Ramadan is ninth month of the lunar calendar and is considered to be the holiest of all. In the light of several Quranic verses and ahadith it can safely be termed as “The month of blessings”. Muslims all around the world show great sanctity towards this month; they observe fasting throughout this month and bade farewell to it by Eid-ul-fitr, one of the two grand festivals of Muslim calendars. Historians say that the importance of Ramadan was present even before the arrival of Islam. The month was then called Natiq.

Ramadan is a month of special significance to Muslims because of a number of reasons. It is the month in which the holy Quran was revealed to the final Prophet of Allah and this is the month which is home to the Lail-at-ul-Qadar. Allah rewards believers seventy times more for a good deed than in any other month; the reward of Nafl prayer is raised to the reward of a Farz prayer and the reward of keeping a single fast in this month is more than the reward of keeping fasts in the entire year. Such are the blessings of God during this Holy month. To make things further convenient for believers, Allah orders to fetter the Satan and to close the doors of hell.

Ramadan is truly the month of spiritual purification as it provides every individual with a chance to purify him from the wrongdoings he commits during the entire year. Fasting in the month of Ramadan requires Muslims to practice self-restraint as Allah says in the Holy Quran “Fasting has been prescribed to you as it was prescribed to nations before you so that you may learn self-restraint“. This verse also suggests that fasting is an article inherited from the previous Sharias.

The month of Ramadan has been divided in three different decades.  Ashra is the Arabic term for a decade (a period of ten days). Each decade has its own significance and its own purpose. The first decade is the decade of Mercy, the second decade is the decade of Forgiveness and the last decade is the decade for freedom from the hell fire.

At the end of Ramadan comes the day of Eid – the day of joy and celebrations – on the first of Shawwal, the month following Ramadan. Muslims are rewarded with this day as a reward of their profound worship during the holy month of Ramadan. Allah asks Muslims to celebrate the day of Eid with liveliness, joy and cheerfulness. However, He also orders them to look after the underprivileged on this day and to provide them money so that they can buy new cloths and share the happiness of the Eid day with rest of the society.

Muslims consider Ramadhan a month of blessings. They keep fasts in this month along with offering special prayers and many Muslims also go for an Umrah in this month. Fasting is the special feature of Ramadhan, as fasting in Ramadhan is obligated in Islam.

The Holy Quran says: ”O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed on those before you so that you may learn self-restraint“.

In the light of this Quranic verse, we can conclude that  fasting is an old tradition and it was a part of previous religions as well. What makes the month of Ramadhan a month of blessings? This short article will give you a brief answer to this question.

Ramadhan is the Holiest month of Islamic calendar in the respect that this is the month in which the Holy Quran was revealed to the final prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) .The Holy Quran says “Ramadhan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein.

Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. God wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify God for guiding you, and to express your appreciation”. Several Hadith are narrated by Sahih Bukhari and other Muslim scholars signifying the importance and the blessings of Ramadhan.

One hadith says that in this month of Ramadhan the doors of paradise are opened and the doors of hell are closed. The Holy Prophet also said

”Surely, the month of Ramadhan, the blessed month has come to you. The month whose fasts Allah (has) made obligatory upon you. In it the doors of paradise are opened up and the Satan fettered, and in it is the night of Qadr, which is more virtuous than a thousand months”.

Another Hadith says “ The month of Ramadhan has come to you with blessings, wherein, Allah turns towards you and sends down to you His special blessings, forgives your faults, accepts dua (prayer), appreciates your competition for the greatest goods and boasts to the angels about you. So show to Allah your righteousness, for truly, the most pitiable and unfortunate one is he, who is deprived of Allah’s mercy in this month. “

By analyzing the above Hadith one can come to the conclusion that this month is surely a month of great blessings. Several other ahadith also tell that one good deed in this month is rewarded with the reward of 70 good deeds and offering one Nafl is equivalent to offering a Farz prayer in reward.

The month of Ramadhan is divided in three periods. The first ten days are a period of mercy, the second ten days are a period of forgiveness and the last ten days are a period of being freed from hell. To conclude in the light of all these quotes, surely, this month is a month of blessings as Allah reveals His favor on us far more in this month than in any other month.

Ramadhan is the ninth month of Islamic calendar and fasting in this month is obligatory for all Muslims.

The Holy Quran says: ”O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed on those before you so that you may learn self-restraint“.

This verse of the Holy Quran tells us the central purpose of fasting to, that is, to learn self-restraint. However, this is not the only advantage one gets from fasting. Many physicians see Ramadhan as a golden opportunity for achieving a healthy lifestyle. Fasting not only helps reduce blood sugar and cholesterol level but it also helps in weight loss. This short article will give you some tips for a healthy diet in Ramadhan.

