Brand New Software To Help Muslims Fast Meaningfully for Ramadan 2004

This year once again millions of Muslims in America and the West will join their fellow Brothers in Islam in fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan 2004 Islam Digital has designed a Goal-setting software to help Muslim set their Goals for Ramadan 2004...

(PRWEB) October 4, 2004 -- Fast Meaningfully this Ramadhan

Brand New Software To Help Muslims Fast Meaningfully

for Ramadan 2004

This year once again millions of Muslims in America and the West

will join their fellow Brothers in Islam in welcoming the

Holy Month of Ramadan 2004 - the month of fasting.

From the very beginning of time, people have been involved

with the great struggle to master their bodies and emotions.

The urge to eat is one of the most powerful motivations anyone must face.

Many people fail and overeat or consume unhealthy foods.

Other substances can be abused by our penchant for pleasure:

Drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes can pull us down just as easily

as too many tubs of our favorite ice cream.

The Holy month of Ramadan helps Muslim set their Goals to

change their lives and control this very basic nature of indulging by fasting.

Islam Digital has designed a Goal-setting software to help

Muslim set their Goals for Ramadan 2004 available at:

http://www.islamdigital.com/fasting/index.html

What is Ramadan ?

Being the fourth pillar of Islam known as Saum, or fasting,

the month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Muslims are required to observe a strict fast from dawn until dusk.

Since a lunar month has about 30 days in it, the benefits achieved

during this time is truly life-changing.

Reform programs such as diet fads, cold turkey denial, counseling,

and alcohol and drug treatment programs are often unsuccessful,

leading people to relapse into their self-destructive overindulgence.

Merely giving these vices up for a short period won't solve the problem.

Is there no way out of personal gluttony? The answer lies not in

watching our weight with new pills or eating plans or in wearing a

nicotine patch, but in the education of our soul and in curbing its

desires from within.

Islam's cure starts with defining the problem as a spiritual identity crisis.

When we forget that God exists and is watching us, when we ignore

our fitrah, or inner nature to seek God, when we fail to live according to God's good laws and forget the advice of the prophets, then we can fall prey to any self-destructive impulse.

The solution, then, must begin with strengthening the soul and then

bringing the body along in step.

Islam carries with it a fasting component for this reason.

We can become better enlightened only when we rise above the

flesh and recognize the force of our spirit, our very human will.

The Holy Qur'an explains the purpose of fasting in this way:

"You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so you can gain more spiritual awareness." (Holy Quran 2:183)

Because the Quran has given fasting in Ramadan the status of a

religious duty, whose neglect is sinful, the conscientious person

resolves to complete the fasting period and this is where the real

transformation takes place.

Read the complete version of this article at:

http://www.islamdigital.com/fasting/ramadan_2004.html

Welcoming Month of Ramadan 2004 and When is Ramadan ?

When the new moon is sighted, signaling the beginning of the month

of Ramadan, Muslims gather and say this prayer:

"God is Great, God is Great, God is Great.

Praise be to God Who created me and you and Who decreed

for you the phases [of the moon and made you a sign for the universe."

Then a short supplication is quietly said in which we dedicate

ourselves to fasting in this month.

Night of Power - the Glory of Ramadan

One particular night of Ramadan has extra special significance.

It is the exact night when the Qur'anic revelation was first revealed to Muhammad s.a.w.in the year 610 C.E. It is known as Laylat ul Qadr,or the Night of Power.

According to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, it falls on one of the

odd-numbered nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Many Muslims stay up all night seeking the Lord's forgiveness

and guidance.

During the last 10 days of Ramadan, some Muslims perform what is

known as Ihtikaf, or Retreat. This consists of living in the prayer area of the mosque for up to 10 days, venturing out only for showers and similar legitimate needs.

Prayer, study, and supplication are the attendant activities.

The Holy Month of Training in Islam

What are some of the lessons learned by participating in the Ramadhan fast?

You would be surprised at the variety. The month of Ramadan

provides a sort of spiritual and moral "boot camp."

We know that fasting in Ramadan is a duty from God and that any sins may spoil our record of fasting, so we take great pains to be on our best behavior. This intense modification of our habits is designed to help us avoid such sins throughout the rest of the year.

The Blessed Prophet once remarked, "Whoever doesn't give up lying and acting on lies during fasting, then God has no need of him giving up food and drink."

On another occasion he warned, "There are many people who get nothing from fasting except hunger and thirst." Clearly, the moral dimension is as important as the physical aspects of fasting.

The lessons learned during Ramadan are many. We learn what it means

to be hungry, so we feel more compassion for the poor. We understand

how close we are to leaving this world at any moment and how much we

depend on food and liquids.

We learn to control our animal urges and passions, and we clear our

minds and thoughts for serious remembrance of God. We restrain our

anger, and we train our habits toward prayer, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, and good behavior. By curtailing sex for the whole day, we force ourselves to train our bodies to obey our will and not to be licentious.

There is nothing like the Muslim fast of Ramadan in any other religion for realizing personal reform and self-mastery.

The reward for a successful Ramadan is no less than the forgiveness

of all our sins. Imagine wiping the slate clean with God!

So, in addition to all the improvements Ramadan can make in our

character and health, we get the slate erased and can start over.

For a complete medical aspects of fasting read at:

http://www.islamdigital.com/memorise/ramadhan_health.html

(All our good deeds remain; it's only the bad deeds that disappear!)

With all these benefits derived from the observance of this blessed

month, is it any wonder that Ramadan is the best time of the year for every Muslim?

A surprising number of Christians also observe the Ramadan fast in

North America. They recognize the disciplining effects of the fast and use their time to come closer to God.

Every year Islamic centers receive calls from non-Muslims asking

how the fast is performed and where they can get a month-long chart

showing the start and end times of each day's fast.

Employers and schools are also beginning to make accommodations

for the needs of their Muslim workers and students.

As the population of Muslims continues to grow, the awareness of

Ramadan will undoubtedly have a positive influence on people of all

faiths in the West.

Renewing our commitment to God and undergoing a physical and

spiritual training program to increase our intimacy with our faith is what Ramadan is all about.

So in Summary:

Greed and gluttony are considered conditions of the soul and can be cured only with a combination of spiritual advice and a program of action.

Ramadan is the name of the month in which Muslims fast from food and

drink from first light until sunset.

Fasting, the fourth pillar of Islam, teaches Muslims to control their desires and urges for worldly satisfaction and to feel empathy for the poor. The reward for successful completion is forgiveness of the individual's sins.

For The Significance, Benefits and Medical Aspects of Fasting go to:

http://www.islamdigital.com/fasting/ramadan_2004.html

# # #