, drinking and sexual activity
from dawn until dusk
X
X
X
Drink
Food
Sexual activity
Smoking is also prohibited during fasting !
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People who are exempted from fasting
Very natural, very considerate religion
but whoever is sick or upon a journey, then
he shall fast a like number of other days Allah
desires ease for you, and He does not desire for
you difficulty, and He desires that you should
complete the number and that you should exalt
the greatness of Allah for His having guided you
and that you may give thanks. -Quran- 2185
Aged
Sick
Minors
Traveler
Pregnant Women
Suckling Women
Menstruating Women
Mentally Retarded
Should donate a meal to the needy Should
fast an equivalent number of days afterwards
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Why fasting?
The goal of fasting is to develop self-restraint.
Holy Quran states O you who believe! Fasting is
prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those
before you, so you may develop Taq'wa
(self-restraint) 2183
Example God says about Mary in the Quran that
she said Verily!, I have vowed a fast to the
Most HighMaryam 1926.
What is Taqwa?
Taq'wa is an Arabic word. It is the state of
heart that motivates virtuous conduct and
prevents or avoids evil action.
leads to
Fear of God
Love of God

Taq'wa (Self-restraint)
Taq'wa is the ability to safe-guard.
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Taq'wa

• Taq'wa is the Islamic concept of having
  self-restraint.
• It is used 251 times in the Holy Quran as either
  a noun or a verb.
• The term Taq'wa comes from the Arabic root
  wa-qa-ya which means protection.
• It is important to note that Taq'wa is not about
  performing religious obligations such as prayer
  and fasting Taq'wa is about living a pious life.
  
• A person attaining Taq'wa abandons living an
  animalistic life and chooses to live a moral
  life.
• The concept of human beings having to fear God
  actually refers to fearing the rule of divine
  justice. This notion is seen in the following
  supplication ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ? ??? ????
  ??? ????
• O Who is not hoped but for His favor, and is not
  feared but His justice

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A great blessed month
Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) address on the eve of
Ramadhan

• People, a great blessed month has come upon you.
• Allah has made fasting during it an obligation,
  and steadfastly observing its nights in worship a
  voluntary act.
• Whoever undertakes an act of obedience to Allah
  during this month with a righteous deed, it is as
  if he has performed an obligatory act at other
  times,
• and whoever performs an obligatory act during it
  is as one who performed seventy obligations at
  other times.
• It is the month of patience, and the reward for
  patience is Paradise.
• It is the month of goodwill, during which
  provisions are multiplied.

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Ramadhan Time-table What does fasting involve?
Eating, drinking and sexual activity forbidden
Eating, drinking and sexual activity permitted
Day
Night
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Fasting and sins dont go together
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said

• Allah has no need for the hunger and the
  thirst of the person who does not restrain from
  telling lies and acting on them even while
  observing fast.

When one of you is fasting, He should abstain
from indecent acts and foul talk, and if someone
begins an obscene conversation or tries to pick
an argument, he should simply tell him, I am
fasting.
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Annual training for character-building
Ramadhan
Rest of the year
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Benefits of Fasting in Islam How
character-building is achieved
God-fearing nature
Afterlife Accountability
Patience
Self-control
Taq'wa (Self-restraint)
Fasting
Self-discipline
Responsibility
Obedience
Purification of soul
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Days of Ramadan
Gods Forgiveness
Gods Mercy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Salvation from Hell-fire
Accordingly, Let's beg for Allahs mercy, His
forgiveness and salvation from the hell-fire
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Reward of fasting
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) proclaimed the reward of
fasting
Every action of the son of Adam is given
manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten
times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah
the Most High said, Except for fasting, for it
is for Me and I will give recompense for it, he
leaves off his desires and his food for Me. for
the fasting person there are two times of joy a
time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy
when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from
the mouth of the fasting person is better with
Allah than the smell of musk.
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Developing ethics through fasting Social
responsibility and Individual morality
Muhammad Asad (formerly Leopold Weiss)
perspective on fasting in his book Road to Mecca
Two-fold , I learned is the purpose of fasting.
One has to abstain from food and drink in order
to feel in ones body what the poor and hungry
feel. Thus, social responsibility is being
hammered into religious consciousness as a
religious postulate. The other purpose of
fasting during Ramadan is self-discipline, an
aspect of individual morality strongly
accentuated in all Islamic teachings (as for
instance in the total prohibition of all
intoxicants which Islam regards as too easy
avenue of escape from consciousness and
responsibility). In these two elements-
brotherhood of man and individual
self-discipline- began to discern the outlines
of Islams ethical outlook.
Social responsibility
Self-discipline
Islamic Ethics
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Ramadhan Cultivating feelings for poor and hungry
These are familiar images from Africa. But poor
and hungry people may be present in your
neighbourhood. Do you feel how the hungry and
thirsty feel?
Photo courtesy Reliefonline.org and
refugeecamp.org
The condition of hunger gets highlighted on each
fasting person leading to

