What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle,and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted.

The dates of Ramadan change every year.Since lunar months are shorter than the solar months used elsewhere, Islamic holidays begin on different days each year. The start of Ramadan comes around 11 days earlier each year according to the western Gregorian calendar, and consequently is not associated with any particular western month.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the main types of Islamic worship and one of the Five Pillars of the religion of Islam.The others are:

- Shahadah (the testimony of faith),

- Salat (ritual prayer),

- Zakat (obligatory religious almsgiving),

- The Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca,if possible.

Every day,during the 29 days o 30 days of the whole month,muslims worldwide abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs, from dawn until the sun sets,as ordained in the Koran.

So fasting is made obligatory to believers of Islam,and it is considered as an act of faith and worship towards Allah.Certain people are exempt from taking part in the Ramadan fast. Children who are not yet adolescent , the sick, the elderly, pregnant women and nursing mothers, women during periods of menstruation. and anyone who would be putting their health at serious risk by fasting are not obliged to do so during Ramadan.But they have to make up the missed days at a later time.

But Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking .The Arabic word for "fasting" (sawm) literally means "to refrain",and it means not only refraining from food and drink, but from evil actions, thoughts, and words.So,every part of the body must be restrained.The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip.The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things.The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it.The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words.The feet must refrain from going to sinful places. In such a way, every part of the body observes the fast, and refraining from all vice and evils committed consciously or unconsciously.

Therefore, fasting is not merely physical, but is rather the total commitment of the person's body and soul to the spirit of the fast. Although fasting is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally as a method of spiritual self purification.Fasting serves as a nutrition for the soul so that the soul gains strength by it. Fasting opens the door to spirituality and lends vitality to one’s acts of worship and purifies the soul.So Ramadan is a time to cleanse the soul from impurities and re-focus one's self on the worship of God.

This is achieved by reciting and reflecting on the Koran,which produces a tranquility of heart and mind.

Muslims,by withholding themselves from some of the most basic and carnal needs and desires.There is nothing as effective as fasting to curb carnal desires.

They develop self-restraint: the ability to stop themselves from doing something they deeply desire, simply out of obedience to the Creator. This month-long training helps the muslims develop the strength to live a life of purity and obedience to God despite the temptation to sin.

Ramadan is a very special time for Muslims, but the feelings and lessons they experience should stay throughout the year.This restraint and devotion is especially felt during Ramadan, but they must strive to make the feelings and attitudes stay with them during their "normal" lives.And by achieving these good manners, a Muslim will come out of fasting a better human being in the society.That is the true goal and test of Ramadan.

Ramadan brings out a special feeling of emotional excitement and religious zeal among Muslims of all ages.But various cultural additions are mistakenly associated as part of the original celebrations arising from the time of Muhammad, as many of the forms of celebration in various cultures and countries have added. For example, no symbols of Ramadan were evident in any scholarly literature of Muhammad's lifetime, yet in some places Ramadan is met with various decorations.

For example, in some Muslim countries today lights are strung up in public squares, and across city streets, to add to the festivities of the month. Lanterns have become symbolic decorations welcoming the month of Ramadan. In a growing number of countries, they are hung on city streets.

According to Islam, the rewards of fasting are many, but in this month they are believed to be multiplied.The last ten days of Ramadan are considered highly blessed, especially the night called Laylat al Qadr”.The Koran says that “laylat al Qadr is better than a thousand months” and also says that “during this night the Koran was sent down”.to be gradually revealed by angel Jibril to Muhammad.

Laylat al Qadr is to be found in the last ten nights of the month Ramadan. There is no history in the Koran as to when the specific date is.So during the last ten days,this period is marked by a heightened spiritual intensity,offering salat and reciting the Koran.

Benefits of Ramadan

1. By fasting, one gets the following benefits:

· Through self-control, a Muslim practices good manners, good speech, and good habits.

· Through changing routines, Muslims have a chance to establish more healthy lifestyle habits -- particularly with regards to diet and smoking.

 · Acquiring patience and strong will.
 

· Striving for Ihsaan (righteousness and sincerity) and staying away from riyaa' (showing off).
 

· Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.
 

· Being more charitable: Learning discipline.
 

· Caring for one's health.

2. During Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water during this period is not bad at all and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.



 Benefits of fasting
 

 Fasting build up good digestion and elimination. Fasting allows a deep, physiological rest of the digestive organs, and the energy saved goes into self-curative and self-repairing. By getting rid of obstructions, by disinfecting,by detoxification, and purifying the intestines, the blood, and the cells, we can overcome many of our physical  disabilities as well as getting a   increment in energy. Fasting not only removes obstructions and helps the body to renew itself.. These resulting benefits can have deep-rooted influences in the mental and emotional health.

