It has been a very long time since I have replied or visited this site and I don't remember how to properly reply but Soittosondhani's post today served to buttress the position that I have understood from my reading of the Qur'an! The only two examples of fasting that I have discerned are the fast of Mariam, the mother of Isa and the fast of Zakharia, both which consisted of NOT talking! As has been mentioned in the Qur'an, fasting has been prescribed for us as it was prescribed for those before us, then it only makes sense to observe the fast as described in the Qur'an by those before us! It is my thinking that somewhere along the line, Muslims in imitation of and influence of the Judeo-christian practices, adopted their view about the matter but per the example of Mariam, she observed silence in her vow to fast for Al Rahman!

Fish_Launcher I LOVE your avatar thingy or whatever you call it! Brilliant! VERY slick! As far as the issue of marijuana is concerned, I agree with some of the posters in that, the things that have been forbidden by THE maker of ALL the RULES are spelled out plainly and that makes EVERYTHING else PERMISSIBLE! Regardless of how one FEELS about the subject, NONE can make HARAM what THE rule maker does NOT!!! Did THE creator NOT also create THIS plant? Is THE creator in the habit of creating that which has NO purpose in HIS creation? FOR ME, the Qur'an is MY guide and I have NEVER read in IT, "and the marijuana plant is HARAM for you!!! DO NOT consume or come near this plant"!!! THEY follow naught but conjecture and the traditions of MEN!!! NOT I!!!

For Earthdom, can you better describe what the text looked like? Meaning exactly how were the words arranged, each word atop the other, or what? Just curious!

For Earthdom, can you describe better what the text looked like, meaning were the words or phrases stacked on top of one

Ok, I am well aware of this ayat but the problem still remains in my mind concerning the fast of Mary mother of Eesa being that she not speak not eating played no part in this description of what fasting entails. The ayat that you quoted does not say "and abstain from eating and drinking and sexual intercourse". Other than the description of the fast of Mary, not speaking, there is no other ayah that describes what exactly entails, is there?

where did you get this spelling from?

It has been a very long time since I have posted on this site and am not sure if my concern even fits this category but my question is why is it assumed that fasting means forsaking food and drink when the only example of fasting cited in the book is of Mary mother of Eesa and her example of fasting was no talking? Where is the command from Al Ilahe(The god) to abstain from food and drink?

salaamoon alaykoom, i remember hearing or reading a story about the times of muhammad, that upon hearing the revelation from The god concerning wine or khamar, the streets of the city flowed with the wine that these beleivers desposed of, as in "we hear and we obey.Therefore, if it is clear that the month of Ramadhan has passed us by then why the pretense that this is still Ramadhan?Following traditions or the crowds is still just that, shirk. So follow the Quran and common sense and just "do the damn thing"

There is this site at http//www.studyquran.co.uk/, which has about 30 different translations.

Salaamoon alaykoom, Ayman
That is exactly the problem that i am having. What does the word "Allah" mean? Logic and reasoning tell me that conventional understanding of "Allah" meaning God is not a fair representation of this word especially when the word for god, "ilaah", is juxtaposed with "Allah". For me and my relationship with our creator, it is enough for me to call upon Him with the article "Al" because He has made it absolutely clear to me that He is THE! As in "howa al". Everything else in the universe is "a", as in a sun, a galaxy, etc. He is the only THE in this creation so it only stands to reason that He is THE god!, and the most reasonable meaning that i can derive from the word "Allah" is THE god as in "al ilaah". What else can a reasonable and logic mind conclude when looking at all of the attributes with which He describes Himself, THE RaHman, THE RaHeem, THE King, etc. etc. etc.
thank you for your response

salaamoon alaykoom, i have been bothered for a while about the correct pronounciation of the word "Allah" because when i began to study arabic many years ago, i was taught that this word was spelled with what is called "dagga" alif over the shaddah but at the same time taught that the word "Allah" was pronounced with "a" as in "father". It never made sense to me that this was the only word with "dagga" alif that was pronounced that way. All other words that contained this vowel marking were pronounced with "aa" as in "alif". What else i noticed is that the newest publications of The Noble Quran now do not use the "dagga" alif over the shaddah in the word "Allah" but now use "fatha". Can anyone here explain why this is?