{"id":1631,"date":"2016-03-23T18:35:01","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T18:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/?p=1631"},"modified":"2018-03-27T02:08:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T07:08:33","slug":"the-fourth-pillar-of-islam-the-fast-of-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-fourth-pillar-of-islam-the-fast-of-ramadan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fourth Pillar of Islam: The Fast of Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"

By IslamReligion.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Fasting is not unique to the Muslims.\u00a0 It has been practiced for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists, and Jains. \u00a0God mentions this fact in the Quran:<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cO you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may develop God-consciousness.\u201d (Quran 2:183)<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Some Native American societies fasted to avert catastrophe or to serve as penance for sin.\u00a0 Native North Americans held tribal fasts to avert threatening disasters.\u00a0 The Native Americans of Mexico and the Incas of Peru observed penitential fasts to appease their gods.\u00a0 Past nations of the Old World, such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians, observed fasting as a form of penance.\u00a0 Jews observe fasting as a form of penitence and purification annually on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.\u00a0 On this day neither food nor drink is permitted.<\/p>\n

Early Christians associated fasting with penitence and purification.\u00a0 During the first two centuries of its existence, the Christian church established fasting as a voluntary preparation for receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism and for the ordination of priests.\u00a0 Later, these fasts were made obligatory, as others days were subsequently added.\u00a0 In the 6th century, the Lenten fast was expanded to 40 days, on each of which only one meal was permitted.\u00a0 After the Reformation, fasting was retained by most Protestant churches and was made optional in some cases.\u00a0 Stricter Protestants, however, condemned not only the festivals of the church, but its traditional fasts as well.<\/p>\n

In the Roman Catholic Church, fasting may involve partial abstinence from food and drink or total abstinence.\u00a0 The Roman Catholic days of fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.\u00a0 In the United States, fasting is observed mostly by Episcopalians and Lutherans among Protestants, by Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and by Roman Catholics.<\/p>\n

Fasting took another form in the West: the hunger strike, a form of fasting, which in modern times has become a political weapon after being popularized by Mohandas Gandhi, leader of the struggle for India\u2019s freedom, who undertook fasts to compel his followers to obey his precept of nonviolence.<\/p>\n

Islam is the only religion that has retained the outward and spiritual dimensions of fasting throughout the centuries.\u00a0 Selfish motives and desires of the base self alienate a man from his Creator.\u00a0 The most unruly human emotions are pride, avarice, gluttony, lust, envy, and anger.\u00a0 These emotions by their nature are not easy to control, thus a person must strive hard to discipline them.\u00a0 Muslims fast to purify their soul, it puts a bridle on the most uncontrolled, savage human emotions.\u00a0 People have gone to two extremes with regard to them.\u00a0 Some let these emotions steer their life which lead to barbarism among the ancients, and crass materialism of consumer cultures in modern times.\u00a0 Others tried to deprive themselves completely of these human traits, which in turn led to monasticism.<\/p>\n

The fourth Pillar of Islam, the Fast of Ramadan, occurs once each year during the 9th<\/sup> lunar month, the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which:<\/p>\n

\n
\u201c\u2026the Quran was sent down as a guidance for the people.\u201d (Quran 2:185)<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

God in His infinite mercy has exempt the ill, travelers, and others who are unable \u00a0from fasting Ramadan.<\/p>\n

Fasting helps Muslims develop self-control, gain a better understanding of God\u2019s gifts and greater compassion towards the deprived.\u00a0 Fasting in Islam involves abstaining from all bodily pleasures between dawn and sunset.\u00a0 Not only is food forbidden, but also any sexual activity.\u00a0 All things which are regarded as prohibited is even more so in this month, due to its sacredness. \u00a0Each and every moment during the fast, a person suppresses their passions and desires in loving obedience to God.\u00a0 This consciousness of duty and the spirit of patience helps in strengthening our faith.\u00a0 Fasting helps a person gain self-control.\u00a0 A person who abstains from permissible things like food and drink is likely to feel conscious of his sins.\u00a0 A heightened sense of spirituality helps break the habits of lying, staring with lust at the opposite sex, gossiping, and wasting time.\u00a0 Staying hungry and thirsty for just a day\u2019s portion makes one feel the misery of the 800 million who go hungry or the one in ten households in the US, for example, that are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.\u00a0 After all, why would anyone care about starvation if one has never felt its pangs oneself? \u00a0One can see why Ramadan<\/i> is also a month of charity and giving.<\/p>\n

At dusk, the fast is broken with a light meal popularly referred to as iftaar<\/i>.\u00a0 Families and friends share a special late evening meal together, often including special foods and sweets served only at this time of the year.\u00a0 Many go to the mosque for the evening prayer, followed by special prayers recited only during Ramadan.\u00a0 Some will recite the entire Quran as a special act of piety, and public recitations of the Quran can be heard throughout the evening.\u00a0 Families rise before dawn to take their first meal of the day, which sustains them until sunset.\u00a0 Near the end of Ramadan Muslims commemorate the \u201cNight of Power\u201d when the Quran was revealed.\u00a0 The month of Ramadan ends with one of the two major Islamic celebrations, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast, called Eid al-Fitr. On this day, Muslims joyfully celebrate the completion of Ramadan and customarily distribute gifts to children. Muslims are also obliged to help the poor join in the spirit of relaxation and enjoyment by distributing zakat-ul-fitr, a special and obligatory act of charity in the form of staple foodstuff, in order that all may enjoy the general euphoria of the day.<\/p>\n

From: Islamreligion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By IslamReligion.com Fasting is not unique to the Muslims.\u00a0 It has been practiced for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists, and Jains. \u00a0God mentions this fact in the Quran: \u201cO you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-five-pillars-of-islam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",1280,720,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",300,169,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",400,225,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-4.jpg",600,338,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Site Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"By IslamReligion.com Fasting is not unique to the Muslims.\u00a0 It has been practiced for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists, and Jains. \u00a0God mentions this fact in the Quran: \u201cO you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcT0IL-qj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9275,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-fourth-pillar-of-islam-the-fast-of-ramadan-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1631,"position":0},"title":"The Fourth Pillar of Islam: The Fast of Ramadan","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/26\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Fasting is not unique to the Muslims. It has been practiced for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists, and Jains. God mentions this fact in the Quran: \u201cO you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Introducing Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Introducing Islam","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/introducing-islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8397,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-vierte-saeule-des-islam-das-fasten-im-ramadhan\/","url_meta":{"origin":1631,"position":1},"title":"Die vierte S\u00e4ule des Islam: das Fasten im Ramadhan","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Not only the Muslims fast. It has been practiced in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucians, Hindus and Taoists for centuries. 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