If the body is taking in more than it is getting rid of, then it gets backed up with these toxins and waste. At this point many health problems and diseases can develop. With fasting the body has a chance to cleanse more than it takes in and get rid of the accumulated toxins.

 During the process of digestion,large amounts of blood and nervous energies have to be sent to the digestive organs to digest a meal. If these energies are not required there, they may be used by the brain for better thinking. This increase in mental acuity doesn’t usually happen until after the first few days of a fast, because the body is busy cleaning out excess toxins and substances and so the first few days can be a period of depression, with headaches and various discomfort as this process is in progress. This makes the first stage of fasting difficult but after the body has thrown off its load of toxins, then the brain is fed by a cleaner bloodstream and the mental powers and clarity of thought are extraordinarily increased and the other senses also become more acute.

 With fasting,the emotional dependence on food is eliminated,, stimulating foods like caffeine, processed sugars, recreational drugs, tobacco and trans-fatty acids are removed. So the mental and physical senses are heightened.

During a fast, a metamorphosis occurs. The body undergoes a tearing down and rebuilding of damaged materials. For this reason, fasting is famous for its ability to rejuvenate and give the body a more youthful tone. Why does fasting have such a powerful effect in healing the body? Fasting dissolves diseased cells in a systematic manner, leaving healthy tissue. The result is a thorough cleansing of the tube, membrane and cellular structures. There is a remarkable redistribution of nutrients in the fasting body. 

As for the practice of fasting experts point out that:

-It is important to resume eating very lightly, and very gradually.

-Eating small amounts of fruits and vegetables will allow the body to gently wake up the digestive system. The body will continue to detoxify and cleanse during this period. Any toxins that have accumulated will begin to move due to the sweeping action of the soft fibers of fruits and vegetables.

-Eating slowly and chewing the food well have beneficial effects. Saliva has enzymes that assist in digestion. Up to 80 percent of the starch, 30 percent of the protein and 10 percent of the fat can be digested by the enzymes in saliva.

 -To overeat is not healthy! It is better to Discover the amount of food that the body needs to live a vibrant, healthy life.And also to find out the difference between cravings and hunger.

What Do the Scientists Say?

 Dr. Rai Casey(women)says:

 “I had a medical practice for 20 years in NYC, supervised hundreds of long fasts, and I found that the physical healing or weight loss was but a pleasant side effect. What really happened is that the person got in touch with their higher self, their true self, and came to the experience that healing can take place at every level, simply by letting go and allowing Mother Nature to do her work.”

Dr.Herbert Shelton (1895 – 1985)the one who said that a healthy body has the ability to restore itself from illness without medical intervention.Dr. Herbert Shelton who supervised the fasting of more than 40,000 people over a period of fifty years. His message is that the freer the body is of toxic materials flowing through the blood and lymphatic system, the clearer is the ability to think.

Gabriel Cousins  (psychiatrist) says

"I often observe in the fasting participants that by four days of fasting, concentration seems to improve, creative thinking expands, depression lifts, insomnia stops, anxieties fade, the mind becomes more tranquil and a natural joy begins to appear. It is my hypothesis that when the physical toxins are cleared from the brain cells, mind-brain function automatically and significantly improves and spiritual capacities expands.

Dr. Allan Cott says

"Fasting is the most effective way to kill unwanted parasites, bacteria, viruses and fungi, to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, to sleep better, to digest food better, to regulate bowels, to learn better eating habits"

Dr.James Balch says

"Fasting is an effective and safe method of detoxifying the body...A technique that wise men have used for centuries to heal the sick. Fast regularly helps the body heal itself and stay well. Give all of your organs a rest. Fasting can help reverse the aging process, and if we use it correctly we will live longer, happier lives.

 Alexis Carrel (1873 – 1944) was a french surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medecine in 1912 , says "The elimination of waste products by fasting increases longevity.

Dr. Charles Goodrich of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, who has fasted many times said "People don't realize that the chief obstacle to fasting is overcoming the cultural, social and psychological fears of going without food. These fears are ingrained. . . .However, fasting is not starving, not even in a medical sense or the natural sense.

Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reported on the use of scientific, therapeutic fasting to successfully treat over 10,000 patients, all suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and various neuroses, concluding: "The hunger treatment (or the hunger cure,as Soviet psychiatrists term fasting) gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest. The body is also cleansed of poisons, and the tissues and the various glands are renovated."