Ramadan
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Salaam all,
I was reading 2183-187 again and something crossed my mind.
I'm sure every ex-Sunni here will know that you were told that if you fast the ramaDan, then besides not eating, drinking, smoking, and sex, you should also control your temper. A lot also add controling your hearing and eyesight as well.From the outside, the above seems a very good thing to do. However, I failed to see the extra requirements as in Sunni fasting.
Which brings me to question what is the purpose of aS-Siyam in ramaDan if it is only not to eat and drink and sex?
I was always taught that one who fast but only gets thirst and hunger does not fast good enough.
But according to the qur'an, it is good enough even though we're angry the whole day.
True, controlling our negative emotions should be on a continuous basis, but that's not my concern here.What do you think? Doesn't this an indication that ramaDan fasting is perhaps not simply "not eating and drinking and having sex"?
=adley=
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Peace Adley,
I use Ramadan to reflect through my whole life, and I also try my best to do this when I am not on Ramadan. My idea is that when you are hungry, thirsty, have a sexual drive, etc. and you remember that you can't, then you reflect on even more things in regards to your life and Allah. I really dont see what you gain if you do not do this and gain compassions, discipline, etc. At the same time, I dont understand what the point of not being "angry" is if you end up being angry the rest of the year.
God knows best.
Wa Salaam
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As salamu alaykum wr wb.
Respectfully.Happy Ramadan for you all but i have already fasted in the Ramadan, in the Hottest Month, i mean we have been told not to move the holy months throughout the year, right?
Or did i miss something...?
As salamu alakyum wr wb.
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Salam, in Malaysia, they'll catch you if you're not fasting on the same day they're fasting. Luckly, i look chinese, in case i choose to change my time of fasting.. P
p/s there's an assumption that all malays are borned muslim.
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Ramadan is control of the Nafs, anything that comes into the subtext of nafs is therefore to be controlled. Anyway could someone point to some debates on taraveeh on this site?
Tarawih? That's something that IIRC is never brought up here. . I assume that since it's not mentioned in the Qur'an, it's a nonissue here.
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Salaam Amuslim,
I use Ramadan to reflect through my whole life, and I also try my best to do this when I am not on Ramadan. My idea is that when you are hungry, thirsty, have a sexual drive, etc. and you remember that you can't, then you reflect on even more things in regards to your life and Allah. I really dont see what you gain if you do not do this and gain compassions, discipline, etc. At the same time, I dont understand what the point of not being "angry" is if you end up being angry the rest of the year.
Yes, I agree that hunger, thirst, and controlling of my primal instinct (;D) is a good way to contemplate about life.
As I have said before, this controlling temper and emotion should be done the whole year not just in some "sacred" month. Compassion, discipline, forgiveness, etc... these are the traits that we should cultivate as long as we are alive, as the result of performing salat.Again, I still don't have a satisfying answer yet regarding the "not eating, drinking, and sex" on a certain period of the year yet. If this period is supposed to be a "time out" from our day-to-day hectic life, then it's understandable. So this is what got me thinking that perhaps "kullu waSrabu" is a lot more than I think it is. Or probably I'm just thinking things D
=adley=
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Peace Adley,
For me, I need someone to stand over my head and let me have a time out as I'm a binging personality. This time serves me well in regaining my balance which I wouldn't do if left to my own devices. It's all good to say yes, we should do that all the year round but when something is forbidden for a certain period, it does tend to have an impact that normally doesn't happen. I guess it's a special time then rather than every day. In my view I look at it like a deadline rather than an open ended assignment. A story driven RPG as opposed to a sandbox one. One loses it's impact gradually and the other drives it home. Iono, maybe it's something along these lines, haven't really figured it out yet
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As salamu alaykum wr wb.
Respectfully.I thought we already agreed that Ramadan means The Hottest Month and must be performed during the summer ..... did i miss something?
I would really love to hear comeback to this.
Thank you and God Bless us all.As salamu alaykum wr wb.
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Wa Alaykum Salam
You agreed we didn't ;D
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Peace sister Latifah,
This is only my second time ever fasting for Ramadan and I really think it has helped me in many ways. I have experienced so many things I never would have without fasting and Im so glad that im doing it. I feel that it has helped me to learn empathy for others who may be forced to fast their entire life due to being poor, it has helped me feel more grateful for the things I do have and take for granted, and it has helped me to instill discipline in myself which is one thing I always needed to work on.
