Ramadan FAQs
A:
Ramadan is the name of the ninth Islamic lunar month. It is the month Allah
(The one God), ordered the Muslims to fast since it was the month He revealed
the Qur'an (the Muslims' Holy Scripture) to Muhammad (the final Prophet of
Allah). Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and intimate relations with their
spouse during the daylight hours of the blessed month. It is a time for Muslims
to contemplate on their belief and increase their faith by actively increasing
in worship, prayer and reciting the Qur'an. It is an opportunity for spiritual
as well as physical purification.
A: No.
Muslims are ordered to abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures from the
break of dawn until sunset throughout the whole month. This means, that after
sunset until the break of dawn of the following day, Muslims may eat and drink
as they please. Many Muslims take this opportunity to invite friends and family
over to share in the spirit of Ramadan.
A:
Muslims usually wake before dawn to take a small meal called
"suhoor". They abstain from eating, drinking and sensual pleasures
during the daylight hours of the blessed month. Muslims exert more effort in
worship, praying, contemplating, helping others, giving charity, reciting the
Quran (the holy book of the Muslims); many Muslims endeavour to complete the
Qur'an's recitation at least once during the month. At sunset, Muslims break
their fast, usually with a big meal with family and friends. Many Muslims also
attend the mosque at night, to engage in special night prayers called
"taraweeh".
A:
Fasting is only obligated on Muslims who have reached puberty, are sane and are
healthy. So children who have not reached puberty are exempt, but are
encouraged to fast some days, or a portion of a day, to train them for when
they are obliged to fast. The temporarily sick who have a sickness that may
extend a few days, where fasting may severely affect them or prolong their
recovery are not obliged to fast but must make up the days after Ramadan. The
chronically ill and elderly, for example those with diabetes, are not obliged
to fast, but should feed a needy or poor person for each day they miss.
A: The
revelations from God to the Prophet Muhammad that would eventually be compiled
as the Quran began during Ramadan in the year 610, but the fast of Ramadan did
not become a religious obligation for Muslims until the year 624. The obligation
to fast is explained in the second chapter of the Quran: "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 Quran, 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..." (Chapter 2, verses
183 and 185)
A: Some
of the main benefits of Ramadan are an increased compassion for those in need
of the necessities of life, a sense of self-purification and reflection and a
renewed focus on spirituality. Muslims also appreciate the feeling of
togetherness shared by family and friends throughout the month. Perhaps the
greatest practical benefit is the yearly lesson in self-restraint and
discipline that can carry forward to other aspects of a Muslim's life such as
work and education.
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 difficult. In this way, the difficulty of the fast is evenly
distributed between Muslims living in the northern and southern hemispheres.
A: Lailat
ul-Qadr ("Night of Power") marks the anniversary of the night on
which the Prophet Muhammad first began receiving revelations from God, through
the angel Gabriel. An entire chapter in the Quran deals with this night:
"We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: and what
will explain to thee what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better
than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God's
permission, on every errand. Peace!...This until the rise of morn."
(Chapter 97) Muslims believe Lailat ul-Qadr is one of the last odd-numbered
nights of Ramadan.
A:
Employers, co-workers and teachers can help by understanding the significance
of Ramadan and by showing a willingness to make minor allowances for its
physical demands. Special consideration can be given to such things as requests
for vacation time, the need for flexible early morning or evening work
schedules and lighter homework assignments. It is also very important that
Muslim workers and students be given time to attend Eid prayers at the end of
Ramadan. Eid is as important to Muslims as Christmas and Yom Kippur are to
Christians and Jews. A small token such as a card (there are Eid cards
available from Muslim bookstores) or baked goods given to a Muslim co-worker
during Eid ul-Fitr would also be greatly appreciated. Hospital workers should
be aware that injections and oral medications might break the fast. Patients
should be given the opportunity to decide whether or not their condition
exempts them from fasting.
A:
Muslims follow the Islamic lunar calendar, which is about eleven days shorter
than the Gregorian calendar. The beginning of the Islamic lunar months depends
on the actual sighting of the new moon. Thus Ramadan begins on a different day
each year and moves forward.
