Sawm (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Role & Significance of Fasting During Ramadan

Sawm

• Sawm is the obligation on Muslims to fast between sunrise and sunset during the month of Ramadan the ninth month of the Islamic year

• The Muslim calendar is Lunar and so Ramadan is not always at the same time of the Solar year

• Sawm is the fourth pillar of Islam for Sunni Muslims and one of the Ten Obligatory Acts for Shi’a Muslims

• The fast is broken at sunset, often with a sweet food such as dates

• After this a bigger meal is eaten, often as a community

The Night of Power

• Night of Power or Laylat al-Qadr is an important festival that marks the beginning of God’s revelation

• It is the name given to the night that the Angel Jibril first appeared to Muhammad (pbuh) and began revealing the Qur’an

  • ‘Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form [a blood clot]. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught what he [Muhammad] did not know’ (Qur’an 96:1–5)

• Muslims believe that observing the night of power gives them the benefits of worshipping for a thousand months (Qur’an 97: 3)

• Muslims will try to keep awake throughout the night on each of the possible dates (of the night of power) to read and pray

• Muslims come together to celebrate in the mosque, and it is believed that it is a time when Allah will forgive their sins

• This is celebrated during Ramadan as it is seen as a time of thanksgiving for the Qur’an

Significance of Fasting during Ramadan

• Ramadan falls on the same month Muhammed (pbuh) is believed to have received the first revelation of the Qur’an and so Muslims use this time to focus upon the word of God rather than bodily desires

• Fasting is significant because it develops spiritual discipline and self control

  • ‘Oh believers! Fasting is prescribed for you as it were for those before you that you may learn self-restraint’ (Qur’an 2: 183)

  • Being hungry also reminds them that the poor feel that way all the time developing empathy

  • It reminds Muslims to help the poor. Many Muslims pay Zakah during Ramadan

• It also builds the ummah as Muslim families share food together at suhur, and iftar

• Muslims also use this time to focus on prayer with many Muslims gathering for night prayers at the mosque

• Allah instructs Muslims to fast in the Qur’an which says ‘decreed upon you is fasting…that you may become righteous’

Practices Observed During Sawm

Practices observed during Ramadan

• During this time Muslims are expected to refrain from eating food, drinking, smoking, listening to music and sex from dawn to dusk. They should also avoid evil thoughts and unkind speech

• They get up before sunrise to eat and drink enough to keep them satisfied until the end of the day

• The evening meal is often shared with family and friends, prayers are said and readings from the Quran

• Ramadan is a time for both physical and moral self-discipline. It is a time of obedience to Allah and a time of understanding hunger

• It is also about spending extra time studying the Qur’an and attending mosque, as well as making an extra effort to help those in need

• During the month of Ramadan, the whole of the Qur’an is read from beginning to end

• Many Muslims recite the whole Quran, in daily sections over 30 days

  • This allows Muslims to remember the importance of the teachings and their importance in their daily lives

• There are some Muslims who may be exempt from fasting

  • Children under the age of 12

  • Old people and people with medical conditions

  • Women who are pregnant or menstruating

  • Mothers who are nursing babies or children

  • People who are travelling

  • If it is possible to do so, Muslims who have missed a few days of the fast make up for it by fasting for the same number of days after Ramadan has ended

• Shia’s fast in the same way but also spend three days during Ramadan mourning the death of Ali