Pillars of Islam: Fasting

The 3rd Pillar of Islam

It allows the rich to stay without food like the poor so that they can understand their suffering

Ramadan is the Holy Month in which the Quran was sent down for mankind. Some traditions also say that the Torah, Zaboor and other books were also sent down in Ramzan

Allah has used the word "Sawm" in the Quran to describe it, an Arabic word which means "to stop".

Fasting ends when the moon of Shawwal is sighted. Then on the 1st of Shawwal Eid ul Fitr is celebrated

It is obligatory for every sane Muslim who is healthy and an adult. Only a few are exempted who are:

1. Pregnant or feeding a baby - Qaza or Fidya

2. Permanently sick or feeding a baby - Fidya

3. Travellers - Qaza

4. Too weak to fast and have a fear of dying - Fidya

5. Old and feeble - Fidya

• Qaza Fasting: Fasting after the month of Ramadan. Same method, same duration

• Fidya: Compensation paid by those who cannot do Qaza fasting. For 1 fast you have to feed 1 person two meals a day or give the equivalent in money to 2.25 kg of wheat value

• Kuffara: It is paid when a person intentionally breaks the fast. Consecutive fasting for 60 days or feeding people for 30 days, 2 meals a day. They can also give money equivalent to that

Individual Benefits:

1. Rewarded for 6 days of Shawwal as the whole month of Ramadan

2. Makes us feel grateful to Allah, and helps us to give up haram acts (spiritual benefit)

3. Helps us to lose weight and allows the body to digest food

4. Helps us to receive patience, willpower and determination

5. Makes us stray from Satan's path by developing an attitude of simplicity in people

Social Benefits:

1. It provides a sense of fraternity and solidarity with the whole Muslim ummah

2. Develops empathy for the poor as now the rich know the pain and suffering of hunger

3. Helps the poor to survive for at least a month due to contributions

4. Develops brotherhood through prayers as both rich and poor are praying together

5. Makes people loyal to their leader as they have to follow how the Imam prays

Notes by Miss Nabila Ali (2021), compiled by Rayyan Jamil Khan of Class VIII-G Karachi Grammar School - Middle Section