• Care and concern for the poor and hungry
• Helping attitude towards have-nots
• Charity and donations
• Refrain from wasting food and drinks.
• Social responsibility

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The month of the Revelation of the Holy Quran
The month of Ramadhan is that in which the Quran
was revealed, a guidance to men and clear
proofs of the guidance and the distinction-
Holy
Quran 2185
Do you know this about the Quran?
And in truth We have made the Quran easy to
remember but is there any that remembers? -
Holy Quran 5417
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Fasting for good health
Recent Perspectives by others

1. Fasting gives the body the environment to heal
   itself--physiologic rest
2. Abstinence from food for a short time can in no
   way operate to the disadvantage of a normal
   person.
3. In fact, individuals affected with certain types
   of gastrointestinal disorders are benefited by
   fasting.
4. Fasting has also been used in cases of diabetes
   and obesity.
5. It is a cleansing process and a physiologic or
   functional rest which prepares the body for
   future correct living.

• Fast and you
• shall
• become healthy
• Prophet Muhammad
• (pbuh)

Stated 1400 years ago
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The role of fasting according to Dr Jack
Goldstein
It gives vital organs a complete rest
It promotes elimination of metabolic wastes
It allows the body to adjust and normalize its
biochemistry and also its secretions
?
It lets the body break down and absorb
swellings, deposits, diseased tissues, and
abnormal growths
Fasting is good for the human body
It restores a youthful condition to the cells and
tissues
It increases the powers of digestion and
assimilation (absorption and utilization of food
into the system)
It permits the conservation and re-routing of
energy It clears and strengthens the mind
From the Book Triumph Over Disease By Fasting
and Natural Diet
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Misbeliefs about fasting

• Fasting does not
• cause the stomach to atrophy
• paralyze the bowels
• deplete the blood
• produce anemia
• cause the heart to weaken or collapse
• produce deficiency or mal-nutritional disease
• reduce resistance to disease
• harm the teeth, the nervous system, glands or
  vital organs
• weaken the vital powers or cause mental
  disturbances.

Blood sugar is little depressed it is
synthesized from protein.
From the Book Triumph Over Disease By Fasting
and Natural Diet
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Major Events in Ramadhan
Date Year Hijrah. Year AD Major Events
17 Ramadhan 2 624 Battle of Badr
15 Ramadhan 3 625 Birth of Imam Hasan
10 Ramadhan 8 630 Prophet Conquered Mecca
3 Ramadhan 9 631 set out for the Battle of Tabuk
10 Ramadhan 3 yrs before H. 617 Khadijah died
19 Ramadhan 40 667 Wounding of Ali, while praying
21 Ramadhan 40 667 Wafat of Imam Ali on Leilatul Qadr
10 Ramadhan 60 691 Husain receives the first deputation of 35 letters urging him to go to Kufa
7 Ramadhan 361 970 Construction of Al-Azhar by the Fatimi
8 Ramadhan 1333 1925 Destruction of Ahlul Bayt shrines in Medina
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Special Days in Ramadhan Revelations
Quran
Ramadhan
Torah
Bible
Psalms
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In a Nutshell

