By A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at, Sri Lanka.

`The Holy Quran states: `O ye who believe, fasting is prescribed for you during a fixed number of days as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may safeguard yourselves against every kind of ill and become righteous. But whoso from among you should be ailing, not being permanently incapacitated, or should be on a journey, shall complete the reckoning by fasting on a corresponding number of other days; and for those who find fasting a strain hard to bear is an expiation, the feeding of a poor person, if they can afford it. Whoso carries through a good work with eager obedience, it is the better for him. If you possessed knowledge you would realise that it is better for you that you should fast.’(Al Quran: 2: 184, 185)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ `

The month of Ramadhan is the month in which the Quran began to be revealed, the Book which comprises guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and divine Signs which discriminate between truth and falsehood. Therefore, he who witnesses this month, being stationary and in good health should fast through it. But whoso is ailing, not being permanently incapacitated, or is on journey, should complete the reckoning by fasting on a corresponding number of other days. Allah desires ease for you and desires not hardship for you; He has granted you this facility so that you should encounter no hardships in completing the reckoning, and that you may exalt Allah for His having guided you and that you may be grateful to Him.‘(Al Quran: 2: 186)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is made lawful for you to consort with your wives during the nights of the fast. They are as a garment for you and you are as a garment for them. Allah knows that you were being unjust to yourselves, whereof He has turned to you with mercy and has corrected your error. So consort with them now without compunction and seek that which Allah has ordained for you, and eat and drink till the break of dawn begins to manifest itself. From then on, complete the fast till nightfall. But do not consort with your wives during the period when you are in retreat in the mosques. These are the limits prescribed by Allah, so approach them not. Thus does Allah expound His commandments to the people, so that they may safeguard themselves against evil.’(Al Quran: 2: 188) ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The idea of the fast has been inculcated in all religious disciplines which are based on revelation, though strict conformity to the ordinances relating thereto is no longer insisted upon. Indeed, within some disciplines, the fast has been reduced to a purely symbolic observance. In Islam, the ordinances relating to the fast are clearly stated and defined and to the degree of their applicability, they are strictly observed. A tendency towards greater rigidity is sometimes encountered and has to be checked and countered through exposition of the true purpose of the fast and of the meaning of the regulations and their spirit. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The observance of the fast is obligatory upon every adult Muslim during the month of Ramadhan, the ninth month in the lunar calendar current in Islam. As the lunar year is shorter by about eleven days than the solar year, Ramadhan rotates through the year and the seasons, arriving eleven days earlier every year. Thus in every part of the earth, it progresses through every season in turn. In the tropics, when Ramadhan falls in the summer season, not only are days longer than in the winter but the fast entails additional hardship on account of the heat, as normal occupations and pursuits have to be carried on and in the intense heat and dryness, a severe degree of thirst may have to be endured through several hours each day. The fast is, however, in no sense a penance. It is a physical, moral and spiritual discipline, and the object is the promotion of righteousness and security against evil. Through the experience of the fast, the worshipper is impelled to exalt Allah for His having provided the guidance and is prompted to the beneficent use of His favours and bounties.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Outside Ramadhan, a voluntary fast may be observed at any time, except on the two festival days. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, often observed a fast on Monday and Thursday but he did not approve of a voluntary fast being observed on a Friday. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Physical ObservanceThe observation of a fast, whether obligatory or voluntary, or by way of expiation or as a penalty, is subject to the same regulations. The period of the daily fast extends from the first flush of dawn normally about an hour and a quarter before sunrise, till after sunset. During this period neither food nor drink or nourishment may be passing through the lips of a person who is observing the fast. Nor should any drug or other substance be swallowed or injected into the system. The fast may, however, be discontinued in case of emergency and would be terminated if the person observing the fast becomes sick. Nor should there be any consorting between husband and wife or any approach to it. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fast must not be continued beyond sunset even if nothing is immediately available for terminating the fast save a few drops of water, a pinch of salt or sugar, a bit of stale bread or a dried date, etc. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If during the fast, food or drink should be swallowed in complete forgetfulness of the fast, that would not vitiate the fast and the fast should be completed till nightfall. Should, however, something be swallowed through carelessness, even involuntarily, the fast is vitiated and cannot be continued. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is customary and is considered desirable that a light breakfast should be taken immediately before the commencement of the fast. The breaking of the fast after sunset should not be made an occasion for gorging oneself with food and drink. This would be in contravention of the fast and would be a departure from the example of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, which must be adhered to. It could also prove harmful to health. