Blessings of Ramadan

 Ramadan

Ramadan or Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان, Husher Pronunciation: [ra.ma.dˤaːn], Persian: رمضان, Urdu: رمضان, Pronunciation: [ra.ma.zaːn], Turkish: Ramazan, Indonesian : Ramadan) is the 9th month of the Hijri calendar (Islamic calendar). From sunrise to sunset of this month, one of the obligations of Muslims is "fasting (Saum)", and eating and drinking is stopped.

Overview

Many people mistakenly think of "Ramadan" as fasting, but Ramadan is just the name of the month in the Hijri calendar. However, the word Ramadan is increasingly meaning fasting today.

In Ramadan, which means September in the Hijri calendar, the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, making Ramadan a "holy month" for Muslims.

In this month, Muslims focus on developing hunger and self-sacrifice and empathy for hungry people and equality by refusing to eat or drink at all from sunrise to sunset. Also, by sharing a painful experience with relatives and friends, the sense of solidarity between Muslims is strengthened, and many donations (zakat) and alms (iftar) are made .

During fasting, not only do you stop eating and drinking, but you also cut off quarrels, bad talk, struggles, and other desires for smoking and sexual intercourse to purify yourself and strengthen your Islamic faith.

Name

The three-letter root in Arabic is "رمض" (R-M-Ḍ), which means "hot and hot".

Based on pronunciation in non-Arabic languages ​​such as Persian, it can also be written as Ramadan or Ramadan. Ramadan da sound ض (modern standard Arabic sound dˤ) is called dard, which is a difficult phoneme to approximate in other languages. At the classical Arabic stage (at least when Sibawayh wrote a grammar that spans both descriptive and normative aspects), it was a pharyngealized sound that was a mixture of the, da, and la (voiced pharyngealized lateral rupture-affricate). ~ Affricate).

Therefore, in languages ​​borrowed from Arabic in a relatively old age, such as Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and other languages ​​in West Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia, there are many examples of incorporating Dard with the sound of z. Therefore, there are many languages ​​that are "Ramazan" and "Ramazan".

In languages ​​borrowed from Arabic in a relatively new era, such as Indonesian and other Southeast Asian languages, there are many examples of incorporating Dard in the sound of d to become "Ramadan." Many Swahili words incorporate dard in the friction consonant dh (ð), and Ramadan is called ramadhani. In Hausa, the word forms adopted in each of d and l coexist. This is the result of borrowing the pronunciation of classical Arabic and modern standard Arabic for each language.

Period

The Hijri calendar is a pure lunar calendar and is not corrected by leap months, so the Gregorian calendar of the solar calendar is about 11 days earlier every year, and the seasons complete in about 33 years. Therefore, it is said that "Muslims experience Ramadan in the same season twice in their lives."

The start and end of the month of Ramadan is done by observation of the new moon by religious people in most countries, but in Turkey etc. it is decided according to the calendar based on calculation. In the Ramadan moon rush method by visual inspection, if the new moon cannot be confirmed due to clouds, etc., it will be off by one day. In the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions, where the midnight sun is in the summer, adjustments can be made to match the sunrise and sunset times of neighboring countries.

During Ramadan, Ramadan is considered to be a period of some sacredness, as Muslims around the world share the same challenges.

During the period of Ramadan, the greeting رمضان كريم (Ramadan Kareem, "Congratulations on the graceful month of Ramadan") is used.

Fasting

Fasting does not mean that you will completely fast for a month, but you will eat a day's worth of food between sunset and sunrise (= from evening to early dawn). This meal is barley porridge with more water than usual, and drinks goat's milk.

If there are reasonable circumstances such as travelers, hard workers, pregnant women / maternity women / sick people, infants, elderly people, and mentally unstable people, they are exempted from fasting. It should also be noted that its scope of application has some flexibility and breadth. In addition, those who are exempted include those who need to fast again later (travelers, pregnant women, menstruating people, etc.) and those who do not need to do it again (elderly people, infants, seriously ill people who are unlikely to recover, etc.) ).

Whether or not to fast is, in principle, a matter of religious morals. Expanding the interpretation that travelers are exempt from fasting, some Muslim millionaires go on trips to Ramadan and do what is called fasting escape (but not in that case). I have to fast again on that day). Also, it is basically not forced by heathens.

Fasting is done to relive the hardships of Hijra's journey. Therefore, it is not the purpose itself to reduce the intake of food and drink or to suffer pain. It is imposed as a religious test to the last. It is also said to make people feel thankful for food.

It is said that it is good to eat immediately at sunset and eat until the sun rises, so just in case after sunset, refrain from eating for a while or eat and drink long before the sun rises. It is not appropriate to stop it.

It's perfectly fine to take every possible measure to relieve suffering. For example, on days when there is no work, you may sleep during the day except when worshiping. It's perfectly okay to eat more before sunrise to relieve hunger during the day, and it's not forbidden to take any measures to prevent the loss of water in the body during the day.

Also, fasting throughout the year is completely prohibited, and fasting throughout the day and night is also prohibited (although the Prophets Moses (Moses) and Ether (Jesus) exceptionally fasted throughout the day and night. It is said that there are times). It is customary not to fast the day before Ramadan.

Intention is greatly involved in the establishment of fasting. For example, if you forget to fast and inadvertently eat or drink something, fasting will not be invalidated. On the other hand, even if you are not eating or drinking, it is said to be invalid if you do not intend to fast. For example, if you stop fasting because of too much pain and look for food and drink, but you can't find it until sunset, that doesn't mean you've fasted.

Rather, during Ramadan, the night meals are bigger and more food than usual, as they eat up while the sun is setting (thus even patrolling those who wake up when the sun isn't rising). It is said that the sales of goods will improve and more people will become obese.

Actions prohibited during the fasting period include eating, drinking, smoking, sexual activity, medication (however, those who have health problems are exempt from fasting, so medication is unavoidable), and intentionally vomiting. Swallowing spit, gargling, brushing teeth, bathing, taking a nap, etc. are permitted (see Islamic Culture Center Fasting Guide, etc.).

Even after sunset, it is said that eating things that are banned in Islam, not to mention those that are not clear whether they are banned or not, should be avoided. In addition, some Islamic extremists may take measures that have a significant impact on the lives of citizens, such as turning off electricity in controlled areas during Ramadan .