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The Quran alludes to that fact in the verse that prescribed fasting upon the Muslims:

"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you might achieve piety."¹

Jews fast on Yom Kippur, one day a year. They also have other scattered fasts of less importance. Although Jesus fasted (And he fasted forty days and forty nights and afterward he was hungry;²), fasting is no longer a part of the religious practice of most Christians. Restricting food intake is also a part of many secular ways of life, but the goal of such practices is very different from the goal of fasting in Islam.

Some people, who are concerned with "natural living" and holistic health, fast to purify the body of toxins. In these fasts, solid foods are eliminated, but the person may drink water or juice. The most widespread Western form of restricting food intake is dieting. The only real goal of this practice to reduce weight. Most dieters are women.

Their motive is to look as much as possible like models and actresses held up as the ideals of beauty in a steady barrage of movies, TV shows and advertisements. The more extreme forms of this state of mind are anorexia and bulemia. This obsession with outer appearance is the very opposite of the Islamic goal in fasting.

The above-mentioned verse has made clear the goal of Islamic fasting: "…that you might achieve piety." The word taqwaa, translated as piety, is derived from a word meaning "protective shield." The Qur’an repeatedly promises that those who achieve taqwaa will gain the good of this life and the Hereafter.

When the Prophet’s companion 'Umar was asked to explain the meaning of taqwaa, he illustrated it with a metaphor: A man trying to walk through a field of thickly planted thorn bushes holds his clothes close to his body and maneuvers carefully to avoid tearing his clothes and skin. A person who achieves taqwaa is in a state of constant awareness of God. He thinks about how to please God by doing good and guarding against evil.

In Islamic fasting, no food, drink or intercourse is allowed from the first light of dawn until sunset during the entire lunar month of Ramadaan. These actions are permitted during the night. People who are temporarily sick or traveling may break their fasts, but they must make up the days they missed. Menstruating women and women bleeding after childbirth are not permitted to fast, and they must make up the days they missed.

People with chronic illnesses should feed a poor person for each day they miss, and they do not have to make the missed days. Scholars agree that pregnant women and breastfeeding women who fear for their own health or the health of their children may forego fasting as long as their conditions persist.

Scholars differ whether they must make up the missed days or feed a poor person; in other words: are they to be considered like someone with a temporary or a chronic condition? Two of the major scholars among the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) considered them to be like people with chronic conditions, who need only feed the poor.

Fasting reduces one’s desires. It trains a person in self-restraint. He becomes accustomed to keeping a watch on himself. If one can forgo what is normally lawful for a limited amount of time, one should be able to forgo what is always unlawful. It shifts the focus of one’s attention from bodily needs to spiritual needs.

This focus is complemented in Ramadaan by the exhortation to spend more time reading Quran and praying extra prayers. For the fast to be rewarded, refraining from food and drink must also be accompanied by refraining from unlawful acts. Prophet Muhammad said, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and deed, Allah has no need for him to leave his food and drink."³ Proper fasting causes the stomach to shrink. When one breaks the fast at sunset, one cannot eat as much food as one normally would in a meal during the rest of the year.

A light meal should also be taken toward the end of the night to prevent fasting from becoming very difficult. When these guidelines are followed, fasting cleanses the body and the soul. Some weight is lost. One frequently experiences a great feeling of serenity while fasting. Feeling the pangs of hunger should also make a person empathize with those who feel hungry not as a matter of choice but because they can’t find enough to eat. Thus Ramadaan becomes a month of giving charity as well as fasting.

Many Muslims fast in a way that technically qualifies as fasting, but in reality achieves none of the goals of fasting. They gorge themselves at sunset on delicacies that no one bothers to prepare the rest of the year. Instead of praying extra prayers they play cards or engage in less wholesome diversions and snack and drink throughout the night before gorging themselves once again just before the dawn.

Then they crawl into their beds like a python that has just swallowed a whole sheep. They may or may not pray the dawn prayer. They may wake up at noon. Some of them only wake shortly before sunset, just in time to prepare themselves for another night of festivities.

