Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is believed that it is when the Holy Quran “was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, a declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation”. This is the time that Muslims all around the world fast for exactly one month. The basic rule is to refrain from eating or drinking (yes that includes water too). From sunrise to sunset. If you are living near the Arctic Circle, that means fasting for 22 hours or if you are in Australia which means fasting for 12 hours. “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain Taqwa.” – The Qur’an, Al-Baqarah:183. Abu Bakr Karoli explains that Taqwa “is an Arabic word which is explained as a shield against wrongdoing and further expounded as to be ‘conscious of Allah’ or to have ‘fear of Allah’ or to be ‘cautiously aware of Allah’”. Basically if you want to sum
If you do not practice Ramadan, one of the five major pillars in Islam, then you should not be considered a Muslim. If you devote your time to fasting, praying, reciting and reading the Qur’an, you are faithfully executing your religion to its extent. Deciding what you assume is right or wrong with religion, you should not consider yourself Muslim. Muslims obey Allah they do not question what they are supposed to follow. Overall, the message that Ramadan is trying to convey is to be thankful for what you have and be kind to one another. You should not worry about having the best things in the world such as a phone or hover-board. You should donate your money and time instead to charity because on the day of judgement, Allah will grant you paradise in heaven. Do not let anyone deceive you into thinking that Ramadan is not a necessity of being a Muslim. By practicing Ramadan, you are thanking Allah for your life he has only asked you to fast for a month out of a whole
Although widely recognized throughout the world, there are a lot of misconceptions about Cinco de mayo. The biggest misconception about Cinco de mayo is that it is Mexico’s independence day. Cinco de mayo is actually the celebration of the Mexican army’s difficult victory over the French Empire’s army. This entire conflict started in 1861, when the president of Mexico, Benito Juarez, stopped paying interest on the money he owed France. This caused the French army to invade Mexico. But in a surprising comeback, the Mexican army, with just 4,000 men, overtook the French army of 8,000. The conflict started in 1861 and ended in 1867, taking place over 6 years. The end result of the battle was Mexico’s victory of France and keeping their land.
When someone hears, “New Orleans,” they immediately think of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a tradition that can survive, and thrive, no matter what the circumstances. Take, for example, after Hurricane Katrina hit the city, there was much argument as to whether or not to even have the celebration, but many of the citizens were in favor of it, with one of them saying, “it’s what New Orleans spirit is all about,” (Mitchell, 791). Among those who were in favor of keeping with traditions after the decimation of their city were The Mardi Gras Indians. A group of people who wish to pay homage to their ancestors, they dress up in ceremonial garb and parade around the city. The Mardi Gras Indians are an important part of not only the Mardi Gras celebrations, though, they also play a part in New Orleanian culture as a whole, as exemplified by the study of social, economic, and cultural patterns that are closely associated with them.
This week I have watched a very influential video about fasting in Ramadan as an American. This video helped me understand more about the hardships people go through while fasting in a non-Islamic country. It also helped me think more about why exactly, as a Muslim, do I fast in this particular month. It also shows the great importance in coming together as a family to break the fast together. Ramadan teaches us as Muslims why we fast exactly and what its significance towards Allah.
A good Muslim is someone who follows the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars of Islam is the term given to 'the five duties incumbent on every Muslim'. these duties are Shahadah(profession of faith), Salat(ritual prayer), Zakat(alms giving), Sawm(fasting during the month of Ramadan) and Hajj(pilgrimage to Mecca). A good strong building has four strong corner stones and good Muslims have five because they want to be strong in the way which they live. Muslims believe that Allah has requested that we must act on these pillars consistently.
More importantly, we get to celebrate it with our family. Let us not forget to remind ourselves not to take the peace and harmony we enjoy in Malaysia for granted. I would first like to say that I am very heartened to see community spirit with creative and imaginative ways of breaking the fast, even with people of all faiths and none. From the congregation of the mosques’ iftar across Malaysia to the mass iftar at local megamalls, from events at the local farmers’ markets to community centres and homes, many of these breakfast events have been held to honor the hardship and hunger faced by our less fortunate brothers and sisters who go through the month of Ramadhan just like any other days, in hunger. Most go through it without mothers, fathers or sons or daughters.
