Ramadan

[deadhead65]

I've only been on this site for a few months but I was wondering.................am I the only muslim on here? Just curious if anyone else will be going through Ramadan with me.

peace :)

[thekhoso]

hey, another muslim here living in tunisia. no weed/hashish here but i intend to fast. :)

[Hardcore Newbie]

excuse my ignorance but what is ramadan and what is the reason behind it?

[thekhoso]

the calendar that we follow today is called the gregorian calendar. in the islamic calendar, there's a month called ramadhan. it's based on the sightings of the moon. every month, when a new moon (crescent) is visible, a new islamic month starts. in 2007, ramadhan starts on the 13th of sept which is today.

in ramadhan, muslims fast throughout the month. by fasting, i mean muslims don't eat from the crack of dawn till the end of the day - dusk. upon dusk, one is allowed to eat. fasting is also observed in judaism and christianity.

hope i've answered you sufficiently. if not, please ask. in islam, it is believed that asking questions is gaining half the knowledge. :)

[Hardcore Newbie]

oh ok so it's not a full out fasting for x amount of days, just a time during the day when eating is prohibited, for x amount of days. Even still, sound harsh :p

[Coelho]

If I had to be religious, I think the last religion I would choose would be Islam.

Well... im sure there is a lot of people that would say the same thing about your (lack of) religion...


BTW, i must tell here a strange coincidence that happened today... i didnt knew that the ramadan started today, i didnt even had it in my mind, as im half-christian and have not almost any knowledge about islam, only know the "basics".
Anyway, today i decided to fast. Dont know why, though. But i did, and will eat only now (5am). Its still dark here, btw. I always eat this time, as i live at night and sleep at day, but, strangely, today i didnt eat since the time awoke...
And, just now, reading this post i knew that today was the start of the ramadan. Thats really a strange coincidence...

[Psycho4Bud]

SHOW RESPECT! :mad:

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

[stinkyattic]

While I've personally never fasted for any religious reasons (I'm Unitarian and it's not common practice), I respect the idea of denying ones self the pleasures of food, sex, etc. as a reminder of either the suffering of others or to prepare for the harvest season to come, and the long hard winter after.

[Coelho]

Well, stinky, i think (i may be wrong, though) that fasting is more an way for exercising control over your desires.
As many things called "sins", or things that are wrong, are manifestations of our desires, i think if you are a truly spiritual person, you must have control over them.
And, sincerely, controling your stomach when you are hungry is a HARD work... if you can do it sucessfully, then probably you can control most of your desires also, as usually they are less "tangible", less "real" than the burning feeling of hunger in your stomach.

[thekhoso]

hey guys, been away for a week and my control panel had all these 'updated' forums waiting for me.

coelho's right. fasting in ramadhan more like an exercise to control your desires and for me, knowing that your food is on the table and wait till a specific time to eat it.. i think that's a form of controlling desires. it is not just food. any 'intake' into the body breaks the idea of fast. no cigarettes, no water etc. it's also about overcoming addiction which, at the first place is a great vice itself additcion is.

furthermore, because of poverty and the history of poverty, one should know the poor starve and long for a meal. remember.. for people like you and me, being hungry is almost abstract. we've never starved for longer than a couple of hours at the most.. since we all have homes, food and most of us have family's support too.

people these days have a great misconception about islam and its teachings. the media has portrayed it differently. sadly the uneducated and the narrow minded people have clinged onto uncontexted phrases of islam and have made a bad name of their own religion.

i'd like to clarify everything you guys ask =]

[DSX 1]

coelho's right. fasting in ramadhan more like an exercise to control your desires

But fasting to remove or control desire makes no sense, because you desire not to desire.

In essence by fasting you are practicing a high form of desire. Think about it.

In terms of desire there are a multitude of perspectives, food, addiction and materialism are but a few obvious ones.

[thekhoso]

no one really desires fasting, to be very honest. it's more like testing your faith in a certain religion and following the rules of fasting.. and by doing so you can overcome addiction.

let me give you a very very realistic example.

30 days of fasting... let's say you're a chainsmoker and you don't smoke till 7:30 in the pm.. sunset.. the time you break your fast..

i personally think that if you succeed going on for 30 days without smoking (given that you're a chain smoker) till 7:30... it does show something that you have strenghts in your power of controlling desires and a strong faith.. the very same faith that made you take a step to fasting and cutting down addictions.

in essence by fasting you are practicing a high form of control over desire. think about THAT.