Fasting is obligatory on healthy, adult Muslims only in Ramadaan. However, there are a number of other days when it is recommended, such as three days at the middle of each month and every Monday and Thursday. Regular fasting helps to maintain the state of mind achieved in Ramadaan.

In many verses, the Quran alludes to life being a journey toward the Creator.
"Verily, we belong to God, and, verily, to Him we are returning."¹

"Everything in the heavens and in the earth belong to God; and to God all things will be returned."²

"And unto Allah leads the [straight] Way, but there are ways that deviate."³

"Hasn’t he had news of what was in the books of Moses and Abraham…that your Lord, He is the [final] goal?"⁴

"[The believers say,] ‘We hear, and we obey, [we seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord; and to You is the end of all journeys.’"⁵

A scholar from the second generation of Muslims was asked, "What will it be like to go before Allah?" He answered, "For some it will be like a reunion with a long-lost loved one. For others it will be like a runaway slave being dragged back to his master."

Hajj is a reminder that life is a journey. You disentangle yourself from the routine of life and forego the comforts and familiarity of home. You expose yourself to uncertainty, inconvenience - maybe even danger - in search of a spiritual gain.

Of course, pilgrimage is a feature of many or most religions. One of the things that makes Hajj unique is that this pilgrimage is made to the first house ever built for the worship of the One God. Allah says in the Qur’an, "The first House [of worship] appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Mecca), a blessed place, a guidance to the peoples."⁶

"And remember [that] Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House."⁷

The fact that Abraham built the Ka’bah (The greatest Islamic mosque) means that it is quite ancient, but this verse implies that Abraham and Ishmael raised the House on foundations that were already there, which would make it even older.

The physical environment of Mecca is devoid of anything that people naturally take delight in. It is a forbidding landscape of searing desert and black mountains that remind one of the surface of the moon. So the motive for coming there has to be spiritual, not worldly.

Many of the actions commemorated in Hajj are based on actions done by Abraham, his son Ishmael and his wife Hagar. Their actions were expressions of the readiness to sacrifice everything for the pleasure of God. Thus Hajj affirms the continuity of God’s religion, the religion of all the prophets, and reminds the participants that the willingness to sacrifice is a key feature of a believer’s personality.

Hajj also becomes a form of training in patience and endurance. For the pilgrimage to be accepted a person must refrain from arguments and fighting. When more than two million people are crowded together there is bound to be jostling and long waits to use toilets, bathe, etc. It is a marvel that so many people gather every year without the brawls and rampages so common in rock festivals and other types of gatherings.

The reward for performing Hajj properly and refraining from arguments, fights and lewd behavior is that the pilgrim will return home as free of sin as the day his mother gave birth to him. Muslims do not believe in original sin or inherited sin, so that means all his sins will be forgiven.

Another difference between Hajj and other pilgrimages is that no other gathering is so universal. Virtually all of the world’s races, ethnic groups and languages are represented. People literally come from every continent on earth, except, perhaps, Antarctica. God told Abraham:

"And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men; they will come to you on foot and [mounted] on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways, that they may witness things of benefit to them."⁸

They come together in a spiritual environment that emphasizes their common humanity. The men all wear two unsewn pieces of white cloth that erase the distinctions of wealth, education and status.

The huge assembly of people on the plain of Arafah reminds the pilgrims that all humanity will be assembled on a featureless plain on the Day of Judgment. The white garments of the men are reminiscent of the funeral shroud.

It was the experience of Hajj that caused Malcolm X to reconsider the racist teachings he had embraced and propagated as the leading spokesman of the so-called Nation of Islam. He had never had an encounter with a white person in America that did not reinforce his view that white people were devils.

Yet at Hajj he saw people of every shade of brown, yellow, red and white eating together from the same plate, sleeping side by side and worshipping the same God as brothers and sisters.

What a difference from America, where white Christians and black Christians worshipped Jesus in segregated churches! When he came back to the U.S., he announced that he had been wrong about some of his conclusions. He held out hope that there was a possibility for white and black people to live together peacefully in America, if they were to accept the real Islam.

