Essay Islamic Fasting

Submitted By pierrewatson
Words: 618
Pages: 3

Islamic Holiday (Ramadan) Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset. During Ramadan for 1 whole month Muslims will completely stop drinking fluids and eating foods. Ramadan is used to re-evaluate their selves lives and to make peace with the people that have wronged them in the past, they also use this time to help strengthen their family as a whole and to do away with their bad habits. During Ramadan, every single part of their body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at bad things. The hand cannot touch anything that does not belong to them. The ears must refrain from hearing bad words and listening to other peoples conversations. And last the feet must refrain from walking to sinful places. So in a way, every part of the body observes the fact. According to Islam, one night during the month of Ramadan in the year 610 A.D. when Muhammad was 40 years of age and was passing the month in meditation in Mount Hira, he had a vision of an angel appearing before him. This angel introduced himself as Jibril and revealed that Muhammad was the messenger of Allah and was born to be a prophet to his people. The angel asked Muhammad to recite what he said: "Recite in the name of your Lord who creates. Creates man from a clot. And your Lord is the most bountiful who teaches by the pen, He teaches man what he does not know." With a confounded mind, Muhammad descended from Mount Hira and told everything to his wife Khadijah. He feared that he had had an encounter with an evil spirit. But Khadijah stopped his fears and reminding him of his good conduct until then and that it was impossible for him to be visited by a demon. She took him to her old cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal and told the latter everything about Muhammad's meeting with the angel. Waraqa ibn Nawfal was a much learned man and was well-versed in various sacred texts concerning different religion. The lettered man convinced Muhammad that he was indeed a messenger of God and the angel who visited Muhammad was the same divine messenger Gabriel who had also visited the