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NEWS TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2016 MEDAN: Students perform a prayer on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia yesterday. — AP What is Ramadan and why do Muslims fast? DUBAI: Millions of Muslims around the world yesterday marked the start of Ramadan, a month of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. Others will begin fasting a day later, Tuesday, due to a moon-sighting methodology that can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart. Here are some questions and answers about Islam’s holiest month: Why do Muslims fast? The fast is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. Ramadan is a time to detach from worldly pleasures and focus on one’s inner self. It’s seen as a way to physically and spiritually purify, refraining from habits such as smoking and caffeine. Muslims often donate to charities during the month and feed the hungry. Many spend more time at mosques during Ramadan and use their downtime to recite the Quran. London’s new Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, wrote in the Guardian that he plans to use Ramadan to “build bridges” and break bread with Muslims and non-Muslims around the city at synagogues, churches and mosques, though he acknowledged that 19-hour-long fasts during the longer summer days in Europe and forgoing coffee will be challenging. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity, and performing the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. How do Muslims fast? Observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk for the entire month of Ramadan. A single sip of water or a puff of a cigarette is enough to invalidate the fast. However, Muslim scholars say it’s not enough to just avoid food and drinks during the day. Ramadan is also an exercise in selfrestraint. Muslims are encouraged to avoid gossip and arguments. Sexual intercourse between spouses is also forbidden during the daytime fast. Just before the fast, Muslims have a predawn meal of power foods to get them through the day, the “suhoor.” Egyptians eat mashed fava beans called “ful,” spiced with cumin and olive oil, while in Lebanon and Syria, popular suhoor food is flatbread with thyme, cheese or yogurt. In Afghanistan, people eat dates and dumplings stuffed with potato and leeks, first steamed, then fried. How Muslims break their fast Muslims traditionally break their fast like the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did some 1,400 years ago, with a sip of water and some dates at sunset. That first sip of water is the most anticipated moment of the day. After sunset prayers, a large feast known as “iftar” is shared with family and friends. Iftar is a social event as much as it is a gastronomical adventure. Across the Arab world, apricot juices are an iftar staple. In South Asia and Turkey, yogurt-based drinks are popular. Every night of Ramadan, mosques and aid organizations set up tents and tables for the public to have free iftar meals. But large crowds at mosques can also be targets for extremists. As the war with the Taliban intensifies, Afghan and US military officials have said they expect attacks to increase during Ramadan. Nigerian intelligence officials also say the extremist Boko Haram group plans to Month of Quran Continued from Page 1 And mankind in general is addressed with invitations to believe in God and mold life around that belief, and they are informed of the consequences of accepting or rejecting God’s invitation. The Quran’s purpose is to inform people of a reality beyond their five senses and their perceptions of space and time, and to teach moral lessons and develop spirituality. With the additional perspective it offers, the Quran also invites people to adopt a lifestyle that ensures ultimate happiness and success. Finally, through stories and instruction, it describes the beliefs and practices that are essential to achieve that state. The verses of the Quran were revealed to address particular situations, to relate historical information and to codify Islamic law. Common subjects are descriptions of God, stories of prophets, descriptions of believers and disbelievers, promises of God’s rewards, especially Paradise, warnings about consequences for rebellion toward God, including Hellfire, instructions for personal conduct, guidelines for familial and social relations, and a framework for international relations. Being an oral revelation first and foremost, devout Muslims learn how to recite the holy scripture as it was revealed. Verbatim memorization is common and care is taken to reproduce the exact pronunciation and vocal duration of each letter. Arabic is a rich language, and words of the Quran have great depth and breadth; therefore, they also study the meaning of the words, verses and chapters, and there are encyclopedic works of this nature. In addition, Muslims study the occasions of revelation, the relation of the holy text to prophetic traditions, and the application of princi- attack Muslims during morning and evening prayers. Can Muslims be exempted? Yes. There are exceptions for children, the elderly, those who are ill, women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating, and people traveling, which can include athletes during tournaments. Many Muslims, particularly those living in the United States and Europe, are accepting and welcoming of others around them who aren’t observing Ramadan. However, nonMuslims or adult Muslims who eat in public during the day can be fined or even jailed in some Mideast countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which is home to large Western expat populations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In many predominantly Muslim countries like Indonesia, karaoke bars and nightclubs are closed across much of the country for the month. Restaurants there use curtains to conceal customers who eat during the day. And in Egypt, the Dar Al-Ifta, which is the main authority in charge of issuing religious edits, on Monday warned against eating in public, saying this is not an act of “personal freedom, but chaos - an assault on Islam.” In China, minority Uighur Muslims complain of heavy restrictions by the Communist Party, such as bans on fasting by party members, civil servants, teachers and students during Ramadan, as well as generally enforced bans on children attending mosques, women wearing veils and young men growing beards. Ramadan traditions