Is it rude to eat in front of those who fast? What do most people get wrong about Ramadan?
Simple questions about Ramadan, answered …
Simple questions about Ramadan, answered …
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00:00Ayy, it's Ramadan and I'm chillin' with my mom
00:02Can't do nothing haram so we readin' the Quran
00:05Read it!
00:05It's Ramadan
00:06Yay!
00:07Ramadan
00:07Ramadan
00:08Ramadan
00:09Yes!
00:09It's Ramadan
00:14Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims where Muslims fast from dawn until sunset
00:19The fasting is from intercourse, food, and drink
00:22The point of this fast is to clean us physically as well as spiritually
00:30We learn self-control and discipline through resisting from food and drink and intercourse
00:35which are the basic human desires
00:36The goal of fasting is to help us gain closeness or taqwa to God
00:41Taqwa in Arabic means God-consciousness and knowing that God is watching us and acting upon that
00:46Another condition is to know what we are speaking, who we are talking to, when we are saying it
00:52This is to help us know that we're going to be accountable for what we say on the Day of Judgment
00:56So fasting also has a spiritual concept that we have to watch what we're saying while we fast
01:06So a lot of times when people hear us say that we're fasting for 30 days
01:10it means that for 30 straight days we're not eating or drinking water
01:13We can eat and drink throughout the entire night
01:15but when dawn comes we stop eating, we stop drinking
01:18It's not for the whole 30 days, it's just for about 15 to 20 hours
01:23maybe less, maybe more depending on where you're from
01:29Generally speaking, Muslims don't really mind, they're patient
01:32and that's the prophetic character to be patient
01:34and not just complain rapidly or scream publicly when someone is sipping a coke
01:40So generally it's okay, we're not going to freak out
01:42However, taunting or mocking would be unappreciated
01:49When women are on their monthly cycle, they do not have to fast
01:54but they have to make up those days after Ramadan
01:57Another case would be if you are traveling
01:59Travelers do not have to fast but they have to make up that fast
02:02And a third case, these are the three most common ones
02:04The third one is when someone is facing an illness, is sick
02:08then they do not have to fast but they have to make up that fast later
02:11Another common question people have is does masturbation break your fast
02:19because intercourse and masturbation are a little different
02:21Now, they both break your fast but if you forget that you're fasting
02:27then none of them break your fast
02:28If I forget that I'm fasting and I eat, drink, have intercourse, whatever I do
02:32my fast is good, it's still valid
02:34If I know I'm fasting and I intentionally masturbate
02:37this does invalidate my fast and it also requires me to make up that fast
02:47It follows the lunar calendar
02:49This means that every year if we were to go by the same date
02:52it would be two weeks ahead every single year
02:55That's why we cite the moon to know that Ramadan is here
02:59and that changes by about two weeks every year in terms of the lunar calendar
03:07So, a good way for non-Muslims to help Muslims or support them when they're fasting
03:16is to simply congratulate Ramadan Kareem, Ramadan Mubarak
03:19which means have a blessed Ramadan or have a happy good Ramadan
03:24Now, that doesn't mean you have to join us or anything
03:27However, I know some people who also try to join me when I'm fasting
03:31and this makes me really smile, this makes me happy
03:34so this is also a way to appreciate me
03:36But again, don't feel bad if you don't do that
03:38And if you're an employer who happens to have a Muslim employee
03:42it's very important for that Muslim employee
03:43especially when they're fasting to eat right at sunset
03:46because it's a very strictly prophetic tradition to eat as soon as sunset time comes
03:56Another aspect is generosity
03:58It's narrated in an authentic transmission of narrators
04:01that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him
04:04he would be most generous in Ramadan
04:06That's why we have a lot of Ramadan campaigns to help raise money
04:10This is the month where we should be the most generous
04:13and we should raise the most money for the needy
04:15It doesn't just have to be Muslims
04:17It can be Muslims, non-Muslims, our community, worldwide, whatever it is
04:21We have to be generous to the needy