...Religion Concept of Islam Fasting What is Fasting? Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day (24 hours), or several daytime periods. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive, limiting particular foods or substance. The fast may also be intermittent in nature. Fasting practices may preclude sexual and other activities as well as food. Month of Ramadan Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, is considered as one of the holiest months of the year. It was in 610 A.D. when the prophet Muhammad was said to have received revelations from God that later became Islam’s holy book, the Quran (Koran). The Quran (2:185) states that it was in the month of Ramadan that the Quran was revealed. In fact, Ramadan commemorates that part, of the Muslim year, when "the Qur'an was sent down as a guidance for the people" and also for the " judgment between the right and wrong". Another verse of the Quran (97:1) states that it was revealed "on the night of determination," which Muslims generally observe on the night of 26-27 Ramadan. The holy season begins with the sighting of the crescent moon on the evening following the new moon and lasts for 29 or 30 days depending on the lunar cycle. According to the Quran, Muslims must see the New Moon with the naked eye before they can begin their fast...
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...Research Essay: Ramadan In this descriptive research essay, I will outline the history, characteristics and purposes, and festivals immediately following Ramadan (Eid-al Fitar, and Shawwal), the Islamic month of fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar- lasts 29 or 30 days- and all Muslims who can participate are expected to fully stop such activities as eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual relations from dawn until sunset. I will examine the historical aspects of Ramadan including how and when Ramadan first appeared in Islam. In addition, I will discuss the practices that are associated with the holy month of Ramandan and the significances of such practices. Finally, I will discuss the festivals that follow the completion of Ramadan. As previously mentioned, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and all able Muslims who participate are expected to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual relations from dawn until sunset. Ramandan is considered an holy month for muslims since it is considered the the month in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed by God through the archangel Gabriel. This is revealed in a passage in the Quran that states “ Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was sent down as guidance to humankind..” (Q. 2:183, 185). In addition, the Qur' an states that “fasting has been written down upon you (is mandatory), as it was upon those before you”. According to the...
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...Ramadan is the Month of Work, not slack! All Muslims around the globe and of course all Muslims in Oman are celebrating the once-a-year Holy month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is a month of fasting and praying. Fasting is meant to educate us about spirituality, humility and patience. During Ramadan, Muslims who are fasting only eat and drink after sunset until sunrise. Ramadan is a month of fasting and worshiping, as well as that of work and production. Why slacking during Ramadan?! During the blessed month of Ramadan, unfortunately, you will see some Muslims slack off, show up late at work (or not showing up at all), sleeping on the job, procrastinating, and doing the least possible at the workplace. These types of behaviors are inconsistent with the very spirit of this holy month. Islam does not advocate a special working mode during this month, whereby many people turn it into a month of eating, watching TV and staying up late. In fact, these behaviors affect any workplace, and are not permissible in Islam. Negligence in performing duties during Ramadan is not permissible and is against its teachings. Ramadan Working Hours In the Sultanate, the Government and the Ministry of Manpower has reduced the working hours to five hours/day for Ministries and Governmental establishments, while six hours/day for private sector companies. Muslims need to rethink the concept of work, especially during the month of Ramadan. Tips for Muslim...
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...RAMADAN ~ The Islamic Month of Fasting ~ Islam is a major world and monotheistic religion that has the number of adherents around one-point-five billion around the world; therefore, this religion is world second largest religion. This religion was founded in Arabia around 622 CE, and the God of this religion is Muhammad, who was born in about 570 CE in Mecca city, Arabia. The person who believes in this religion is called Muslim; moreover, most of Muslims live in the Middle East. The Quran or Koran is the religion holy book, which Muslims believe it has the sacred words from their God and wrote in Arabic. In addition, many people think that most Muslims speak Arabic language, but the only 10 – 15 percent speaks Arabic as a native speaker. Ramadan is an important ceremony of Islam religion that Muslims do the fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month that depends on Islamic calendar, which based on lunar cycle; this month is also a month that the scared text was sent down as way for Muslims. Fasting is obligatory for adult that they are not going to eat anything in the morning until the sunset. They also abstain smoking, drinking alcohol, making all kind of bad things, and sexual relations. Muslims are required to fast in order to get a sense of someone who has not taken care of society such as the poor people. Therefore, Muslims must have to read the Quran (holy text from God) to learn what God wants them to know that the human being in this world and the next world. The period...