• Ramadhan is a time of spiritual reflection,
  improvement and increased devotion and worship.
• Muslims are expected to put more effort into
  following the teachings of Islam.
• The fast (sawn) begins at dawn and ends at
  sunset.
• In addition to abstaining from eating and
  drinking, Muslims also increase restraint, such
  as abstaining from sexual relations and generally
  sinful speech and behavior.
• The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart
  away from worldly activities, its purpose being
  to cleanse the soul by freeing it from
  impurities.
• Ramadhan also teaches Muslims how to better
  practice self-discipline, self-control,
  sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less
  fortunate thus encouraging actions of generosity
  and compulsory charity (zakat).

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About Taqwa

• Taq'wa is the prerequisite for a person who wants
  to live his life by certain principles, whether
  they are religious or not, and he is to have a
  clear direction in order to move towards a
  specific goal.
• In religious context, Taq'wa is the quality of
  those who protect themselves from all what is
  considered by religion as wrong and sinful.
• In stating this, there are two kinds of Taq'wa
• the first is just to avoid facing situations, in
  which sins may take place and this is the quality
  of the weak people and leads to seclusion and
  isolation, (Preventive)
• while the second is to face challenges and remain
  persistent and this is the quality of those who
  are strong in their faith and can play an active
  role in society. (Proactive)

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About Taqwa

• The Quran prescribes fasting for believers in
  these words
• ??? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ??????????
  ?????????? ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????
  ?????????? ??????????? ??????????
• O you who believe, the fasts have been enjoined
  upon you as they were enjoined upon those before
  you, so you may attain Taq'wa (2183).
• Taq'wa in Ramadhan is a measure of a mans
  genuine worth.
• The best of men is the one with the most Taq'wa. 
• In Allahs measure, the worth are not the ones
  with riches and position, but rather those with
  Taq'wa especially in Ramadhan.
• The faithful Muslim endeavors to attain Taq'wa,
  especially in Ramadhan.

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About compensation for Taqwa

• ??????????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????????
  ????????? ????????? ????????????? ???????????
  ????????? ??????????????
• And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a
  Garden as extensive as the heavens and the earth,
  it is for individuals of Taq'wa.
• When asked, the Messenger of Allah pointed to his
  heart saying Taq'wa is over here three times,
• In fact, Taq'wa in Ramadhan is a level of
  earnestness one cant guarantee effectively.
• Ramadhan in any event gives and encourages a
  gigantic chance to land at such level of Taqwa,
  if the guidelines of Ramadan were watched
  honorably.

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Taqwa ???? ?? ????? - ???? 3 - ??? 102-103

• The Commandment to pursue Taqwa
• ??? ???????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???????
  ????? ????????? ????? ?????????? ??????
  ?????????? ???????????
• ????????????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?????
  ??????????? ? ??????????? ???????? ???????
  ?????????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?????????
  ?????? ??????????? ?????????????? ????????????
  ??????????
• ?????????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ????????
  ?????????????? ??????? ? ????????? ?????????
  ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????????? ???????????
• O ye who believe! HEED ALLAH as He should be
  heeded, and die not except in a state of Islam.
• And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all
  together and be not disunited,
• and remember the favor of Allah on you when you
  were enemies, then He united your hearts so by
  His favor you became brethren
• and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then
  He saved you from it, thus does Allah make His
  Signs clear to you, that you may follow the right
  way.

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Ramadhan at IEC Praying Together
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Learn more
Please get to know more and change your life.
For further information, suggestions and
comments contact moreonislam_at_hotmail.com

• Thank you and May Allah bless you and reward you
  aplenty for your fasting
• Dr. Hashim

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Ramadhan at IEC Breaking the Fast together