Posted on 04/02/2022 2:16:53 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, began this weekend for the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world. From sun-up to sundown, the physically able among them will fast — abstaining not just from food but also so much as a sip of water.
While it's easy to think of Ramadan as a holiday, it's not. Muslims go to work and school and carry on with their everyday life.
In that respect, the true purpose of the month is discipline and dedication. The fast extends to more than food. Muslims are expected to practice how to avoid impure thoughts and deeds.
Ramadan provides a constant physical reminder of God, as well as a reminder of all the people in the world who don't have enough food or water. "It creates an impetus of both gratitude and charity," said Adeel Zeb — Muslim chaplain at The Claremont Colleges — in an interview with NPR in 2017 .
The month is centered on charity, worship, and developing empathy and connection to others. But there is also a strong communal aspect that's an essential part of the experience.
However, for the last two years as a pandemic raged, the coronavirus did away with many of those rituals. Gone were the big group dinners, the visits to the mosques, the early-morning runs to IHOP for pancakes before fasting begins — along with so many other beloved aspects of the month.
This year, many Muslims plan to resume the nightly gatherings, Iftar, where they can break their day-long fast together. Many are also looking forward to the communal tarawih prayers that follow the fast-breaking.
That's welcome news for adherents like Rizwan Ali. "The worst part is just missing people, honestly," Ali, the imam of the Islamic Center of Naperville, Illinois, told NPR in 2020. "I was saying that, you know, after I was preparing for the prayers, I was making wudu [cleansing the body before prayers] in my house. And I was, like, you know, I never thought that I would miss the long lines in the mosque to make wudu and to prepare for the prayer. Well, those are the little things that you miss - the smiles, the faces. I can close my eyes and tell you where each person is sitting. And I'm missing all of those little experiences now."
Ramadan is a month that Muslims believe God revealed the Quran, Islam's holy text, to the Prophet Muhammad. It officially begins at the first sighting of the waxing crescent after the new moon, leading to different countries declaring its start a day or two apart. For most countries this year, it began Friday evening.
The month ends with Eid al-Fitr — a three-day celebration, a time to eat and drink and rejoice after a month of fasting and long nights of worship.
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Nice to see NPR back to bringing up the islamic rituals after 21 years of being the heroes to the left.
islam is kinda back into that ‘icky cult’ phase that they were before 9/11. But yes, our leftist friends need to support these pedo dip$#^ again.
Ramadan Bombathon
Do all religions have the same problem with motivated violence? Is “Islamophobia” a bigger problem than Islamic terror? Is it really even a “phobia”... or is Islam genuinely different? Let’s find out by keeping score during Islam’s holiest month.
https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/site/ramadan-bombathon.aspx
Updates daily.
I was very fortunate to narrowly avoid a stampede at Long John Silver’s. Whew!
“1.8 billion Muslims”. Maybe 750,000. NPR is a failed organization. In other news, 15,000 people leave Islam every day because of its violence and disrespect of women. I pity the fool at NPR who are dumb, failed losers.
It’s the stupid Islam.
muslims(SPIT!
SPJNK.
Tomorrow is a feast/banquet day for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the New Moon Day. The beginning of months as in the days of Moses.
It’s a day, once a month, that commemorates Genesis 1:1, John 1:1, John 1:14.
Islam doesnt know that.
Maybe Judaism and Christianity doesn’t know that either
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