What is Ramadhan

#1 - It's a month. Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and lasts for 29 or 30 days. A new full moon indicates a new month, so all Muslims can easily estimate when Ramadhan starts and ends. After Ramadhan is Syawal, the first day of which is Hari Raya Aidilfitri. #2 - Atonement and Fasting. The month of Ramadhan is the holiest time of the year for Muslims. It's a time for atonement, fasting, prayers and spiritual reflection. Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadhan. In Malaysia, that's 12 hours of no food, no drinks, and religiously observing all five prayer times every day as well as 'tarawikh' prayers. While it is not mandatory to attend 'tarawikh' prayers, it is however encouraged, as these prayers will cover readings from the entire al-Quran over the duration of Ramadhan. The act of fasting is meant to pull Muslims away from worldly thoughts and deeds, to physically cleanse the body, while prayers and reflection cleanse the mind. Fasting is one of the main pillars of Islam, making it compulsory for all Muslims to fast during Ramadhan. The only ones exempted are the sick, the old, the mentally disabled, pre-pubescent children, and pregnant women. In short, if you are able to fast, then you must. #3 - Appreciation for food. After abstaining from food for 12 hours, Muslims naturally start planning their meals from sahur to buka puasa or iftar. Sahur is the last meal you have before fasting starts and is meant to last you the whole day before iftar comes around at about 7.30pm. It's traditionally served at 5.00 am and could consist of oats or fibre-rich cereal, even full meals with rice and noodles. Traditionally for buka puasa, Muslims break their fast with water and three dates, just like Prophet Muhammad did, before beginning their meal. Buffets at hotels and restaurants are common during the fasting month. Malaysians, Muslims or not, like to gather together for merry making over sumptuous food, as Ramadhan is also a time to heal, mend or enhance relationships.

#4 - Charity. One of the main reasons for fasting is for Muslims to reflect on their blessings over the year and to provide insight to the hunger and thirst that an extremely poor person would have to endure. This then gives way to another purpose of Ramadhan - doing charity. Muslims also pay annual tithes also known in Malay as 'zakat fitrah' - this cleanses oneself of worldly possessions, and is a form of 'taxation' that will be channelled towards charity or fund religious activities. Some mosques around Malaysia also provide bubur lambuk (a type of porridge) for free come iftar time. #5 - Syawal. Eid-Al-Fitr, or locally known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Eid marks the start of Syawal, which is the month after Ramadhan, and is celebrated by Muslims the world over. Like all the other months in the Muslim calendar, the arrival of Eid is indicated by the full moon. In Malaysia, Muslims don their new clothes and throng the mosques in the morning to mark the start of another year before the next fasting month. Muslims believe that if you do everything right during Ramadhan, all your sins are cleared and you begin Syawal again on a clean slate. The rest of the day is then spent merrymaking with family and friends over good food and fireworks in the evening.

Why do Muslims fast?

The religion says so Yes, the religion says so - it is one of the five main pillars of Islam. The rest being proclaiming the shahadah, praying five times a day, paying annual zakat or tithes, and fulfilling pilgrimage or the Haj. But then again, so do Christians fast during the month of Lent, only not quite so stringently. While Christians opt for liquid fasts (where you're allowed to drink liquids), fruit fasts (where you're allowed to eat fruits), or simply go vegetarian, Muslims have a much more uniform set of rules. These rules are then policed by the religious authorities in Malaysia. Muslims, however, are not a bunch of people so quick to do something without purpose, just because the book says so. To appreciate food and water Muslims fast in order to appreciate what other less fortunate people in the world

struggle to have on a regular day. The absence of regular meals and clean water is a very real scenario in so many poverty-stricken places in the world. To channel charity and good deeds Muslims gain brownie points, or pahala, in heaven when they do good deeds on earth. Practising self-restraint while giving to charity in cash or in kind, or by simply doing good deeds, gives those brownie points more meaning. To build endurance towards fighting temptation It is said that the devil and all his unholy creatures do not walk the earth during the month of Ramadhan. This gives Muslims a clear passage to performing all that they need to during the month of Ramadhan, free of temptations, so they may be good Muslims the rest of the year. Think of Ramadhan as an intensive, month-long, closed-door training session, in preparation of the religious Olympics that occur the remaining 11 months of the year, where there are nasty competitors waiting to trip you during any part of the race. To cleanse your body and soul Fasting isn't just about the physical aspect of depriving your body of food and drinks from sun up to sun down. It's about focusing on the right things, like prayer and atonement, and about shying away from things that tempt you from your faith. Muslims stay away from sex, alcohol, drugs (although alcohol and drugs are absolutely forbidden all of the time and not just during Ramadhan), jealousy, vindictiveness, anger, and bad intentions during Ramadhan. Practising patience, love, understanding, generosity and all good traits are things that make up the other part of the Muslim fast that goes beyond physical restrictions. To add to their spiritual cleansing, Muslims are also meant to pray five times a day and reflect upon their sins the rest of the time. (http://malaysia.msn.com/Ramadhan special) Answer the questions

Muslims pay ..

Month ..

What is Ramadhan?

Muslims were abstained from food for . Fast is compulsory for all . muslims except

Holiest time of the year to .. .

Gain

One of the ..pillar of Islam

Cleanse body and soul from .

Why do muslims fast?

Appreciate

Build endurance

Question Write a summary on why do muslims fast Muslims do fast in Ramadhan because ..................................................................................................................

. Here are 9 simple things to try for a better you and a better society: 1.Talk to God: instead of talking to our friends for at least 6 hours a day, let's talk to God for 10 minutes a day. It could be in the form of praying or just plain and simple talk, try it you'll feel relieved. In the end, there's no better listener and word won't get out. 2.Help someone: anyone. A lot of people around us need help. Whether it's the blind man crossing the street, the old lady carrying her groceries, your mum loaded with house work, or even a poor man asking for money; always lend someone a hand, you never know when you'll need one. 3.Share: sharing isn't just for Facebook. Share your food with your neighbour, your car with someone who needs a ride, your time at a shelter, or even your old clothes with the less fortunate. One man's trash is another man's treasure, keep that in mind. 4.Read: I know the book of God isn't exactly 'Eat, Pray, Love' but if you read 4 pages after each prayer, by the end of Ramadan you would've read the whole book. Remember, what's more important than reading the Quraan, is understanding it and taking interest in what it says. 5.Smile: spread love, you never know who could be breaking down and waiting for you to cheer them up. A simple smile to someone you don't necessarily know (and I'm not encouraging flirtatious, hair-flipping smiles at the hot boy at the gym) will uplift their mood almost instantly. 6.Be useful: donations don't have to be just money. You can donate your time at a shelter or an orphanage to help teach less fortunate kids something useful. There must be at least one subject you're good at that you can pass on to someone else. You can also help plant fruitful trees in your neighbourhood, hand out ice-water bottles to traffic police, paint a discoloured wall in your area, or compliment the garbage collector on how important his job is. 7.Feed someone: carry dates in your bag and hand them out at Eftar time. On a much bigger scale, help cook meals and pack food bags to be sent to poor villages in your area. It's great to feed someone in Ramadan, but it's 10 times greater if you do that all year long. 8.Keep your mouth shut: That kind of applies all year round. If you have something nice to say about someone say it, if you don't be quiet. 9.Hold your horses: easy on the F-word. Not just because Eftar time came and you've broken your fast means you'll be swearing at every person you see till the next morning. Words are very powerful, use them correctly.