💅🏽

Ramadan

Background

9th Lunar month

29 or 30 days

First 10 for mercy

Second 10 for compassion

Third 10 for forgiveness

Fasting

Abstain from food, drink, intercourse from sun up to sun down

Stay away from the haram

Lying, cheating, anger, bad words, music

Exempt from fasting are the old, ill, pregnant, breast feeding, post/menstrual bleeding, diabetic, traveling

Must make up missed days of fasting before next Ramadan

Fasting starts when you reach puberty

Suhoor: starting the fast; morning food time; Iftar:breaking the fast; night food time

Significance

Month of charity, patience, mercy, worship

Whoever fasts in Ramadan in good faith with hopes to gain Allah’s blessing will have all his past sins forgiven (Al-Bukhari)

Jabreel would visit Muhammad and the Quran was revealed during this month

Muhammad would recite the Quran to Jabreel during the nights

The doors of Heaven are opened and the doors of Hell are closed. The devil’s hands are chained. (Al-Bukhari)

It is sunnah that if someone dies while they are fasting Ramadan then they will be granted Heaven.

It is believed that the first verses (96:1-5) were revealed during this month

Good deeds are credited with obligatory rewards while obligatory deeds are granted 70 obligatory rewards

What to Try…

Perform prayers as close to time as possible

Try to perform Tarawih and Tahajjud

Try to read all of the Quran

Umrah is given the reward of Hajj (but is not a replacement)

Sunnah

Break the fast with an odd number of dates

Donate beans or rice to the poor 

If you fast all of Ramadan and then fast 6 days of Shawwal (10th Lunar month) it is credited as if fasting for all of the year

Four Elements

Spiritual

Act of obedience

Atonement for past mistakes

Shows that we are nothing without Allah’s gifts

It provides us with a reality check…it helps us to reposition our lives so that Allah is number one in our lives again and puts us back on the straight path.

Psychological

Teaches us self-restraint

Shows us what the poor and homeless go through on a daily basis

Teaches us patience

Is a change of pace from the regular daily life

Social

Promotes the unity of the Muslim community

Promotes human equality

Unites different walks of life through the various acts of charity

Physical/Medical

Cleanses the body of the fatty residue that has built up in the bloodstream

All around detox

The SKIN collection by Habiba Da Silva was inspired by togetherness amongst different types of people. The theme of the collection plays around the idea of ‘marriage’; not necessarily as a bond between a man and a woman, rather as a bond between people from different backgrounds and cultures.

University of Ghana to remove statue of Gandhi over his racist statements