Ramzan 2012

How blessed you are to be a Muslim and able to practice self control via a basic human need like food and drink, while receiving the blessings of God at the same time and improving your health.

Ramzan Mubarak.

Quran 2:183

To those who believe, fasting is decreed upon you as fasting was decreed upon those before you so that you may become righteous.

Quran 2:184

A limited number of days. For those whoever among you is ill or on a journey - an equal number of days from other days. And upon those who are able to fast, but with hardship - a ransom of feeding a poor person for each day they do not fast. And whoever volunteers to give more - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew it.

Quran 2:185

The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sees the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that which He has guided you. And perhaps you will be grateful.

Six Pillars of Faith

Believing in

The uniqueness of God

The Angels

The Revealed Books of God

The Messengers of God

The Day of Judgment, Resurrection, and Afterlife

Divine Destiny including human free-will

Five Pillars of Islam

Ramadan & Fasting

Testimony of Faith

Daily 5 Time Prayer

Fasting during Ramadan

Alms-giving (Obligatory Annual Charity)

The Pilgrimage to Mecca

The Month RAMADAN

The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset.

The Requirements

Abstaining from

Food

Drink

Intimate Intercourse

Fasting is not only to restrain from food and drink, fasting is to refrain from obscene acts.

Hadith (Prophetic Tradition)

The Four Dimensions of Ramadan

The behavioral dimension

The religious dimension

The social dimension

The spiritual dimension

The behavioral dimension.

Fasting in Ramadan is a means of learning self-control

The religious dimension.

Fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and thus learning sincere thankfulness and appreciation for all of God's bounties.

The social dimension.

Ramadan is a time for developing empathy/sympathy for the less fortunate and generosity

People are more generous, more cordial, and more ready than at other times of the year to do good and charitable work.

The spiritual dimension.

Fasting during Ramadan is an act of obedience.

It leads to sincere thankfulness, which is the heart of worship.

It also empowers our spiritual side over our physical tendencies.

Ramadan is about

Ramadan is a time of intensive worship and devotion to God,

of reading The Qur`an and Reflecting on its teachings,

of comprehensive thanksgiving,

giving to charity,

practicing self-control and kindness,

of training oneself to be a better person spiritually and

improving relationship with others.

ISLAM

Islam is the religion that is articulated by Quran and the prophet of Hz.Muhammed.

Islam started to evolve by the 7th century . In 610. At the age of 40, Hz.Muhammad started receiving revelations from God.

These revelations are sent to Hz.Muhammed from God by means of the Angel Gibreel.

Fasting

Fasting is an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan Ramadan begins 11 days earlier each succeeding year.Muslims must abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse from dawn ezan to dusk ezan during this month. Everyone waits for the Ezan to eat.Fasting is obligatory as a must of Islamc religion for every Muslim who is more than 11.But for patients ,elderly people and the people who are on a journey at that time fasting is not obligatory .Fasting act starts on Ramadan,as revelations started to be sent on Ramadan.

The main aim of fasting is to obey the Gods Pillar then understanding the hungry people , learning to be patient.It is a kind of religious detox.

Iftar Dinner

At sunset,the family get together and have the fast breaking dinner called iftar. Iftar Dinner is important for us. People generally invite their relatives, neighbours for iftar dinner.This helps to improve relations.All of them sit around the table and wait for dusk ezan and there is also Ramadan cannon in some countries. The purpose of the cannon is to signal the Muslims that the daily Ramadan fast is over and the iftar,their long-awaited eveningsustenance, is at hand

Date

Date is very important for the Islam Food Culture.Date is a fruit which mentioned in Quran and it is also healthy fruit.

When dusk comes most people prefer eating date.It is the Sunna (the sayings and doings of Mohammed , which form a basis).breaking the fast with olive or date is welcomed.

Iftar Starters

Iftar Dinner starts with kinds of starters.The most important ones are date and olive.

