Ramadan and Eid are highly anticipated events in Malaysia. During Ramadan, families wake up early to eat sahur before the start of the daily fast. Iftar is an important meal to break the fast together. As Ramadan ends, preparations begin for Eid, including making new clothes and traditional foods. On Eid day, millions attend mosque prayers dressed in their finest attire, expressing gratitude and forgiveness. People spend the day visiting family and friends, strengthening social bonds and celebrating their faith with food and goodwill.

1. 17 | Rnrraeonan ANo Ero AlWaha Ramadan1433 I Aug2O12
The Philosophy
behind the Fasting
in Ramadhan
By Dr. Mohd Abbas Abdul Razald
Jt is an undeniable fact that every lear
! the wholc Muslim world waits eagerly
Ifor the apperuce ofthe crcrcent of the
ninth month ofthe Islamic caleodar,known
as Ramadhan. When this long ewaited
month appears it brings dongwith it a lot
ofblcssing and foqgiveness forthe Muslims
A month long fasting during Remadhxn
acts as a spiritual cleansing for those who
fast Thc fast purges out all sins ofthc past
and purifies the heart, soul and mind ofa
Muslim. It has been admitted my many
Mudims that thcy feel much, much closr
to Allah than any other timc of drc year.
During this holy moath, Muslims fecl
fully occupied performing Ibadah ofone
kind or enothcr; cithcr pcrforming Solah,
Tilawah, Zitr, Sadeqah, Zekah,ctc. As
fot this reasoo, Ramadhan is dccmed as
a Madrash(school) once a year, teaching
Muslims self-&scipline in usinghis senscs
end dso timemaoagemcnt io carrying-out
theirprayer and daily activities as Muslims.
Supplementaryto rhe aborre,Ramadhan
calls on an individual Muslim to reflecton
the poor end needy the under-privileged
pcoplc living undcr pathaic conditions
all over the world. By contemplethg on
rhe conditions of thosc who ale living rnd
struggltng in war- tom countries and on
those living under harshwether conditions
where therc is scercity of food and water
resources, a Mustm leams patience,
persev€ranc€, persistence, moderatioo,
contentment md ansteritytlrough his 6st
The ideel fast in Idam is onc thattransfoms
an individual &om being s€Hsh and ego-
centric to a pcrson who is God-conscious
and onc who shows lovc, care, prssion
andcompassion tovrards his fellow human
beings. It mekes him an individual, urho
is consandy mindfirl of his duties to his
Creator urd to therest ofmankind.lhmugh
thc proces offestingan inilifiual inlslem
bccomes agood person in the true scnse by
bringing out all his humanly potentials thet
,o 6*sx6 is him.Morcowr,it also brings
out of him many of thc ianate godly and
angelic attributes in hir! and at the smc
time it subdues all tilc tril end enimalistic
naflE€ that arc @nstandyatwork.to distract
end deceive froa bciog an upriglt end
God-centric person.
Ramedhaa &Al-Qr/m
Ihcre ociss an inseparable rclationship
between Rarnadhan md the Holy Qur'm.
It was during thc month of Ramedhan
that tte Qr/an was frst revealed to the
Prophet s-a.w. At the time of the first
rcrelation, the kophct s.a-w. was in a statc
of seclusion from t[e rcst of thc community,
contemplating on thc conditions of his
people.lhe Arabs of Mecce lcd a lifc far,
far areyfiomvfiet has bcen prescribcdby
Allah in thc Holy Books that czmc brforc
the Q!r'an- During those da1,s, thec wes
no rulc of hw in the wholc of Arabia- For
those Arabs, mighl ry15 right lf,ough
they rvere good in &e usege of the Arebic
languagc,,,tt thcy vrccc groping h their
spiritud ded<ncss urhich is kno*l ia tic
history ofthe Araba rs Aryamu$rhiliryrh'
@ays of lgporence). At tle time rvhen 6e
ardrangd Jibnile-s. made his firstvisitatiorl
Prophct s.ew. was sitting in thc dartncss
md stilloess of the Cave of Hha, which
is locatcd in JabalNw near Mccca Upon
the appearance ofJibrailas. in thc car.e,
thcrcwas light and he dclivered to Pmphet
Muhrno:d s.rw tf,e 6rstfiveverses &om
Sunh Al-Alaq: "koclairn! (or ReadD in the
name of lour Lord and Cherishcr, Who
created- Cteated maq out of a (mere) clot
of congealed blood: Proclaim! And your
Lord is Most Bountiftl. He Who aught
(the use ofPen).Teught men that he kneu,
not."Since that incidcnt the Qur'an started
to descend in bits md pieces accorrding to
the need oftLe time endchallengesfacedby
tlrc Prophet s.a-w.Thewhole oftbc Ql/an
was completely revealed in twenty-threc
years (r3 years in Makkah and ro yrars in
Madinah).