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...stone, but if Muslim is in Mecca they would face the sacred stoned named Ka’aba. This stone was believed to been built by Abraham. The five pillars, Quran, and the Ramadan will also be discussed in this paper. Quran The Quran or Koran means the reading in Arabic. The Quran is a form of sacred texts of Islam that is broken down into 114 suras or chapters ("What Is Islam?", n.d.). Within the chapters of the Quran ethnics, theology, law, and history is discussed as God literal words. The Quran came about into new order by a holy spirit by the name Gabriel, who gave the Quran to Muhammad. Muhammad full name is Muhammad Ibn Abdullah and is known as the final prophet of God to the world. Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 A.D and died in 632 A.D., by being poisoned. Five Pillars The first Pillar consist of the testimony of faith, meaning there is no true god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of God. Second Pillar is prayer, is when Muslims pray five times a day. In a prayer, a feels more at peace with their inner self. The third Pillar is giving Zakat, not to god but more of the ones in need of help. Known as Zakat which means purification and growth. Giving zakat means giving a certain percentage to someone in need. It is solely up to the individual on how much they donates. The fourth Pillar consist of fasting...
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...The Islamic Religion The Islamic religion is growing rapidly every day. It has been estimated that 1.57 billion Muslims surround the world today (Greene, 2007). That is the second largest religion after Christianity at a 2.25 billion population (Greene, 2007). What is this growing religion called Islam and what does it take to become a true Muslim? Many questions arise about the Islamic religion as well as curiosity regarding the significance of major holy days, prayer, and most important what Muslims believe. “Submission to the will of God,” is what Islam can be defined as (Robinson, 2007). A person choosing to believe and submit himself or herself to the Islamic religion is called a Muslim. When a Muslim decides to commit to the Islamic religion, they are choosing to believe in a God named Allah (Robinson, 2007). Allah is an Arabic word that means, “the one true God” (Robinson, 2007). It is believed by religious historians that the Islamic religion originated by the Prophet Muhammad in 622 CE; however, most Islamic followers believe Muhammad was not born when Islam was created. In the Qur’an it states, “There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God” (Robinson, 2007). Allah chose the Prophet Muhammad to be his messenger, and spread his teachings from the Qur’an to any Muslims who wanted to convert, or to learn about the Islamic religion (Robinson, 2007). Allah wanted Muhammad to distribute his knowledge far and wide around the world. The Qur’an is the...
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...in the tradition, which are Sunni and Shi’a. Both claim different means of maintaining religious balance. Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the divine or that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is real. But they do believe that Judaism and Christianity express the true revelation from God. They also think that they the Judaism and Christianity have taken the word of God and completely misunderstood it, by adding human definition to it. “It was Muhammad, Muslims believe, who freed the divine message from human error and offered it, purified, to all people” (Molly, M. 2013). Some unifying characteristics of Islam are the Five Pillars, Qur’an, and Ramadan. The Five Pillars are the fundamental practices of Islam. These practices include a ritual profession of faith, ritual prayer, the zakat (which means charity), fasting, and the hajj (which is the pilgrimage to Mecca). The ritual profession of faith is called the Creed or Shahada. “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. This single sentence, when recited with belief, makes a person a Muslim.” (Molly, M. 2013). Many Muslims are so committed that they prey five times a day, which it is looked upon as ritual prayer. There is a man on top of a tower that calls everyone for prayer, he is referred to as a minaret. His call to prayer goes something like “Allahu Akbar (“god is supreme”), I witness that there is no God but Allah; I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; hasten to prayer” (Molly...
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...Response I am writing this paper about the five pillars of Islam. This paper on the five pillars of Islam is a response to two very specific questions. The first question being what are the central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the "Five Pillars" (Fisher, 2014). Then I will answer the second question which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be easiest to fulfill, and which would be the most challenging (Fisher, 2014). By the end of this paper I will have learned a lot about the beliefs of Muslim people and have answers to these questions. The central beliefs of Islam are the Shahadah, salaat, zakat, fasting, and hajj. The Shahadah or belief and witness is the first pillar of Islam which is believing and professing the unity of God and the messenger ship of Muhammad: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” to which Shi’ites add “and ’Ali is the Master of the believers.” The Qur’an requires the faithful to tell others of Islam, so that they will have the information they need to make an intelligent choice. (Fisher, 2014, Chapter 10, Islam). Salaat or daily prayers is the second pillar of Islam is when “Five times a day, the faithful are to perform ablutions with water (or sand or dirt if there is no water), face Mecca, and recite a series of prayers and passages from the Qur’an, bowing and kneeling.” (Fisher, 2014). The salaat consists of five obligatory daily prayer times that are usually done early morning after dawn and before...
