OBSERVANCES:
Ramadan
December 1, 2000   Episode no. 414
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week414/observances.html



IMAD-AD-DEAN AHMAD (Minaret Freedom Institute): Ramadan is a month in the Muslim's strict lunar calendar. Beginning with the first new moon of the ninth month of [the] year, the entire month is devoted to fasting.

The rules are that one cannot eat or drink or engage in sexual activities from the time the first light of dawn appears in the sky until the sun sets.

The significance of fasting is made very clear in the Qur'an: that it is a means of developing one's will power, a means of learning self-restraint.

The Qur'an mentions that this was the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad -- peace be upon him.

He was, in fact, fasting at the time and engaged in prayer in a cave, where he liked to meditate, when the revelation came to him.

This presence, this spirit of revelation, is generally understood by Muslims to be the Angel Gabriel.

People engage in reading the Qur'an during this month, and the Qur'an has been divided into 30 sections for convenience, so you do one section each of the [30] days.

There is a tradition started by the Prophet Muhammad -- peace be upon him -- that when the sun would set, he would begin by breaking the fast, by eating a few dates or taking a small drink of water or juice. And most Muslims will now break the fast that way.

Fasting is a time for spiritual awareness. The religion of Islam is organized around the idea of submission to the will of God.