Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting. Fasting obligates a person to refrain from food, drink, foul talk, altercations and fights throughout the day, i.e. from sunrise to sunset. It is a month of training so that a person may lead the remainder of the year with this same mentality. The annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The basic purpose of Ramadan, according to Quran, is ‘taqwa’. ‘Believers, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil.’ (2:183) Taqwa means fear of God.

The other word that is used in the Quran in this regard is ‘shukr’, that is, thanksgiving. ‘The month of Ramadan is the month when the Quran was sent down as guidance for humankind with clear proofs of guidance and the criterion by which to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month, let him fast, but he who is ill or on a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. God desires ease for you, not hardship. He desires you to fast the whole month, so that you may glorify Him for His having guided you and so that you may be grateful to Him.’ (2:185)

These are the two basic values of Ramadan. When you observe fasting, you experience the true value of food and water. You experience that without food and water, it is not possible to live. By extension, one starts feeling that all things that we enjoy are gifts of God. God could withhold his gifts from us if He so decides. This realization creates taqwa.

The feelings of thanksgiving overpower us when in the evening we break the fasting. It is at these times that we feel how important these basic items are!

Another term associated with Ramadan is mentioned in the Hadiths. In the Hadiths, the month of Ramadan is described as ‘Shahr-e-Sabr’. ‘Shahr-e-Sabr’ means ‘a month of patience’. Fasting is an act of patience. So the three values mentioned in the Quran and Hadiths are Fear of God, Thanksgiving and Patience. Thus, the purpose of Ramadan, when one observes fasting, is to inculcate these three values in every believer.

Tazkiya (purification of the self) is also one aspect of Ramadan. Purification means trying to inculcate positive values instead of negative ones.

The practices of the Ramadan offer a comprehensive approach towards training and developing oneself into a positive, patient, God-fearing and empathizing personality.

One practice of Ramadan is Eitekaf. It means ‘going into seclusion’. In the month of Ramadan, a person voluntarily decides to spend some days, especially the last ten days of the month, in a mosque in prayer, contemplation and reading the Quran. This is known as Eitekaf.

The practices of Ramadan thus offer a comprehensive approach towards training and developing oneself into a positive, patient, God-fearing and empathizing personality.