The Virtues of the Last Ten Days
Aisha noted that "Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time." (Muslim) and that with the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work harder) and used to pray the whole night, & used to keep his family awake for the prayers. (Bukhari)  Ibn `...

Our shield: Fasting
Fasting is the shield donned by the soul. It represents the human inclination towards the soul in the battle between the soul and the body. Fasting in other faiths According to this statement in the Holy Qur'an, all divine religions prescribe fasting: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you that ye may ward off (evil)." (Surah Bakara:183) T...

Collective Iftar at the end of one Month of Fasting
  Eid is a day of joy and cheerfulness. It is one of those beautiful days when altruistic feelings overflow and the emotions of love and respect among Muslims become enlivened to the utmost. On that day helping and interacting reach their limit. Eid is one of the best means for bringing people together and making them feel close to one another. So much so that the sp...

Fasting And Economics
The only connection between fasting and economics for most of us is the market pick-up particularly in the food sector as Ramadan approaches. As if they have waited for the opportunity for 11 months, Muslims roll up their sleeves and naturally enliven the markets. Just like the writing materials and school clothing markets pick up with the opening of school every fall. In his famous work The Rev...

'Those With Dates at Home Won't Go Hungry'
The month of Ramadan is upon us. The display windows and street stands have now been prepared for Ramadan. The foods which will adorn the blessed iftar tables are piling up in storage rooms. The fruit which receives the most attention and is the most popular item on stands is undoubtedly the date. So much so that the date is one of the first food items which comes to mind when thinking of iftar t...

From the Captivity of the Self to the Freedom of the Fast
The body provides boundaries for a person. It tells us where to start and where to stop. This is the first experience of boundaries that a person has in their childhood. In the same way that the human mind feels that it is buried in one's body, it either perceives the body as its "house" or as a foreign place. The nafs (ego) and the crippled modern person have problems with their bodies. The bod...

Coming like a Miracle Each Year
Fasting is the first guest of my pen's new homeland. Just as happens every year, the time has come and the clock's miraculous alarm has sounded: we saw the non-aging, ever-fresh, ever-bright moon on the horizon as a fine, silver bow. We suddenly realized how much we missed this angel of love that has been a friend of our spirit since the beginning of time. Like a fine, silver reed, the moon made ...

A Common Form of Worship: Fasting
Regardless of how far back we go in time or how far away we travel in space, the reality of religion has existed in every unit of time and space where man has lived. For the need to believe is one of man's basic characteristics and creating a value system and tying it to a source of faith is a psychological and social necessity for man. This quality which separates man from other creatures is nat...

Training the Soul Beginning from the Body


The fasting person is a hungry person. The hungry person does not forget themselves, gravitating towards the external world and making it an object for themselves as those with full stomachs do. On the contrary, they turn towards themselves and become their own object due to their hunger.

Just as the person who always looks around rather than looking at themselves does not see that which is ...

Fasting: Cement Block-Busting
Just as spring cleaning is made in a house once a year when the cob webs are swept away, the roof is repaired, and the house is cleaned, repaired and painted, our souls need such a general cleaning and revision once a year. A city's being cleaned, repaired, renewed, plastered and painted greatly resembles a Muslim city's spiritual dynamism, elevation and advancement throughout the fast. When loo...

Anniversary of the Quran's First Revelation
The Qur'an began to be revealed on the Night of Power during the month of Ramadan. Revelation to the Prophet Muhammad continued in parts according to need during various periods of time, and this process lasted approximately 23 years. Due to its being the month in which the Holy Quran was first revealed, the month of Ramadan has a special place in the lives of Muslims. The month of Ramadan is the...

Night of Power
The Night of Power is a night praised by the Quran, because the Night of Power is the night the Quran descended. The Night of Power is a "center-of-gravity night." Allah put all the power of his sacred words in this night. If the Quran had not been revealed, the universe and existence and every type of creation would have remained as magic or as a riddle whose secret could not be known. It was re...