[Hardcore Newbie]

But fasting to remove or control desire makes no sense, because you desire not to desire.

In essence by fasting you are practicing a high form of desire. Think about it.

In terms of desire there are a multitude of perspectives, food, addiction and materialism are but a few obvious ones.
You desire control and a sense of accomplishment, I never thought about it that way. Kudos.

[deadhead65]

Wow I didn't think anyone would post to this thread. lol. Sorry I've been so busy but I'm back now.
thekhoso - Ramadan Kareem!!:)


I was taught a bit differently about fasting. I do not view it as controlling my desires, or even suffering to feel what the poor feel, since because I will be eating at sundown and have that to look forward to I truly cannot feel what starving people feel.

To me, and this is how I was taught, fasting is a form of worship. When I feel the hunger I focus on the fact that this is a silent worshiping to God. When I pray it is physical and everyone who is around me can see what I am doing but fasting is so very personal and quiet, it is the most intense, in my opinion, form of worship one can have.

It's really not so bad after the first week of it. I started a week before Ramadan because I had 7 days to make up from the prior year. Plus I make sure I drink a lot of water at suhoor (the meal before sunup) as well as some protein, like an omlette. The only hard part for me is the physical pain. The whole reason that I use cannabis is to subdue the pain from my Rheumatoid Arthritis and if I'm not using that I'm taking tylenol or ibuprophin and since that would break my fast I end up in a wee bit of pain from the time the dosage I take at suhoor wears off from the time I take it at sundown. It's bearable though so I still do fast, though I know I could exempt myself if I wanted to.

[DSX 1]

You desire control and a sense of accomplishment, I never thought about it that way. Kudos.

Absolutely, there is nothing more which can be of a more accurate contradiction than fasting to release yourself from desire.

And thank you for agreeing with me.

It is a common fact that people do exercise a high degree of desire to release themselves from chemical substances its called willpower lol, or in the case of fasting which is no different, certain emotions, the monotony of proving their love and admiration to their God, if this did not come with desire then one would not do it, but it does, and the more one desires to do this the more one succeeds in the fast and showing a release of the material world which surrounds their everyday lives.

FOR EXAMPLE. If one is addicted to heroin then for one to free oneself from the beastly grip of the drug one must first have the desire to do so, it takes many stages but throughout the procedure it is down to your personal desire to quit or if you will, your own willpower.

So of course in essence while under rehabilitation programs you are simply replacing your desire for one thing (the drug) with a more positive form of desire to release yourself from the negativity of this drug.


let me give you a very very realistic example.

30 days of fasting... let's say you're a chainsmoker and you don't smoke till 7:30 in the pm.. sunset.. the time you break your fast..

i personally think that if you succeed going on for 30 days without smoking (given that you're a chain smoker) till 7:30... it does show something that you have strenghts in your power of controlling desires and a strong faith.. the very same faith that made you take a step to fasting and cutting down addictions.

Yes and attaining a state of mind in which you are free from the continuous want of a cigarette requires a huge amount of willpower, or if you will DESIRE.

Just like fasting, there is no difference in the example you gave to the terms or reasons of which you use fasting, your example did nothing but enlighten my previous point.

Think about it.

You said:


no one really desires fasting

But the entire act of a fast is to create a frame of mind (according to you) to free yourself from desire, yet to do this you desire to do so.

So you desire not to desire. Get it?

Perhaps the misunderstanding is on your half as in one thread you claim it is here to control desire yet in your last post you changed your mind, perhaps you should study your faith so you can answer correctly to questions put to you about your faith before this happens again.

[DSX 1]

TheKhoso, you also said:


in essence by fasting you are practicing a high form of control over desire. think about THAT

So now your saying by fasting you are practicing a high form of control over desire?

So the aim now is to control desire?

Yet... are you not desiring to do so?

Think about it.

[deadfan420]

Ramadan Mubarak!

I have many Muslim friends from school, and honestly, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met - they'd do anything to help someone out, muslim or not.

I've tried fasting before, but I can't seem to functiion without eating. I have a lot of respect for those Muslims that do it every day of Ramadan! When I did fast, I can say it really makes you sympathize with those who are poor and live in poverty, who don't know where their next meal is coming from!

Have a happy Ramadan!