ram-uh-dahn
Also written Ramazan, Ramadhan, Ramadaan
This will be my first year attempting to observe Ramadan. It’s also the first year I have heard of it. Therefore, I have been doing a little bit of research recently on the origins and meaning of this month-long holiday.The month of Ramadan has been around since before Islam appeared on the Arabian Penninsula. It is the 9th month on the Arabic lunar calendar and is believed to be the month in which the prophet Mohammed received the Qur’an. During this month, Muslims around the world practice fasting, prayer, and self-sacrifice as a way to cleanse themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually.
The Qur’an encourages those who are able to abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex from sunrise to sunset for the 30 or 31 days of Ramadan. If you look deeper into the purpose of this time of fasting, it could also be interpreted as a month to reject evil. Therefore one might refrain from such things as cursing, fighting, arguing, and other negative behaviors. The Qur’an makes it clear that this is not a time when God wishes to place a burden on His followers. This is an opportunity to exercise self-control and patience by restraining one’s self from the natural desires of the flesh, and it also helps one to understand what life is like for those who do not have these comforts.
Along with fasting, more emphasis is placed on prayer and service to the needy during this time. Therefore, Ramadan is a month to sacrifice one’s personal wants and desires in order to sympathize with those less fortunate, serve the community, and ultimately draw closer in communion with our Creator and Sustainer, God. After all, true worship is serving others.
As I examined the purpose of Ramadan, I noticed that this is something I can appreciate as well. Jesus also encouraged His followers to fast, pray, and serve those less fortunate. In his letters, Paul wrote of the tremendous challenge we have in denying the selfish desires of the flesh. Therefore, intentionally choosing to serve God rather than ourselves brings us closer to a life of submission to God. If this is a month of physical, mental, and spiritual cleansing for our Muslim neighbors, why don’t we make it a time to fast from something that keeps us from better communion with God?
During these 30-31 days of Ramadan, about 1.6 billion people around the world are earnestly seeking a closer, more devoted relationship with their Creator. Nearly 2 million of them are in the United States. If these Muslims are seeking a deeper connection with Allah, what better time would there be for us to lift them up in prayer that God might encounter them in a deeper and more personal way than they have even imagined? Perhaps God might choose this month to reveal Himself to those who are seeking him.
Sources:
www.wikipedia.com
www.holidays.net
www.factbook.net
