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Saum
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.
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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