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  • Old Fanous Ramadan, also known as Ramadan lantern is a famous Egyptian folklore associated with Ramadan.
    The Ismaili | 10 March 2024 | Global

    Ramadan

    Old Fanous Ramadan, also known as Ramadan lantern is a famous Egyptian folklore associated with Ramadan. Image: Creative Commons License
  • Together with other Muslims, Ismailis celebrate Ramadan as a month of special felicity.
    The Ismaili | 10 March 2024 | Global

    Ramadan

    Together with other Muslims, Ismailis celebrate Ramadan as a month of special felicity. Image: The Ismaili

In Muslim tradition, Ramadan is a time of heightened commitment to piety and purification through special observances such as fasting, the performance of good deeds – including charitable giving and voluntary service – and through personal sacrifices of material comforts. These observances can lead to spiritual fulfilment and a sense of renewal.

Ramadan is the holy month in which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur'an. Together with other Muslims, Ismailis celebrate Ramadan as a month of special felicity “in which the Holy Qur'an was sent down as a guide to humankind…” (Qur'an 2:185).

One of the many devotional practices Muslims observe at various points of the year, including Ramadan, is fasting (sawm in Arabic and roza in Persian and Urdu). Muslims have different ways of fasting, including all forms of self-restraint. This includes not eating and drinking, feeding a poor person, being absorbed in the remembrance of God, avoiding gossip or saying mean things, not being greedy with one’s eyes or mouth, showing humility, and the purification of oneself.

The fast of Ramadan is an important part of the faith: “O believers, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was for those who preceded you that you may be God-fearing” (Qur'an 2:183). Thus, the fast continues a practice which pre-dates Islam, and has been rendered more humane since religion is not intended to be a cause of hardship. For individuals who are unable to fast, such as those who are elderly, sick, pregnant, or nursing a child, it is suggested to feed the poor and needy instead. This emphasis on charitable giving reinforces Islam’s ethic of giving to those who are in greatest need in society to improve their quality of life.

According to general Muslim belief shared by Shia and Sunni alike, the deeper purpose of fasting is understood as that of cultivating and reinforcing the spiritual and moral character of the faithful, who thus live a life of piety and balance, without forsaking the good things of this world bestowed by Allah's grace (Qur'an 7:31-32). Muslims are expected to practice self-restraint for the sake of Allah's pleasure, remaining ever conscious of His presence. Such are the truly God-fearing.

The emphasis on human character is especially underlined. A tradition of the Prophet's beloved daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima Zahra asks what benefit accrues to one who fasts if one does not safeguard one's tongue, ears and limbs. This ethic of self-restraint echoes strictures of the Qur'an: “the hearing, the sight, the heart – all of those shall be questioned.” (Qur'an 17:36). Only when the senses are reined in, does conscience make itself heard, and the soul experience tranquillity, well pleased with itself and well pleasing to its Lord (Qur'an 89:28).