These metaphorical “pillars,” are what Muslims base their life decisions and actions around. To clearly understand Islam’s core philosophy of life, one must first know what these five pillars entail. The first pillar is called Shahada, which is the Muslim’s declaration of faith and belief. The declaration is a short phrase, which translates from its native language of Arabic to English as, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.” Then the second pillar is the Salat, which is the pillar of worship. In Islam, daily prayers are greatly important. A Muslim is required by their religion to pray five times a day; at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and then lastly in the evening. Devout Muslims also wash their hands and feet as a religious practice to purify themselves symbolically before prayers. (University of Calgary,
Yom Kippur is on the 10th day of the month of Tishri in the Jewish calendar. Fasting is seen as fulfilling this biblical commandment. The Yom Kippur fast also enables us to put aside our physical desires to concentrate on our spiritual needs through prayer, repentance and self-improvement. Yom Kippur is the moment in Jewish time when we dedicate
Muslims all over the world regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race or color participate in fasting for the entire month of Ramadan (Travel). Ramadan is the monthly fasting from sunrise to sunset for all Muslims all around the world and the month changes every year because it’s based on the lunar calendar. Ramadan has been happening during the summer since 2011 but in 2016 Ramadan began during the end of the school year, and that means that Muslim students have to take final exams while they’re fasting and while they’re fasting they get tired, thirsty, hungry, and get headaches really easily which would cause lower grade scores. The question is should public schools make final exams earlier for Muslim students because of Ramadan?
During Ramadan, Muslims observe daily fasts from dawn to dusk and refrain from consuming food and doing wrong things. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is considered as one of the most prominent Muslim festival celebrated in Malaysia as the majority of the population residing in Malaysia follows Islam. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is celebrated during the 9th month of the lunar calendar for a period of one month. It is also a time for Muslims to forgive and forget past quarrels. The day is also celebrated with prayers and open houses which allow Muslims to share food with their family members and the rest of the community. During this period, traditional Malay food is served to visitors such as rendang, ketupat and lemang. Basically, children and elders are given gifts of money in green packets which is similar to the Chinese
Their religion, women, kids, and beliefs play a big role in the culture. Islam is the religion which claims a vast majority of the Iraqi population, the majority of the Iraqi’s identify with the Arab culture. The second-largest cultural group is the Kurds, who are in the highlands and mountain valleys of the north in a politically autonomous settlement. The Kurds occupy the provinces of As Sulaymaniyah, Dahuk and Irbil, the area of which is commonly referred to as Kurdistan. Almost all Iraqi’s speak, read, and write their official language, Arabic. As in Kurdistan, they speak Kurdish so they can distinguish between the Iraqi’s and the Kurds. There are five pillars of Islam: praise of Allah as the only God, with Muhammad as his prophet; prayer five times per day; almsgiving; fasting; and pilgrimage to Mecca. Ramadan falls on the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. This month consists of a period of fasting from all food, drink, and activities such as smoking and sexual intercourse during daylight hours. At nighttime the fast is broken, in other words, you can do what you cannot during the
But the reality of the matter is that religion is still a prominent authority in society and the world. Just with holidays alone, what religion you are deems what holidays you celebrate because of religious ideology. Even though Hanukkah, and Christmas are seen as the same, they are different celebrations for different religions, and are also based off of different sets of ideologies. One of the most important holidays for people who are Jewish is Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement which is a holiday that strictly Jewish people celebrate. Ramadan which is a whole month of fasting, because fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, is a holiday that only Muslim people partake in. Even if you don’t practice Christianity or Catholicism chances are you still celebrate Christmas and Easter which are religious holidays. No one really gets the opportunity to choose which holidays that they want to celebrate because there are already set holidays for people to celebrate based on their religion and what area of the world that they live in. A lot of people do not get to form their own basis of beliefs because one is already chosen for them by their parents or location. Although many countries have the freedom of choice, many people do not exercise that freedom on holidays.
...without human interference), blood, the meat of pigs, and animals dedicated to other than God. If one is forced (to eat these), without being malicious or deliberate, he incurs no sin. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful.’ (2:173) Thus emphasising that only halal meat should be consumed. This shows how religion has effectively shaped the culture, or even the culture has adapted by the means of the religion. Although, Algeria is a French colonised country, it is significant in wine-exporting, meaning that alcohol is very common in this Muslim country. Today, the wine market still exists and is dependent on European markets. The Qur’an The Holy Month of Ramadan is a special time of the year where Muslims all around the world are obligated to fast everyday for roughly 25 days. In this holy month, food and drink is absent until the period of time between sunrise and sunset.
Ramadan is a very special month in the Islamic life. It is consider being a blessed month by the muslins. It is practice in the ninth month of every year and it is place on the Islamic Lunar calendar. It is also very important in the Islamic life because it focus on fasting (sawm or siyam) observe from sunset to sunrise. Which the muslin minds are place on reflection and discipline. During this month of fasting helps make it to contribute to God’s blessings, to help the poor and answer their needs, to repent for their sins, to make stronger their moral characters and to remember that all their glory goes to God. The fasting is usually base on abstinence of drink, food and some different physical needs between the daylight hours. Sometimes,
The benefits of fasting. In particular during Ramadan, Muslims are required to perform fasting in accordance with Islamic law. The benefits of fasting is very much to the health of the body. This is because fasting is associated with the process of detoxification or removal of toxic substances from the body. Especially if the Ramadan fasting is done for 1 full month that can make the body become healthier. Here are the benefits of fasting for health.