The ultimate goal of the fast is to develop Taqwaa (consciousness of God) in humans, as Allaah said, "...so that it may produce Taqwaa in you."¹ Taqwaa is among the highest moral qualities that a Muslim can attain.

It is produced by placing a shield between one’s self and Allaah’s wrath as the root meaning of the word implies (i.e. Taqwaa comes from the verb waqaa, which means "to defend"). This is achieved by being conscious of Allaah and all His commandments at all times, which means avoiding the Haraam (prohibited) as well as the Makrooh (undesirable) and even some of the Halaal (permissible) wherever doubt arises.

It has also been noted by medical experts that fasting improves the physical health in numerous ways. For example, during the fast the body uses up stored cholesterol (fats) which are often deposited in the blood system, as well as in other fatty areas of the body. Thus, it helps to keep the body firm and minimizes the danger of heart attacks.

Where fasting has become a ritual, the month of Ramadaan becomes a time of celebration instead of religious contemplation and abstinence. Ramadaan nights are nights of party and enjoyment which continue until the dawn in some countries.

There, the night becomes the day and the day becomes the night. In most places, the light meal which is supposed to be taken prior the dawn becomes a major three-course meal. Consequently, few experience real hunger during the fast.

And at the time of breaking the fast, another three-course meal is taken, followed by a sampling of all kinds of sweets imaginable. As a result, many Muslims complain about gaining weight during Ramadaan.

Since fasting is basically abstinence from food, drink and sexual relations, it trains the believers in self-control. Consequently, the actual test of the effects of fasting occurs at the time of breaking the fast.

When food is traditionally spread out in large delicious quantities and people are tempted to gorge themselves, the believer is required to control his or her appetite and have a light meal and drink prior to the sunset prayers. It was the practice of the Prophet (pbuh) to break his fast with three dates and water, and after the giving the sunset prayers eat a moderate meal.

Fasting also means spiritual abstinance. It is required that the individual give up not only food, drink and sexual relations, but also that he or she also restrain from all forms of lying, backbiting, slander, etc. This is confirmed by the Prophet’s (pbuh) statement, "Allaah has no need for the hunger and the thirst of the person who does not restrain from telling lies and acting on them even while observing the fast."²

He also said, "When one of you is fasting, he should abstain from indecent acts and unnecessary talk, and if someone begins an obscene conversation or tries to pick an argument, he should simply tell him, ‘I am fasting.’ "³ So, if one observes the fast according to the above principles, it should improve his moral character, making him more truthful and more careful about what he says and does.

Because the believer is required to restrain himself or herself at the time of breaking the fast, a sense of moderation in eating is developed. This is in keeping with the general recommendations given by the Prophet (pbuh) regarding eating.

Ibn ‘Umar Aboo Hurayrah and Aboo Moosaa both quoted Allaah’s Messenger (puh) as saying, "The believer eats in one stomach⁴ and the disbeliever eats [as if] in seven."⁵ Jaabir reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Food for one person is sufficient for two, and food for two can suffice four."⁶ Ibn ‘Umar related that the Messenger of Allaah (phuh) forbade anyone from taking two dates at a time without the consent of his eating companions.⁷

Fasting gives the individual a real taste of hunger and thirst, which helps him to realize the experience of the poor. This experience should instill a desire to want to help those who are less fortunate by sharing food and wealth with them. This quality is emphasized by the ‘Eed al-Fitr festival of fast breaking in which all Muslims are obliged to give the needy food to celebrate on that day.

It consists of two parts.

The first is:

Allah (pronounced: Allaah) is the Arabic word for God. It is the same word used by Jewish and Christian Arabs to refer to God. The most literal meaning of the declaration is not the intended one, as there are many things human beings worship instead of the One God.

The true meaning is: "I testify there is none worthy of worship but Allah." This statement combines negation and affirmation. It denies the right of anything in creation to be worshipped, and it affirms that right for the Creator. The concept of worship is probably more comprehensive in Islam than in any other religion. It includes devotional rituals, but it also includes all transactions between individuals and groups.