1. Ramadhan fast starts with Sehri, an early morning breakfast, before dawn. Sehri is an essential part of the ramdhan fast as eating or drinking is strictly forbidden after it, till dusk. Seeing this fact, most Muslims go for an abundant intake of both water and food, often eating more than what they would normally eat. This is a bad practice since this deprives them from the advantages of fasting. To attain the maximum benefits of fasting, Muslims should take a balanced Sehri, possibly with bread and eggs. They can take it with any other conventional food items too. However they must not over eat.  As far as drinking water is concerned, the amount of water intake varies from one individual to other since the rate of perspiration, climatic conditions, and the nature of job is different for different individuals. Nevertheless, one must remember that water should only be drunk before taking Sehri meal. If a large amount of water gets mixed with the meal, gastric problems may result.
2. Secondly, many Muslims either do not work in fasting or they do not work with the same zeal or to the same extent. This deprives them of the major benefits of fasting. Fasting does not stop one from working, in fact, it just stops us from taking meals. If an individual does not work he virtually wastes his fast because he achieves nothing, neither spiritually nor materially. Fasting was made an obligation so that one can realize how our underprivileged class feels when it is deprived of food, and yet has to carry out its work. In a fast Muslims are helpless, they cannot eat anything, and this helplessness is a symbol of their humility towards their Lord. Employing artificial ways to overcome hunger and thrust kills the spiritual benefit of a fast. It also restrains one from achieving materialistic benefits since sitting like an idol does not helps in reducing cholesterol level or weight.
3. Lastly, the Aftaar part arrives. This is where most of us make mistakes. Aftaar, traditionally, has been filled with items containing large amounts of fats or cholesterol. According to the teachings of Islam a fast should be concluded by drinking water. However, nowadays most families prefer cold drinks. A sudden large intake of these drinks  and food items puts a great pressure on our stomach often causing gastric issues. Taking an Aftaar – after a calories-rich sehri – with meals having high levels of cholesterol, sugar content and fats only exacerbates our condition.

In a nut shell, our Seher and Aftaar should comprise of balanced diets. We should neither give up eating nor over eat during Seher or Aftaar.

Ramadhan is one of the twelve months of the Muslims calendar. It is the ninth lunar month and holds special significance as Muslims all around the world fast during this month. Ramadhan is the month of blessings, sacrifice and sympathy for all Muslim community. Has this month anything to do with Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism too? This short article is about the concept of Ramadhan in religions except Islam.

Let’s begin with seeing what the Islam has to say about this concept. The Holy Quran addresses Muslims and says: ”O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed on those before you so that you may learn self-restraint “. Analyzing this you can see that at the time of Prophet (S.A.W), the concept of fasting already existed, and nations before Islam used to fast.

But did they fast in Ramadhan? Ramadhan, historians claim, was a month whose significance existed even before Islam the arrival of Islam. It was called Natiq at that time, a month that fell in the warm seasons. However there is no cogent evidence supporting the claim that Ramadhan held the same importance at that time that it enjoys these days. It only gained importance in the era of Holy Prophet because of the fact that the last revelation Holy Quran was sent down in this month. The Holy Quran has also emphasized on the importance of Ramadhan on many occasions.

If you compare the concept of fasting in all religions, you get to know that all religions prescribe fasting in one way or the other. In Christianity, Christians have been advised to fast. In fact, the Bible says that fasting does not only mean abstinence from food and water, and a fast in which one does not care for the poor is unacceptable. Christian historians have chronicled incidences when the Christ himself kept fast too.

The nature of fasting varies for different sects of Christianity, i.e. some sections abstain from meat and milk only while others fast for an entire day, but the essence remains the same. Even in Islam, a fast is meant to experience the sufferings of underprivileged and for learning self-restraint.

In Hinduism, the concept of fasting is slightly different. However, fasting has been prescribed for them too. Some Hindus fast on Mondays while others fast on Tuesday. Some fast on Thursday too the reason for this variation in fasting is because Hindus fast particularly for a certain goddess or god. Followers of Hinduism fast from after the sunset of previous day to 48 minutes after sunrise. Non-vegetarian Hindus cannot even touch any animal product during fasting; milk is an exception though.

Similarly, the concept of fasting is also present in Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and other religions. Ramadhan is of enormous importance to Muslims only but fasting has its roots in most religions.

Ramadhan is one of the twelve months of the Muslims calendar. It is the ninth lunar month and holds special significance as Muslims all around the world fast during this month. Ramadhan is the month of blessings, sacrifice and sympathy for all Muslim community. Has this month anything to do with Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism too? This short article is about the concept of Ramadhan in religions except Islam.

Let’s begin with seeing what the Islam has to say about this concept. The Holy Quran addresses Muslims and says: ”O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed on those before you so that you may learn self-restraint “.

Analyzing this you can see that at the time of Prophet (S.A.W), the concept of fasting already existed, and nations before Islam used to fast. But did they fast in Ramadhan? Ramadhan, historians claim, was a month whose significance existed even before Islam the arrival of Islam. It was called Natiq at that time, a month that fell in the warm seasons.

However there is no cogent evidence supporting the claim that Ramadhan held the same importance at that time that it enjoys these days. It only gained importance in the era of Holy Prophet because of the fact that the last revelation Holy Quran was sent down in this month. The Holy Quran has also emphasized on the importance of Ramadhan on many occasions.

If you compare the concept of fasting in all religions, you get to know that all religions prescribe fasting in one way or the other. In Christianity, Christians have been advised to fast. In fact, the Bible says that fasting does not only mean abstinence from food and water, and a fast in which one does not care for the poor is unacceptable. Christian historians have chronicled incidences when the Christ himself kept fast too.

The nature of fasting varies for different sects of Christianity, i.e. some sections abstain from meat and milk only while others fast for an entire day, but the essence remains the same. Even in Islam, a fast is meant to experience the sufferings of underprivileged and for learning self-restraint.

In Hinduism, the concept of fasting is slightly different. However, fasting has been prescribed for them too. Some Hindus fast on Mondays while others fast on Tuesday. Some fast on Thursday too the reason for this variation in fasting is because Hindus fast particularly for a certain goddess or god. Followers of Hinduism fast from after the sunset of previous day to 48 minutes after sunrise. Non-vegetarian Hindus cannot even touch any animal product during fasting; milk is an exception though.

Similarly, the concept of fasting is also present in Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and other religions. Ramadhan is of enormous importance to Muslims only but fasting has its roots in most religions.