— "The month of Ramadan, in which the Quran was sent down, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion" — Holy Quran.
This is a decisive verse of the speech of God Almighty, showing to all the importance of this blessed month for Islam and the Muslims in every quarter of the world. Fasting was not a new idea brought forth by the true religion at the time of its call, for it was counted among the religious rites that existed long before the revealed religions — as in the Indian Buddhist religion, in Zoroastrianism, and in others. And because of the importance of this idea in upholding religious rites, the Mosaic religion adopted it, then the religion of Jesus, and finally the religion of Muhammad. Each of these three religions introduced various modifications into it, suiting its own particular religious idea; we now see them in our midst in
numerous forms. All of them aim at a single idea: drawing near to the Creator, Almighty, through a form of self-denial which man imposes upon himself in obedience to the commands of his religion, that he may withdraw in it from the material side of worldly life. This relative self-denial is either an abstention from certain kinds of food for a fixed period, or a complete abstention from taking anything at all for a period ranging from half the day to the whole of it. In Islam, however, this abstention from food was made complete: nothing whatever, of any kind, is permitted throughout the day and during part of the end of the night.
Fasting was imposed as a binding obligation upon the Muslims, and was made one of the pillars of the true Islamic religion, being counted a form of
pure worship. Several decisive verses were revealed concerning it, made a lamp by whose light the Islamic world has been guided since the spreading of the call; and these noble verses were taken as the authority for this pillar, covering everything that relates to this fundamental obligation of the religion.
On this occasion I call upon the young Muslim generation to grasp the value of this spiritual discipline which God has graciously bestowed upon it, and to make of it a refuge to which it turns with sincere intentions, at a time when the causes of disorder in the affairs of present-day life have grown severe; that it may thus grasp the values of the inner life, take guidance from them, and draw from them the strong paths by which to advance toward the highest ideals in its religion as in its worldly life.
Then, the celebration of this blessed month differs
from one Arab Islamic country to another, but all are alike in preparing many kinds of food and varieties of sweets. Some undertake to feed a goodly number of needy families, and some make of their houses an open guest-house for whoever wants food. As for the customs of breaking the fast, the majority break it immediately after the firing of the cannon, while a portion of them wait to sight the star to make certain the sun has set. In the Hijaz, they break the fast on a few dates and drink a little liquid, then perform the sunset prayer, and after that they take the fast-breaking meal — and this custom is among the best of customs, for in this way they do not burden their stomachs with food all at once.
