Dr. Ahmed Helmy writes on the meaning of Ramadan in the first of a series of occasional articles on Islam.

Islam: a way of life Ramadan: the month of honesty What is Ramadan?

1 - The ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar 2 - One of the five pillars of Islam 3 - During this month Muslims all over the world fast daily from dawn to sunset 4 - Muslims fast from food, drinks and water 5 - Muslims usually take two meals: before dawn and after sunset (and are allowed to eat and drink from after sunset until dawn) Why do Muslims fast so long?

1 - It is a training course of honesty, mercy and self discipline 2 - Ramadan’s philosophy is not to make one’s life difficult but rather to make it easy 3 - Honesty : nobody can follow you with a 24 hour CCTV camera to confirm that you are fasting : you can easily hide anywhere for a few minutes, eat and drink and come back to say: “I am fasting!“ So the idea is that a Muslim believes God (ALLAH ) sees us all the time even if you are on your own, so be honest to your Lord, to yourself and to others, do your work very well even if no one is observing you because God is observing you all the time!

4 - Mercy: when you break your routine and you feel hungry and thirsty, you start to remember those who are poor all over the globe, those who cannot afford to eat or drink, those famines in some areas of the world such as in Africa and after earthquakes, natural disasters and so on, or even some people who might have the food, drink and wealth but lost their ability to enjoy those bounties (remember those with cancer tongue, cancer stomach, etc,... they might be obliged to fast because of their disease). Therefore you are spiritually sharing with others their suffering and you are then able to help via charity work and similar .

5 - Thankfulness: Also you feel the bounties of God when you miss them: you realise the Lord is so Merciful to provide you with loads of bounties such as food, drinks, water and health and many others all the year so you are more thankful and more worshipping to your Lord.

6 - Self discipline: when you break your routine and probably miss your morning tea or your sandwiches at lunch, you realise you are not a slave for the material life but you have the voluntary power to say no to your desires (although Islam does respect your right to fulfil them) when you want.

7 - The idea of Ramadan exists in other religions: like “Lent“ in the Christian faith with the same idea of self discipline.

8 - This month is a training course to charge your battery for the rest of the year to be a better human being.

9 - You are required to be honest and perfect in your work and not to make the fasting as an excuse to underperform but the opposite is true because you are more in self control.

What about your health? What about children, old and sick people...?

As the idea is to make life easy and preserve a more disciplined, honest, healthy life all the following are exempted from fasting: 1 - Children 2 - Pregnant and nursing mothers 3 - Old people who find it difficult 4 - People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, chronic heart disease, chronic chest problems etc, unless your doctor ensures your treatment allows you to be safe and healthy (for example diabetic patients treated with diet alone or with tablets like metformin can easily fast without any compromise to their health).

5 - Travel: you are allowed not to fast during travel even if you are young and healthy.

6 - Transient illness: such as flu, common cold, chest infection, etc, Note: for the last two exceptions (5 and 6) Muslims are allowed not to fast during Ramadan but as the exemption was due to a transient cause, they are required to fast alternative days instead at any other time during the year What about your behaviour?

1 - Islam believes that fasting is a training course for better self control so when you are fasting you are asked to be more in self control of your actions and your behaviour and your manners.

2 - You get no reward for fasting from food and drink if you do not fast from bad manners and bad behaviour so your fasting needs to be translated into better actions.

(Whoever does not abandon false speech thus he has no reward from ALLAH if he abandons his food and drink) as said prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him); authenticated by Imam Bukhary 3 - During Ramadan : Muslims do more prayers, more reading of the holy book (Quran) and are encouraged to spend more in terms of charity and helping the poor.

What is Eid? What do Muslims do at the end of Ramadan?

1 - Eid is a ‘Feast’ Mor celebration at the end of Ramadan.

2 - Before Eid, Muslims are encouraged to donate generously to help the poor.

3 - Muslims celebrate Eid by a collective prayer to celebrate the victory on self desires and the bounty that they were able to complete the month in a spiritual and positive manner.

4 - They also celebrate Eid with family gatherings, meeting friends and having meals together.

5 - Muslims make Ramadan another start for a more positive year of honesty, mercy, self discipline and positive work in the society for the common good.

(O’you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you become righteous) Quran: 2-183