25/03/2023
The word Ramadan comes from an Arabic root word 'ramad' which means "heated by the intensity of the sun" or "burning", reminding us that the purpose of Ramadan is to burn the sins that veil us from the omnipresence of Allah.
The word for fasting in Arabic is 'swam', which means "self-restraint".
Muslims spend the entire month of Ramadan in a state of self-purification, abstaining from food, drinking, smoking and s*x from dawn until sundown.
When we fast, we are withdrawing the resources of energy from our physical senses and redirecting our focus toward spiritual awakening. In the month of Ramadan we are called to use the polish of prayer, the chisel of fasting and the cleanser of charity to break the veils of separation between us and Allah. The ultimate purpose of fasting is to remove everything between you and Allah through a practice of physical, emotional and spiritual detoxification.
Fasting is not about losing body weight, it's about losing the weight of your sins and learning to detach from the ego that weighs you down.