Iftar Suggestions

A warm soup for iftar is usually recommendedDrinking sufficient water and juices between Iftar and bedtime is useful to avoid dehydration and for detoxification of the digestive systemFor the pre-dawn meal, a milk-based food which is slow-digesting is recommended. Yoghourts are popular for this meal

Soups

Soup is recommended for the Iftar

Vegetable Food

For starters vegetables are also recommended however many people indulge in heavy fried foods.

It is better to start of with light in the iftar so you do not overwhelm your digestive system.

Salads

Salad and season salads are recommedned during iftar.

Fruit Desserts

Fruit desserts are recommeded at after the end of the iftar dinner.

Try to avoid junk food with complex chemicals like titanium dioxide or sodium benzoate.

Sahur

It is an Islamic term referring to the meal Sahur, the big early-morning meal to be eaten before the fast begins again at sunrise. had early in the morning.

Sahur

Try to eat food that doesn't digest quickly... like a hot cup of milk with a whole wheat bagel and cheese (it holds up for long before being digested) also for water, it's always good to take watery fruits or vegetable such as watermelon or cucumber and lettuce as the body can use the water longer than simply a cup of water.

Sahur

Most experts recommend a light Suhur that may include complex carbohydrates that are found in foods that contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, millet, semolina, beans, lentils, whole meal flour and unpolished rice

Suggestions

It is recommended that people should drink plenty of water during Suhoor and Iftar, along with a balanced diet made up of vegetables, fruits, protein, milk, yogurt and some saltine snacks.

Suggestions

One should also sleep well and have rested before going to work, and wear clean light-weight and loose fitting clothing.

Suggestions

Get a high intake of water during non-fasting hours to overcome heat stress and replenish the low levels of water in ones body during this time.

SocialBenefits Of Ramadan

Ramadan help people examine their lives, to remind themselves of virtues like charity, compassion and forgiveness, and to avoid vices like cupidity, selfishness and dishonesty People help the poor people.Most of the people go to the mosques and they feel themselves closer the god.

Since the focus of Ramadan is to deprive oneself of worldly things, charity and giving are strongly encouraged. Many Muslims give a portion of their earnings to charity so as to aid the poor and suffering; others purchase food, clothing and gifts for the needy.

From : Shahid Athar, MD, FACP, FACEAuthor, Islamic Perspective in Medicine (ATP)

Ramadan Fasting and Muslim Patients

Abstract

Fasting from dawn to dusk in the holy month of Ramadan for healthy adult Muslims has been ordained and physically sick Muslims are exempt from it. However many Muslims with mild to moderate Diabetes, Hypertension and other medical conditions do want to fast. The purpose of this presentation is make some recommendations as to how they can fast safely in light of research on fasting

Quran 2:183

O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you attain Taqwa (self restraint , God Awareness)

Who Cannot Fast

1. Physically sick ( Quran 2: 184-185)2. Traveler on a journey (above)3. Women during menstruation4. ? Pregnant and lactating women5. pre pubertal children

Physiological Effects of Fasting

On Calorie intake

On fluid /water intake

Effects on Digestive System

- Kidneys - Endocrine glands - Lipid Metabolism - Respiratory system - Neurological System

Uniqueness of Islamic Fasting

It is a voluntary undertaking rather than being ordered by a physician

There is no selective food intake i.e. protein only, juice only, fruit only , water only etc

There is no total calorie malnutrition i.e. it not a semi starvation diet.

An exercise in self discipline i.e. from constant nibbling , drinking, smoking etc

Psychological effect and additional prayer

Effects of Fasting on Carbohydrate Metabolism

1. Slight fall in serum Glucose (to 60 mg)2. Serum Insulin decreases due to 13. Serum Glucagon and Growth Hormone increases due to 14. Increase in sympathetic activity5. Increase in liver Cyclic AMP due to 4

CHO Metabolism in Ramadan

Slight decrease in first week then normalization by day 20 and some rise in the last week

22% children develop hypoglycemia (BG