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...several words for peace, which are Salam in Arabic and Shalom in Hebrew. They both believe that inner peace is gained by surrendering to the divine. Islam teaches us that all religions originally had the same thought process which was to submit all of yourself to god and to worship him. Muslims refer to God as Allah, and according to (Hilgers) “In the Qur’an Allah describes himself as personal and caring, as well as all-knowing, all – seeing, and all powerful. Allah because of this personal nature and the attribute of power is referred to in Islam in “Male” terms, although strictly speaking, Allah has no gender.” (Hilgers). This paper will describe the importance of the three elements for Muslim’s, which are the Qur’an, Five Pillars and Ramadan. Also I will be describing the significant differences and similarities in how Islam practices their traditions. The Quran is defined as “Recitation” and recalls the origins of these sacred writings in the sermons of Muhammad.” (Hilgers) The Qur’an has been translated into many languages but the purest one is considered to be the Arabic version to be fully authentic. The Qur’an is considered to be a divine origin as it is god’s word, which was given to Muhammad while in command. The Qur’an covers a wide variety of topics from the Jewish and Christian bible’s, facts about everyday life what you should do with your money and marriage and life’s and events of Muhammad’s life. It is composed of 114 chapters that are split into phases. Along...
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...the sun rises (fajr), noon (dhuhr), afternoon ('asr), sunset (maghrib), and evening ('isha). Muslims pray a prayer called raka'ah during these five times of prayer. This prayer states that Allah is the one, true God. Through the mercy of Allah, we have been given life and through His compassion we have been given a way back to Him in Heaven through the religion and practices of Islam. It also gives a reminder to “...watch out for the steps that you're making in this day.” (Smith, 3) Aside from the daily prayers, the annual practice of Ramadan is observed. Ramadan is a month (of the Islamic lunar calendar) in which people fast from sunrise to sunset. It is fasting not just from food, but bad behaviors and bad thoughts as well. If able, one should make a pilgrimage to Mecca as part of the practices at least once in a lifetime. This is not necessarily part of Ramadan but falls toward the end of Ramadan period. Zakah is another practice in which every year 20% of person's overall wealth is given to the poor to practice charity and compassion among other things. This is just a brief overview of the main practices of Islam. From an outsider looking in, Islam appears to be...
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...Five Pillars of Islam your name HUM/130 University of Phoenix The Five Pillars of Islam are the five basic acts or beliefs in the Islamic faith. Most believers of the Muslim faith believe that these pillars are the foundation of Muslim life and that they are obliged to follow these beliefs. The Quran outlines these beliefs as the principle for worship and a commitment to the Muslim faith. The Five Pillars can also be described as the framework for Muslim life and they are: Faith (Shahada), Prayer (Salat), concern for the those in need (Zakat), self purification or fasting (sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). Shahada is The Muslim's declaration of faith and professing that there is only one God(Allah) and that Muhammad is the holy messenger. There is a statement that all Muslim's must recite in their daily prayers. That statement is "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger." The muslim faith believes that the first part of the Shahada, "none worthy of worship exept God" refers to us not to be tempted by anything that can be put in the place of God. The second part of the Shahada "Muhammad is his servant and messenger" illustrates that a message of guidance has come through a man like ourselves. Salat is the Islamic prayer, and according to the Sunna there are five daily prayers. Each of the prayer names coincides with the time that these prayers should...