Last year when I first converted and fasted I thought that I cant do this, it was very hard at first, I would get sick feeling and dizzy sometimes, but it started getting easier, (like God says in the Quran, "truely after hardship comes ease". ) Now I am very excited about fasting again for Ramadan, i really believe that God proscribed fasting for us and who am I to guess his reasons why, Im sure he knows why he wants us to and what benefits it will bring, I for my part will do it as best that I can, and God willing i will recieve the benefits God intended. To me its a pain better than any pleasure.
Hope your Ramadan is going well Latifah and all others who are fasting.
Kurt
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Peace Kurt,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I recognize most experiences and the teacheable moments that you also had.
I have written about my experiences on my blog and it basically are the same experiences as what you had. The only difference is that I also see the month Ramadan as a way of teaching ourselves to suppress our desires. The two very ruling desires in a humanbeing is the desire for food and the desire for love. That's why I think God asks us to restrain ourselves from food and sex from sunrise till sunset.
I think fasting is more then only learning to suppress our desires, but also to learn (like you already said) to not take food and sex (basically your partner) for granted. It are two very important factors in our life that mostly feed our desires. We should see them as great gifts to humankind and therefore not take them for granted, but appreciate them.Fasting is therefore not only a lesson about suppressing the desires, but also to learn to appreciate the (spiritual and physical) provisions of God. Provisions that others don't have, but pray for God to provide them with it. It gives me a very special feeling and makes me want to show more gratitude to our Creator, the Supreme Being. My passionate love for Him grows from day to day, basically because I got to know Him much better and still are learning a lot about Him. He's truely amazing. Ramadan is just a way of our Master Himself to teach us a very valuable lesson.
Good luck and good health to all the fasting members.
peace
Latifah
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Hello,
Each ramadan i decide to bring more meaning to my spirituality and so i decide to learn something new. This ramadan i decided to read more hadiths and learn what "ahl-e-hadees" actually means (i come from a sunni family).
As i read more and more, i'm troubled by some of the things mentioned in Bukhari. And so i pray to God to give me more patience, guidance and wisdom as i learn more. I'm a married guy, and so many of the things i read about women in hadiths makes very little spiritual sense to me.
So i seek more information on the net. That's how i found this site too. Not all hadiths in Bukhari actually are my points of critical thought, but in combination it is painting quite a different picture of our prophet than from what i want to believe. And hence, this ramadan, my feelings are one of asking Allah to forgive me in questioning the wisdom, but i'm a human and i'm hoping that i can find somewhere in my spirit that light of guidance.
I have decided that it is not right of me to not question those things which are troubling so many muslims around the world. There's a better way of approaching those aspects of the religion which are causing anguish to millions of muslims, and is giving nonmuslims a certain impression about Islam. Hence, i hope to learn more from this site, and somewhere in there will be that gem of wisdom which will let my spirit soar.
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Salaam Latifah,
Salam,
Just curious to know what you guys are experiencing at this time while fasting. Could you tell me something about your experiences? The spiritual and physical ones.
peace
Latifah
First of all, this is my first fasting since I came to God Alone.
My spiritual experience => Honestly, I was much more motivated in my sunni days because there are so many hadiths which mention the virtues during Ramadan. In my sunni days, I tried to do my best not to miss any taraweeh. In addition to that, I am used to perform tasbeeh prayer at least once in Ramadan. However, it doesn't mean that my fasting this time is just like "normal" days. In general, I always feel happier when fasting. sun
My physical experience => I feel the quality of my sleep is better. I also feel my erection is stronger. I am sorry if the latter is considered too vulgar (if it is, then please moderators can simply edit my post).
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salaam, everyone,
i love ramadhan! i have been fasting(in ramadhan off-course) since i was eight! ramadhan helps me concentrate more on schoolwork.
one of the bad experience i have had is that after the evening meal i feel nausious/dizzzy. annyone knows why?
peace, rifat
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For me, the main benefits I get from fasting during ramadhan are that I get to lose some weight and I also get to experience how it feels to be starving. However, I often feel uneasy when it is time for me to break my fasting because just like what Bro Ironsky said there are people who have been fasting throughout their lives due to poverty and they haven't been able to 'break' their fasting just yet.
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Peace all,
Yes, a good remembrance is that many people never eat a full meal and many kids have to go to bed still hungry.
We in the rich world have to humble ourselves more and be thankful for the gifts of our Lord grants us.
I do also fast because I missed the other fasting date in the hottest time.
Peace sis Maria