It also includes emotional states and actions of the heart, such as love, hate, hope, fear, etc. In fact, every action that pleases God is considered an act of worship in Islam.

The second part of the declaration of faith is:

Without it, implementing the first part of the declaration of faith becomes very difficult. The Quran says,

"You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who remembers Allah profusely."¹

Following the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has been made a litmus test for the love of God:

"Say: ‘If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’"²

Accepting the rules revealed by God through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has also been made a test of true faith;

"But no, by your Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction."³

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, "Whoever bears witness that none is worthy of worship but Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that Jesus is the slave of Allah and the son of a woman who was His slave, and His word that He cast into Mary, and a soul from Him, and that Paradise is real and that Hell is real, Allah will enter him into Paradise by any of its eight doors he wishes [according to his actions]."⁴

On one occasion the Prophet (pbuh) was sitting in a garden. He told one of his Companions, "Take these sandals of mine. When you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being sure of it in his heart, give him glad tidings of Paradise."⁵

On another occasion Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, "Allah has prohibited from the Fire of Hell anyone who says, ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah,’ seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah."⁶

These and other statements of the Prophet (pbuh) have led scholars to conclude that a person who believes that this declaration is true must declare it in front of witnesses to become a Muslim.

Knowledge and acceptance in the heart are conditions for the validity of the declaration, but knowledge and acceptance without the declaration would not save a person from Hell if there were no threat of physical harm to prevent him from declaring it.

If a person would be endangered by making his or her faith known, he/she has the option of keeping it a secret. One of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was tortured and forced to denounce Muhammad and praise the gods of the idol worshippers upon pain of death. When he was released, he came to the Prophet crying.

When he had explained to him what had happened, the Prophet asked him, "How did you find your heart while you were saying those things?" He replied that his heart was content with Islam and that he hated what he was forced to say.

The Prophet instructed him that if he were placed in the same situation again that he should again say what his tormenters demanded of him to save himself. It was about him that the following verse of Qur’an was revealed:

"Anyone who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters disbelief - except one who does so under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith - but those who open their hearts to disbelief, the wrath of Allah is on them, and they will have a dreadful penalty."⁷

One of the prominent reasons that Islam requires a person to declare his/her faith is that a new convert needs the support and help of the community to help his faith grow and stabilize.

When a person is a very new Muslim, his/her friends and family are likely to be displeased with the change.

They will raise questions and doubts about Islam in the mind of the new convert to try to shake his/her faith. They may even try to draw the convert into behavior condemned by Islam just so that his faith will weaken through sinning.

Everyone also has a personal devil to raise doubts and temptations. If the Muslim community knows that the person is a new Muslim, they have a responsibility to make him/her feel welcome and to help him/her through some of the problems of transition.

Another implication of the declaration of faith is that a believer should have an open personality without hidden agendas. People should know who you are and what you stand for. Life is a struggle between good and evil.

The struggle goes on in each person’s heart, but it also goes on between people who align themselves with good, more or less, and people who align themselves with evil, more or less.

Each of us needs to try to identify the truth, struggle to live by it and help others to find it and live by it.

This doesn’t mean that you shove your beliefs down other’s throats, but one has a responsibility to share beneficial knowledge with those who don’t know.

Charity is an act common to all divinely revealed religions. Even people with no religion at all recognize generosity as an admirable quality. The desire to possess is a natural, inborn urge. It is not in itself a bad thing. It is the basis of self-preservation. It leads parents to provide homes, food, clothing and other needs for their children. It also leads people to provide goods and services for each other.