Typically, the start of the month is welcomed with the greet- ing of “Ramadan kareem!” Another hallmark of Ramadan is nightly prayer at the mosque among Sunni Muslims called “taraweeh.” Egyptians have the tradition of Ramadan lanterns called the “fanoos,” often the centerpiece at an iftar table or seen hanging in window shops and from balconies. In the Arabian Gulf countries, wealthy families hold “majlises” where they open their doors for people to pass by all hours of the night for food, tea, coffee and conversation. Increasingly common are Ramadan tents in fivestar hotels that offer lavish and pricey meals from sunset to sunrise. While Ramadan is a boon for retailers in the Middle East and South Asia, critics say the holy month is increasingly becoming commercialized. Scholars have also been disturbed by the proliferation of evening television shows during Ramadan. In Pakistan, live game shows give away gifts promoting their sponsors. In the Arab world, month-long soap operas starring Egypt’s top actors, rake in millions of dollars in advertising. The end of Ramadan The end of Ramadan is marked by intense worship as Muslims seek to have their prayers answered during “Laylat alQadr” or “the Night of Destiny.” It is on this night, which falls during the last 10 nights of Ramadan, that Muslims believe that God sent the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and revealed the first versus of the Quran. The end of Ramadan is celebrated by a three-day holiday called Eid al-Fitr. Children often receive new clothes, gifts and cash. Muslims attend early morning Eid prayers the day after Ramadan. Families usually spend the day at parks and eating - now during the day. — AP Holy Month begins ples by renowned scholars and rulers. The study of the Quran develops moral reasoning and spirituality first and foremost, as well as thought processes of logic, sequencing, deduction, intuition, assimilation and abstraction. Reciting and memorizing it develops memory, enunciation and self-expression. The printed Quran is revered as a holy book and is treated with respect. It is not considered casual reading or handled like an ordinary book. There is only one version of the Quran, and careful measures are taken that prints and reprints of the Quran in Arabic are authenticated by authoritative bodies for accuracy. Since the Quran is an Arabic-language literary masterpiece both technically and aesthetically, it is impossible to portray its rhythm, rhyme, depth of denotation and subtlety of connotation in another language. There are many translations of the Quran, but we cannot call a translation “the Quran” but only an approximation of the meaning of the Quran. The best English translations have the accompanying original text in Arabic so that it can be consulted. Since Ramadan is the month of the Quran, everyone should have their copy handy and complete reading it in this holy month. Courtesy of the TIES Center, whose mission is to empower Kuwait’s expats through social and educational services that promote a positive and productive role in society, and to facilitate opportunities for intra- and interfaith interactions that promote social solidarity. For more information, please call 25231015/6 or e-mail: [email protected]. Continued from Page 1 In the Syrian city of Madaya, where some 40,000 people have been living under government siege for months, resident Mumina was preparing to break the fast with her husband using the little food aid the United Nations has managed to bring in. “The food packages we receive are very bland, pulses and five cans of tuna per person. There’s no pasta, no meat, no dairy. We tried to plant some vegetables but the land isn’t good for planting now,” the 32-year-old said. “There’s barely any food in the markets and whatever we find is so expensive that we can’t buy it,” she said, planning a simple meal of beans for the night. In the Iraqi city of Fallujah, father-of-six Abu Mohammed Al-Dulaimi also worried about how to provide food for his family during Ramadan. Iraqi forces have tightened a siege around Fallujah as they press a major advance to retake the city from the Islamic State jihadist group. An estimated 50,000 people are believed trapped inside, some being used as human shields by IS, and the families left behind are often those who could not afford to leave. “You have to get up at 5:00 in the morning and stand in line forever to pay 5,000 dinars ($4.50) for a kilo of tomatoes,” said Dulaimi, contacted by AFP inside Fallujah. “I can’t even go there myself, I have to send someone, because you need to have a long beard and a short dishdasha,” he said, referring to traditional robes which the jihadists insist should be worn shorter than usual in local custom. In other parts of the Islamic world Muslims were preparing to mark Ramadan with extravagance. In the wealthy Gulf states, hotels and restaurants were competing to offer the most luxurious meals. At Dubai’s sailshaped landmark Burj Al-Arab hotel, diners were being offered “an array of delectable traditional delicacies” at iftar meals for 400 Emirati dirhams ($110) per person. In Indonesia, faithful spent the days leading up to Ramadan taking part in rituals, including visits to relatives’ tombs and swims in springs infused with flowers. Most in the country practice a moderate form of Islam and centuries-old, local beliefs are often fused with Muslim customs to create a particularly Indonesian brand of the faith. Indonesia’s conservative Muslim leaders regularly urge people not to partake in some of these ritualssuch as swimming in springs-but the practices are deeply entrenched. Hardline group the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) also threatened to launch raids on Indonesian nightspots that flout restrictions during Ramadan. In the past, the group has raided bars that are open later than they should be, seizing alcohol and throwing out customers. “Please respect the holiness of Ramadan,” Ja’far Shodiq, the group’s deputy chairman said. “The FPI is not against fun-but sometimes fun can verge on immoral.” In China, the start of Ramadan was marked with the customary ban on civil servants, students and children in the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region taking part in the daytime fast. China’s ruling Communist party has for years banned government employees and minors from fasting in Xinjiang, home to the more than 10 million strong Uighur minority. It has also ordered restaurants to stay open. — AFP