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The month of Ramadhan is a period of intensive training in beneficent values. Abstention from food and drink and conjugal relations for a certain number of hours each day through a month is a valuable exercise in endurance and steadfastness. But that is only the outer shell, as it were of the fast. Yet even this has a great social significance. It brings home to the well-to-do sector of society the meaning of hunger and thirst. Privation ceases, in their case also, to be a mere expression and becomes an experience shared in common with all. The consciousness that a large number of their fellow beings have to go hungry most of the time is sharpened and there is great eagerness to share with them the bounties that Allah has, of His grace, bestowed on themselves. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The True Purpose of RamadhanThe true purpose of Ramadhan, as of all forms of Islamic worship is to draw people closer to Allah. Though normal pursuits and occupations are carried on as usual, the emphasis on moral and spiritual values and concentration on them are intensified, and everything is subordinated to the main purpose. The hearing, the sight, the tongue, the mind are all under stricter control. For instance, not only vain talk, but much talk is also eschewed, so that there should be greater concentration on remembrance of Allah and reflection upon His attributes. The Holy Prophet said: `He who abstains from food and drink during the period of the fast but does not restrain himself from uttering a falsehood starves himself to no purpose.’ It is related of him that during Ramadhan, his own concern for and care of the poor, the needy, the sick and the orphan was intensified manifold, and that his charity knew no limit.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ During the last ten days of Ramadhan, many people go into seclusion, as it were, in a mosque and devote the whole of their time, not occupied by the obligatory and voluntary services, to the study of the Quran and the remembrance of Allah. This period of complete devotion of a worshipper’s time to the exercise of the purely spiritual values, is the culmination of the physical, moral and spiritual discipline instituted by Islam. To carry such a discipline farther would be a sort of asceticism or monasticism which is not approved of in Islam.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Complete abstention from food and drink during the period of the fast does not constitute so great a hardship for a Muslim as adherents of other disciplines may be disposed to imagine. Muslim children are brought up in an atmosphere of respect for and devotion to the values indicated by the faith. Very early they begin to exhibit an eagerness to practice them. Parents have often to restrain young children from observing the fast. They are trained into endurance of the rigours of the fast through a gradual process, spread over a number of years. A child of twelve or thirteen may be permitted to observe the fast on three or four days at intervals during one Ramadhan. The following year, he may be permitted to increase the number to eight or ten. In the third year he may be content with fasting on each alternate days. In the fourth year, he would be ready to assume the full obligation. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the month of Ramadhan, there is to be abstention during the period of the fast even from that which is lawful and permissible; food and drink which sustain life, and marital intercourse which promotes the continuance of the species, the purpose being to win the pleasure of Allah. It also has a symbolic aspect. By observing the fast, the worshipper makes a pledge or covenant that if in the course of carrying out his duty of complete submission to the will of Allah, he should be called upon to put his life in jeopardy or to sacrifice the interests of his progeny, he would not hesitate to do so. Such a discipline practiced through a whole month every year should ensure that the participant would, during the remaining eleven months of the year progressively achieve greater and greater adherence to moral and spiritual values. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It must never be overlooked that the whole of fasting, whether obligatory, as during the month of Ramadhan, or voluntary, as at other times, is to promote righteousness, which means the progressive cultivation of spiritual values. The same applies when the fast is observed as an expiation or a penalty. The spiritual recompense of proper observation of the fast is high indeed. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ `There are appropriate spiritual rewards for all worship and righteous action; the ultimate reward of the person who observes the fast solely for winning the pleasure of Allah is Allah Himself.’ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fast terminates with the appearance of the new moon. The new moon may be visible after sunset of the twenty-ninth day of the fast, but if not the fast must be continued the next day, thus making a total of thirty days during the month. It may be that on the thirtieth evening, visibility may be very poor due to atmospheric conditions, and the moon may not be visible. That would make no difference and Ramadhan would terminate at sunset on that day, as it is recognised that a lunar month cannot extend beyond thirty days. The same rule governs the commencement of the month. The day following the last day of Ramadhan, determined as above, is observed as the Festival of the termination of the fast. The festive character of the occasion is proclaimed through exchange of visits, feeding the poor, visiting the sick and glorification of Allah and celebrating His praise in thankfulness to Him for the guidance provided by Him, particularly with regard to all that pertains to the observance of the fast, and for having enabled those upon whom the fast was obligatory to observe it duly.