But the urge to possess needs to be controlled and balanced with generosity; otherwise it becomes dangerous. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) pointed out this tendency when he said, "If a descendant of Adam possessed a valley of gold, he would crave another one. And nothing will fill his mouth but the dust [of the grave]. But God will accept the penance of one who repents."¹ Generosity requires a struggle against the inborn tendency to be selfish. To provide the setting where generosity can be exercised, God created some people poor and some people rich. Not only that, but He takes some people from lavish wealth to grinding poverty and vice-versa. The realization that even if you have money now, you may lose it all at any moment is a great leverage by which Satan influences people to be stingy. The Qur’an says, "Satan threatens you with poverty and enjoins you with lewdness."²

God, on the other hand, has promised that wealth will never be decreased by charity. "Whatever you spend [for good] He replaces it, and He is the best of Providers."³

One who gives charity affirms his faith in God’s promise. That is why charity is called sadaqah in Arabic. It is related to the word for ‘truthfulness’ and the word for ‘belief.’

The Islamic concept of charity is based on the Islamic concept of wealth. Wealth is considered a trust placed in one’s hands by God. A person who believes he owns more money than another because he is smarter or worked harder than him has a deficient understanding. How many people are hard working and smart yet poor? And how many people of mediocre ability and energy are rich? God is the ultimate provider of wealth and he is its actual owner. Prophet Muhammad observed, "The son of Adam claims, ‘My wealth, my wealth.’ But, O son of Adam, was any of your property really yours, except what you consumed and destroyed, or wore until it wore out, or gave as charity and sent ahead [for yourself]?"⁴

Because wealth ultimately belongs to God, its temporary possessor does not have a blanket right to do whatever he or she wants with it. It is unlawful to waste wealth. It is also unlawful to use wealth to buy substances prohibited in Islam. Also, the poor have a due right on a portion of the wealth placed in one’s possession. Giving them their due right is not doing them a favor, because that portion of one’s wealth is actually for them. A person who doesn’t give it has, in reality, confiscated something that does not belong to him.

Zakaah is an obligatory form of charity on savings. It is not an income tax, but a savings tax. Its major recipients are the working poor, who cannot meet all of their needs without some additional help, and the destitute, who cannot even meet their basic needs. It is also used to pay off the debts of those who are unable to pay off their own debts, to free slaves and ransom prisoners of war and to reconcile the hearts of new Muslims who may not yet have a firm foundation of faith. Other lawful recipients are stranded travelers, those engaged in jihad and employees of the state working to collect and distribute zakaah. Their wages come from it.

Zakaah is due on the following forms of wealth:

Gold and silver (this includes paper money)

The amount due is 2.5% of savings when it reaches the equivalent value of 85 grams (approximately three ounces) of gold. This minimum amount on which zakaah is due is called the nisaab. Although some scholars say that money should be pegged to the nisaab of silver, i.e., 595 grams, the majority considers gold to be a more reasonable peg for developed economies. Consider the difference in value between the two nisaabs: If gold is worth $300 per ounce, the nisaab is equal to $900. If silver is worth $8 an ounce, the nisaab is equal to approximately $167. In most cities of the Western world, $167 would not be enough to rent a room for a month, much less an apartment. The principle behind zakaah is that the rich should pay it to the poor. A person with only $167 in savings would be more likely to need zakaah than be in a position to pay it. Zakaah is due on savings of gold and silver one year after the nisaab has been reached.

This includes all goods acquired or held with the intent of selling them. It would include store merchandise, land bought for resale, stocks bought for resale, etc. Zakaah is not due on factories, machinery being used to produce goods, or property being held for rental income. However, zakaah would be due on the income generated by such properties if it is saved for a year. The retail value of business inventory is calculated then added to the savings of gold, silver, and currency. 2.5% of the total is due.

Livestock Such as cows, sheep and camels. There is a different nisaab for each type of animal and a rather detailed and complicated table of how much is due for different amounts of each type. Any fiqh book can be consulted for the details. Fiqh as-Sunnah is one of the better books available in English.

Agricultural produce The nisaab is five wasqs, which is equivalent to 825 liters. 10% of the harvest is due if the land is watered by rainfall. 5% is due on land irrigated by wells, canals or mechanical systems.

According to some scholars, this applies to all mineral wealth extracted from land. This is more relevant than the explanation that it refers only to valuables buried by non-Muslims before Islam. One-fifth is due as zakaah.