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Saum, Along with Salat, another important form of worship is fasting. It is
obligatory for each Muslim |
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Along with salat,
another important form of worship is fasting. It is obligatory for each
Muslim, apart from some exemptions, to fast in the month of Ramadhan. During
the hours of fasting, food and drink and conjugal relations between husband
and wife are forbidden. It is enjoined that during fasting one should pay
attention to remembrance of God and study the Holy Quran in abundance. One
should try to curtail one's worldly pastimes as much as possible during
Ramadhan, and to be particularly inclined towards charity and alms giving.
Human life is dependent on food and drink and the continuation of the human
race depends on the marital relationship. While fasting one refrains from
them both, as if bearing witness to God that for His pleasure man gives up
the factors (temporarily) upon which his very existence depends. The various
other benefits of fasting are that man gets to exercise sacrificing physical
comfort and to endure hunger and thirst. Fasting creates a sense of equality
between the rich and the poor. By developing an appreciation of hunger and
thirst, it makes the well-off think of the needs of the poor and impresses a
feeling of compassion in their hearts. It makes them appreciate, through the
practicality of it, the state a human being endures when hungry and thirsty.
Ramadhan is a most effective and excellent means of spiritual development
for mankind. |
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