During his prophethood, every )'ear
during Ramadhan, aagel Jibraila-s will
visit kopha Muhammad s.aw. to check
on his reading ofthe Qr'en. As such, the
Prophett rcading of the Qur'ao has been
refined and miraculously he was able to
committheuihole Qur'anto mcmory.lhis
tradition in ewayhas made the qdan truly
authentic comparcd to rile prwious Holy
Bools which nnre not preserved in writings.
Reading thc Qr'an with understanding
during thc mooth of Ramadhaa brings
a lot ofblessings aad tranquility to thc
hearts of the beliercrs.tosewho read the
Qur'an during the fasting month bring
upon themselves ad&tional reward {thawab)
from thcir Lord
Ramadhaa in tie Qr'an and Hadith
r. "Oyouurfrobelievc!Fastingis
pscribcd for ;nu as it was prcscribcd to
tlosr beforeyou,thatyou may Qcam) selF
restraint' (Al-Baqerah : r83)
z. "Ramadhan is the (month) in
urhichnras sentdown the Qur'an,as aguide
to mankind, also dear(cifc) for guidance
and judgcmcn(bctrccn right and wmng).
So arcy one of pu vfro is prtsent (at his
home) duringthatmonthshould qpend it in
futins but if anyone is ilt or on a journey,
thc prcsibcd pcriod (sbould bc madc up)
by drys latcr. God iatends arcry facility
for yorq He does not went to put you to
dimculties...." (Al-Bzqarah:85)
3. 'Whcn thc month ofRamadhan
begins, the getes of Mcrcy arc opcncd, thc
getes ofhell arc locked and the devils are
shut irf (tladidr)
+ "![/hower observes the Fast,
believing and secking tcward of Allah, has
his past sins forgirrco."(Hedith)
5. "Fastingisashicld,sowhenone
ofyou is fsting he should not use foul
language. Ifsomeone ebuses him or insults
him,lct him sey: t am fasting, I am festing-
(Hadith)
Whet Defeats the Spirit of Fasting
- Thc failure on the part of a Mudim to
contrrol and discipline his gres,ears,tongue,
mind, hands end feet. This deprivcs him
from gettiag the bountiftl reward promised
by Allah for those uiho fest
-Over indulgencc in eating and drinking
during Iftar (breaking of the fast) end
Suhur(the predewn meal).
jlalks ofvmitics, gossip end bac}biting
on odrcrs.
jfbo much ofslccp during the how of
fast and rrcry litde oflbadah and productive
urcrlc
-Too much into music and entertainment
and less attentiron towards worship during
thc fastingmonth.
-One's beharriour docs aot compliment
or rcflect his state offasting.
-Overly irvolved in frivolous activities
in satisfying one's senses and showing
disrcgard for spirioal upliftmcnt
What is Encouraged during Ramadhan
-'Ihe feeding oftLe poor end needy.
-Spirit of sharing our food with our
ncighbours, relatives aad &iends.
-Gite chdity in thc form of Sadrqih
aad ZakaolFitr.
- Read the Holy Qrr'an with
understanding and contemplation
-Perform additional Sunnah prayers.
-Indulge in Dzikr and Solarret.
-Read thc Secrah ofthe Prophets and
the Sahebas
-Makc Istigfar(seck forgiveness) and
Taubah(rcpcntancc) for our shortmmings.
