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In
Birmingham, thousands of Muslims, both active and passive, will
be participating in fasting during the holy month.
Ideally,
it is expected of Muslims who are considered adults of sound mind
to participate fully by observing all thirty fasts while abstaining
from food, drink, sexual relations and bad actions during the hours
of fast.
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| Muslim
man |
Bringing
oneself closer to God...
While
food, drink and sexual relations may be resumed in the month when
one is not fasting, the purpose of fasting is to bring oneself closer
to God by remembering Him.
The
objective of refraining from bad actions, bad etiquette and sin
for a whole month is to help Muslims enforce new resolutions for
the coming year where they will permanently give up some of the
things which they've managed to refrain from in the holy month.
Many
usually start with something small such as smoking, which is greatly
disapproved of in Islam and in some cases forbidden, and try to
remove the habit altogether.
Changing
for the better...
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| Muslim
husband and wife at Eid Mela in Birmingham |
Most
Muslims always wish to better themselves in their character, their
understanding, their relationship and respect with others as well
as their practice of their faith.
However,
because Muslims are imperfect like all other human beings, they
reach any desired goal by way of hard work and challenges.
Therefore,
this month enables ordinary Muslims, all at different stages in
their conviction of Islamic principles and action, to take steps
towards changing their personal character and improving their relationship
and connection with God.
This
remembrance, closeness and understanding of God and His creation
is known as Taqwa and this is what Ramadhan is all about. Another
purpose of fasting, although in a lesser form, is that of welfare
contribution, one of the pillars of the Islamic faith.
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| Prayers
at Birmingham Central Mosque |
Remembering
the less fortunate...
Muslims
remember the less fortunate and starving in the world and make extra
effort to pray for them and to donate money during Ramadhan.
Before
Eid day, Muslim families are expected to pay around £2/3 on
behalf of each member of the family as Sadaqa, which is given by
mosques to charitable causes in the third world.
Ramadhan
at Central Mosque ...
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| Birmingham
Central Mosque |
At
the Birmingham Central Mosque in Highgate, Muslims will gather for
special daily Ramadhan Taraweeh prayers in the evenings and at sunset,
they will break their fast together with the Iftar meal kindly provided
by Imran's Restaurant and many more people will attend regular prayer
services.
There
is also a period during the last ten days when some Muslims stay
at the mosque to increase their dedication to the House of God.
This is known as I'tikaf or seclusion.
For
a lot of Muslims, Ramadhan is that time of the year when they can
rejuvenate their spiritual side and increase the positivity of their
outlook on life, always bearing the religious purpose of life in
mind.
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Ramadhan
is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