A: It is
encouraged to wear conservative clothing during the month of Ramadan as a sign
of respect.
A: People
who have their diabetes under control, either by their diet or using tablets,
may fast. However, their GP may require them to change their medication to help
them take tablets outside fasting times. Those who need insulin to control
their diabetes should not fast.
A: People
with uncontrolled migraines should not fast. However, managing your migraines
is possible with the right medicine and with changes to the person's lifestyle.
Ask your GP for further advice on controlling your migraines.
A: People
with well-controlled high blood pressure may fast. Their GP may require a
change to their medicine to help them take tablets outside fasting times.
Someone with low blood pressure who is otherwise well and healthy may fast.
They must drink enough fluid and have enough salt.
A:
There's medical evidence to show that fasting in pregnancy is not a good idea.
If a pregnant woman feels strong and healthy enough to fast, especially during
the early part of the pregnancy, she may do so. If she doesn't feel well enough
to fast, Islamic law gives her clear permission not to fast, and to make up the
missed fasts later. If she is unable to do this, she must perform fidyah (a method
of compensation for a missed act of worship).
A: Yes.
Smoking is wasteful and seriously bad for your health. Ramadan is a great
opportunity to change many unhealthy habits, and smoking is definitely one of
them.
A:
Children are required to fast from the age of puberty. It isn't harmful.
Fasting before this age is tolerated differently depending on the child’s
general health, nutrition and attitude. Fasting under the age of seven or eight
isn't advisable. It is a good idea to make children aware of the practice of
fasting and to practise fasting for a few hours at a time.
A: Muslim
experts differ on this issue. Some say that using an asthma inhaler isn't the
same as eating or drinking, and is therefore permitted during fasting. In their
view, people with asthma can fast and use their inhalers whenever they need to.
But other scholars say that the inhaler provides small amounts of liquid
medicine to the lungs, so it breaks the fast. They say that people with poor
control of their asthma must not fast until good control is achieved. Some
people with asthma may opt for longer-acting inhalers so that they can fast.
See your GP for further advice.
A: Yes,
but do not drink the water. A bath or shower or swimming has no effect on the
fast. But no water should be swallowed during any of these activities as that
would break the fast.
A: No. A
person receiving a blood transfusion is advised not to fast on medical grounds.
They may fast on the days when no transfusions are required.
A: If the
medicine needs to be taken during fasting, do not fast. If this medication is
required as treatment for a short illness, you can compensate for missed fasts
by fasting on other days when you are well.If you are on long-term medication
then you could talk to your GP whether to change your medication, so that you
can take it outside the time of the fast. If your disease is unstable or poorly
controlled, do not fast. Those who are unable to do the missed fasts later, due
to the long-term use of medication, should do fidyah.
A: No.
Islamic law says a breastfeeding mother does not have to fast. Missed fasts
must be compensated for by fasting or fidyah once breastfeeding has stopped.
A: Can a
Muslim patient take tablets, injections, inhalers or patches while fasting?
A: Yes.
You could have harmful levels of water loss if you were poorly hydrated (not
drinking enough water) before the fast. Poor hydration can be made worse by
weather conditions, and even everyday activities like walking to walk or
housework. If you produce very little or no urine, feel disorientated and
confused, or faint due to dehydration, you must stop fasting and have a drink
of water or other fluid. Islam doesn't require you harm yourself in fulfilling
the fast. If a fast is broken, it will need to be compensated for by fasting at
a later date.
A: People
on peritoneal dialysis must not fast and should perform fidyah. Haemodialysis
is performed about three times a week, and causes significant shifts of fluids
and salts within the body. Such patients must not fast and should perform
fidyah.
A: Most
Muslims prefer to give their Zakah in Ramadan because there are more rewards
for doing so, but it is not necessary to pay Zakah in this blessed month. Sakr
noted that Muslims are in need throughout the year, not just in Ramadan, so we
can benefit Muslims by paying other times of the year as well.
A:
Gargling with mouth wash while fasting does not break the fast, provided that
it is not swallowed. It is better, however, not to use mouth wash while fasting
unless it is extreme necessary. Gargling generally does not break the fast
unless the fasting person swallows even a drop.
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