-Spare time to contcmplate on one's
good life girrcn by Atlah, and at the sarnc
tioe, through thc fa* feel the hunger and
egony of those who erc not dohg well
economicdly end hcdth wise.
'Assfutrff Pm,ft$oq,Dopt of Gcacnl
Stu&c*ORf,HS)
Imcrnrriond Ideric UnlrrrOty
M.kyd&
EuiL oaryFono@,rtoo3o-
Ramadan and Eid
in lltlalaysia
MadihaSamsuddin
Ramadan is amonth that allMuslims
in Malaysia look forward to. Every par
we weit in ftont of the telwision for the
announcement ofwhen the monthbegins.
Once confirmed, elreryonc is happy and
we get ready to g! to the mosque for
taraweeh night prayers.
My mothcr is always the busiest
pcrson during Ramaden. Like many
other mothers, shc will wake up early to
prcpare food for sahur,the moming meal
for those who are fasting. Shc will then
wekc the u,trole family up and we will eat
sahur togcthcr.
'When wc hear the adhan (call to
pre),cr) 6om e oearby mosqucrwc knorr
that sahur has cndcd end we pray fajr.
Every daywill start in the samc wayrmtil
the end of Ramadan.
E{drytogcdcr
is thc Bazaar Ramedan,wherc people can
buy a variety ofdelicious foods to brea,k
thcir fasts with. this is a great help for
pcoplc rrho work during the day and do
Malalnian women will also be prcparing
cakes and cookies for Eid. Thcse
prcparations can bcgin as carly as z rrecla
befole Eid. For pcoplc who do not harc
children seaiag of frecracl<ers and
evcrybody still preparing food, making
clothcs or cleaoing the housc. Chil&€n
are thc happiest- many get togethcr and
start reciting Allahu Atbar together.
Millions of Muslims from all walks
of hfe will gather at mosques on Eid
morning. Most of them will be wearing
traditional Malay clothes, flooding the
mosques with .ll the colours of the
rainbou'. Jl/omen will usually wear a
telehrng (ong white hijrb with a loose
skirt).Ihe spirit of Eid is truly rlirrc!
After praycr, eyeryone takcs the
opportunity to ask cach other for
forgirrcness, "IdaaZahirdrnBatirf (forgirc
mc for dl wrongdoings). Remadan has
ended with a victory over the naG (lower
r"lfl.
Pcople will spend the rest of the day
visiting each othcr. Gucsts arc servedwith
cootics, cekcs aod traditiond delicacies
such as Lcmang (ricc and coconut milk,
cooked in bamboos) and Ketupat (ricc
cooked inbamboo lexrcs thetare sheped
likediamon&).
Non-Muslim &iends also join in on the
visits andwish crrcrlonc ahappyEid. Eid
-t.|..-+;^-.
at - nl.^- d'E . ,ldF $'l":^t
not harre time o cook a meal for iftar
(whcn the fast cnds).
We bring food to our grandparents'
house and break our fast together. After
the med, everyone will perform the
tefirrech preyer together.
kcpodngfuEiil
te spirit of Eid-ul-Fitrbegins early in
Ramadan- My mother makcs ncwclothcs
for dl of us. My sistcrs and I will have a
newBajulGrung (longloosc tunic),rvfiile
my fathcr end bro&ec will havc e asw
BajuMclayu (traditional Malay out6t of
long finic, wom with couscrs). Thilors
ahrays makc good business at thi$ time
ofpar.
tim€. to mekc cakcs at homc, drere are
rrany cookie-sellers around. Cookies
that we eat for Eid are celled Kuih Raya
and thcycome in all shapcs,colous aad
flavours.
NuzulQmrrl
Ramadan is dso thc monthufuen the
Malrysian gowrnmentholls the National
Qranic Rcciati,on Cdcbratioa. On r7h
dayof Ramadan there is a public holidry,
so that Muslims in Mdaysia can rccite dre
Qrrn in mosquc together.
thosercho dont haw the oppormnity
to go to amoequcrwill usudlygathcrwith
their familyathomc to reite thc Quran-
Ei.td.y