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Saum
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| Along with
salat, another important form of worship is fasting. It is
obligatory for each Muslim, apart from some exemptions, to
fast in the month of Ramadhan. During the hours of
fasting, food and drink and conjugal relations between
husband and wife are forbidden. It is enjoined that during
fasting one should pay attention to remembrance of God and
study the Holy Quran in abundance. One should try to
curtail one's worldly pastimes as much as possible during
Ramadhan, and to be particularly inclined towards charity
and alms giving. |
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| Human life is
dependent on food and drink and the continuation of the
human race depends on the marital relationship. While
fasting one refrains from them both, as if bearing witness
to God that for His pleasure man gives up the factors
(temporarily) upon which his very existence depends. The
various other benefits of fasting are that man gets to
exercise sacrificing physical comfort and to endure hunger
and thirst. Fasting creates a sense of equality between
the rich and the poor. By developing an appreciation of
hunger and thirst, it makes the well-off think of the
needs of the poor and impresses a feeling of compassion in
their hearts. It makes them appreciate, through the
practicality of it, the state a human being endures when
hungry and thirsty. Ramadhan is a most effective and
excellent means of spiritual development for mankind.
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