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...Ramadan Quotes. Selembut embun dipagi hari, mengadah tangan sepuluh jari, ucapkan salam setulus hati, selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa di bulan Ramadhan, mohon maaf zahir batin. Marhan yaa Ramadhan, pucuk selasih bertunas menjulang dahannya patah tolong betulkan, puasa Ramadhan kembali menjelang, salah dan khilaf mohon dimaafkan. Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa. Dirangkai kata dengan Bismillah, terucap salam seiring sembah. Sepuluh jari kami aturkan sebagai izin kemaafan. Semogo Ramadhan membawa bahagia buat kita semua. Tiada kasih yang lebih tulus, kecuali hanya dari kasih saying Allah SWT dan hanya keampunan dariNya kita Berbahagia. “Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa, mohon maaf zahir dan batin.” Tiada saat yang dinantikan, selain bulan mulia yang penuh berkat dan keampunan ini. “Selamat berpuasa, mohon maaf zahir dan batin.” Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of God (pbuh), saying: "Allah said 'Every action of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, for that is solely for Me. I give the reward for it. The fast is a shield." May this month of Ramadan be a month of abundance, a month of compassion, and assistance for you and your family. This holy month is full of blessing and wisdom, may the greatness of Allah fulfil your desires and dreams. Abu Umamah reported: "I came to the Messenger of God and said: 'Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.' He said: 'Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.' Then I came to him again...
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...creed (Shahadah), prayer (Salat), charity to the poor (Zakat), fasting during Ramadan (Sawm) and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). These five pillars of Islam are significant for the life of Muslims because its part of their faith and it’s also the basis of the Muslim life. The first pillar is the creed that they stand by and believe which is “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” (Molloy, 2010, p. 431). This is a testimony of faith and it is the most important pillar. The second pillar is prayer, Muslims perform 5 prayer a day (before dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nighttime) and they can pray almost anywhere because it only takes a couple of minutes. The third pillar is charity to the poor, in order have a more balance society Muslims are required to donate a certain percentage of their total income to the poor and in their everyday life they are expected to help out the poor by acts of generosity and charity. The fourth pillar is fasting during Ramadan which means that every year in the month of Ramadan all Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual relations from dawn until sundown as a form of purification. The last pillar is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and it is an obligation once in a lifetime and the only individual that are not expected to do this pilgrimage are the ones that can’t afford to do so or because health wise they are not able to. This is performed in the twelve month of the Islamic calendar and they have to wear special clothes...
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...Five Pillars as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to faith. These five pillars are mentioned individually throughout the Quran and Muhammad listed them together in the Hadith of Gabriel when he was asked to define Islam. Within a few decades of Muhammad's death, the five practices were singled out to serve as anchoring points in the Muslim community and designated "pillars." Fulfillment of the Five Pillars is believed to bring rewards both in this life and in the afterlife. The five pillars of Islam are the Shahada (witnessing the oneness of God and the prophet hood of Muhammad), regular observance of the five prescribed daily prayers (Salah), paying Zakat (almsgiving), fasting (Sawm) during the month of Ramadan, and performance of the hajj (pilgrimage during the prescribed month) at least once in a lifetime for those who are able. First Pillar The first pillar is to declare with conviction that, there is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His messenger. This declaration of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula that all the faithful pronounce. In Arabic, the first part is la ilaha illa Llah - 'there is no god except God'; ilaha (god) can refer to anything which we may be tempted to put in place of God - wealth, power, and the like. Then comes illa Llah: 'except God', the source of all Creation. The first witnessing affirms the acceptance of the divine reality by the human intellect, as a formal proclamation of divine singularity. ...
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...called zakat, this where all Muslims must contribute, half of their yearly earnings to the underprivileged and deprived people. This is believed to help with prejudice in wealth among the people, but it is also meant to keep a person from being money hunger. According to Fischer (Fischer, 2005) Saudi Arabia gives fifteen percent of the country’s gross domestic product earnings to development and relief projects all over the world every year. The Islamic Relief association is subsidized by this; they support communities all over the world after tragedies and other problems. The fourth pillar is fasting, it is urged that all Islamic people do constant fasting; the time that it is necessary is during Ramadan, commemorating the first announcement of the Qur’an to Muhammad. (Fischer, 2005). The fasting during Ramadan takes place between daybreak and dark every day during the month of Ramadan. The fifth pillar is the excursion to Mecca; all Muslim people are wanted to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their life on earth. While in Mecca, settlers walk around the ancient Ka’bah seven times, like the constant rotation around the One by the angels and all of creation, to the seventh heaven. Their hearts should be filled only...
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