Ramadan..
(*Prepare for a long one.) It’s the first day of Ramadan today…it is the 9th month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar and it begins with the sighting of the new crescent moon. The word Ramadan is derived from its Arabic root: ramida or ar-ramad, meaning scorching heat or dryness.
For the non-muslims, just for your knowledge.. Fasting is one of the 5 Pillars (duties) of Islam. It is an OBLIGATION. Fasting lasts for a month. Fasting generally means to abstain from eating or drinking from dawn till dusk. However, Muslims are also to abstain from other forms of consumption such as smoking. Sexual relations are prohibited while fasting and Muslims are encouraged not to have impure thoughts and speak words of purposeless or hurtful intentions. Fasting fosters and strengthens the will of Muslims to curb the willful desires and abstain from sins. Fasting also strengthens self-discipline, self-restraint and teaches generosity. It is also an opportunity of an environment of complete devotion to God thus strengthening one’s faith. The purpose of Ramadan is to purify the soul, create gratification in worship by making the heart n environment conducive for worship. By fasting also, there is a ‘felt’ awareness for the less fortunate. It teaches Muslims to reach out and assist those in need.
In physical aspects, fasting is healthy. It provides rest for the digestive system. Imagine a whole year of junk food, oil and grease and God knows what in the body..fasting provides the much needed and essential rest (not complete shutdown!!) for the physical self. For smokers, it also provides rest for the burnt lungs and its supposed to help u curb ur addiction.
However, these are the bad habits that I observe during this holy month and I remind most importantly myself not to do it…
1) Eating excessively during sahur and break-fast time.
2) Excessive smoking after break-fast (Supposedly make-up smoking larr…)
3) Whining of hunger.
4) Not doing daily 5 times prayers.
These are just some things I can touch upon. Actually I think the first one is a thought passed down from the older generations in every culture. “EAT, EAT, EAT!! If you don’t eat a lot, u might die of hunger or you’ll fall sick.” Familiar? Hahaha..its common right? OK..here’s my opinion, we are taught by the prophet not to eat till the extent of having to feel full. Just eat to fill the hunger and its enough. This translates to ‘eat in moderation’. There is always moderation in Islam and never excessiveness because if you have too much, it means you are not thinking of others who are in need right? Anyway, why force yourself to eat so much? Trust me; u will still feel the hunger especially at 4-6pm be it you gorge yourself with food the night or morning before fasting starts! Anyway, haven’t u experienced this? When we fast, we think of soooo much food and bought all the food we crave to eat and when it’s time to break-fast, we eat jus a little and feel bloated/ full. The rest of the food will go wasted and this is not what is taught in Islam right? Why, cos when we fast, our stomach sort of shrinks and ur ‘food-capacity’ also shrinks. So, just a bit of food will suffice. I tink of the stomach as a sort of rubber bag..it stretches to as much as u want it to. If u constantly stuff a lot of food in..it will stretch and the default size will expand. But if u keep ur portion of food small, according to the ‘factory’ default setting, it will not expand (much) thus small amounts of food CAN suffice u. Remember, U R WHAT U EAT…(truth in that..)..wanna slim down…eat smaller portions of food that will suffice ur hunger and be satisfied. Trust me in this cos I eat only 2 meals or 3 small meals a day and im still alive and healthy (Thank God!!) due to my budget constraints la..
Secondly, what is the purpose of curbing ur desires to smoke and ur other addictions only to excessively make up for it after break-fast? Fasting can help u kick the addiction but we always treat fasting only as a time when we ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO SOMETHING during the day time. So, the purpose is wrong right? Fasting is supposed to provide you the environment to strengthen faith to God and of yourself so as to help u abstain as well as kick certain habits. But this is a touchy issue as people only do things in their best interest most of the time w/o logical reasoning. Life is about feeling fun and happy right?? Up to you la…burn your lungs and choke it up la…harm those around you. Anyway u got filters at the butt of ur cigarette mah, we have to breathe in your smoke filterless lah..THANKS ARH!!
And last issue, this one I need to touch upon this myself also. Islam has five pillars, not fulfilling any without reasons as stipulated in the doctrines would mean only one thing and u noe it. Daily 5 times prayer is what we have to fulfil be it fasting or not, so to see it from a mathematical point of view, its like fasting is a subset of ibadat (prayer?)..so if one fasts yet not pray…does your fast still stand?
Equation 01: Prayer and Fasting = OK
[ 1 x 1 = 1 ]
Equation 02: No Prayer but got Fast = ??
[ 0 x 1 = 0 ]
Catch my drift? Think about it. I dun believe in partial acceptance of religion like you wanna do one obligation but not another cos you dun feel like it. Can u still call it an acceptance of faith still? Why do you want to suffer the hunger and thirst anyway? Its between one and God anyway so I’ll just comment and not judge.
Lastly, I remember this phrase from some caliph or perhaps even the prophet, (I dun remember who but it touched me la)..
“To be a good man takes a simple step, take care of your mouth and your genitals.”
I will end my Ramadan blog…
Enjoy..
May Allah guide us all..bless us with happiness and health n protect us from the dangers of this world, physically or mentally. Help us become successful people in the world and after...
For the non-muslims, just for your knowledge.. Fasting is one of the 5 Pillars (duties) of Islam. It is an OBLIGATION. Fasting lasts for a month. Fasting generally means to abstain from eating or drinking from dawn till dusk. However, Muslims are also to abstain from other forms of consumption such as smoking. Sexual relations are prohibited while fasting and Muslims are encouraged not to have impure thoughts and speak words of purposeless or hurtful intentions. Fasting fosters and strengthens the will of Muslims to curb the willful desires and abstain from sins. Fasting also strengthens self-discipline, self-restraint and teaches generosity. It is also an opportunity of an environment of complete devotion to God thus strengthening one’s faith. The purpose of Ramadan is to purify the soul, create gratification in worship by making the heart n environment conducive for worship. By fasting also, there is a ‘felt’ awareness for the less fortunate. It teaches Muslims to reach out and assist those in need.
In physical aspects, fasting is healthy. It provides rest for the digestive system. Imagine a whole year of junk food, oil and grease and God knows what in the body..fasting provides the much needed and essential rest (not complete shutdown!!) for the physical self. For smokers, it also provides rest for the burnt lungs and its supposed to help u curb ur addiction.
However, these are the bad habits that I observe during this holy month and I remind most importantly myself not to do it…
1) Eating excessively during sahur and break-fast time.
2) Excessive smoking after break-fast (Supposedly make-up smoking larr…)
3) Whining of hunger.
4) Not doing daily 5 times prayers.
These are just some things I can touch upon. Actually I think the first one is a thought passed down from the older generations in every culture. “EAT, EAT, EAT!! If you don’t eat a lot, u might die of hunger or you’ll fall sick.” Familiar? Hahaha..its common right? OK..here’s my opinion, we are taught by the prophet not to eat till the extent of having to feel full. Just eat to fill the hunger and its enough. This translates to ‘eat in moderation’. There is always moderation in Islam and never excessiveness because if you have too much, it means you are not thinking of others who are in need right? Anyway, why force yourself to eat so much? Trust me; u will still feel the hunger especially at 4-6pm be it you gorge yourself with food the night or morning before fasting starts! Anyway, haven’t u experienced this? When we fast, we think of soooo much food and bought all the food we crave to eat and when it’s time to break-fast, we eat jus a little and feel bloated/ full. The rest of the food will go wasted and this is not what is taught in Islam right? Why, cos when we fast, our stomach sort of shrinks and ur ‘food-capacity’ also shrinks. So, just a bit of food will suffice. I tink of the stomach as a sort of rubber bag..it stretches to as much as u want it to. If u constantly stuff a lot of food in..it will stretch and the default size will expand. But if u keep ur portion of food small, according to the ‘factory’ default setting, it will not expand (much) thus small amounts of food CAN suffice u. Remember, U R WHAT U EAT…(truth in that..)..wanna slim down…eat smaller portions of food that will suffice ur hunger and be satisfied. Trust me in this cos I eat only 2 meals or 3 small meals a day and im still alive and healthy (Thank God!!) due to my budget constraints la..
Secondly, what is the purpose of curbing ur desires to smoke and ur other addictions only to excessively make up for it after break-fast? Fasting can help u kick the addiction but we always treat fasting only as a time when we ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO SOMETHING during the day time. So, the purpose is wrong right? Fasting is supposed to provide you the environment to strengthen faith to God and of yourself so as to help u abstain as well as kick certain habits. But this is a touchy issue as people only do things in their best interest most of the time w/o logical reasoning. Life is about feeling fun and happy right?? Up to you la…burn your lungs and choke it up la…harm those around you. Anyway u got filters at the butt of ur cigarette mah, we have to breathe in your smoke filterless lah..THANKS ARH!!
And last issue, this one I need to touch upon this myself also. Islam has five pillars, not fulfilling any without reasons as stipulated in the doctrines would mean only one thing and u noe it. Daily 5 times prayer is what we have to fulfil be it fasting or not, so to see it from a mathematical point of view, its like fasting is a subset of ibadat (prayer?)..so if one fasts yet not pray…does your fast still stand?
Equation 01: Prayer and Fasting = OK
[ 1 x 1 = 1 ]
Equation 02: No Prayer but got Fast = ??
[ 0 x 1 = 0 ]
Catch my drift? Think about it. I dun believe in partial acceptance of religion like you wanna do one obligation but not another cos you dun feel like it. Can u still call it an acceptance of faith still? Why do you want to suffer the hunger and thirst anyway? Its between one and God anyway so I’ll just comment and not judge.
Lastly, I remember this phrase from some caliph or perhaps even the prophet, (I dun remember who but it touched me la)..
“To be a good man takes a simple step, take care of your mouth and your genitals.”
I will end my Ramadan blog…
Enjoy..
May Allah guide us all..bless us with happiness and health n protect us from the dangers of this world, physically or mentally. Help us become successful people in the world and after...
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