Ramadan is often explained as a time of fasting from food and drink from sunrise to sunset and increased prayers at night. But there is more to this yearly obligatory practice that Muslims engage in than the physical acts. It is asserted in the Quran that the primary purpose of fasting is to gain a conscious awareness and awe of God. This is achieved by engaging in a physical practice that is meant to unveil the spiritual. However, many of those who fast will restrict what goes in through their mouths, but do not seem to pay much attention to what comes out. What does this mean for their abstaining from food and drink? Moreover, there are others who are not able to engage in the physical of fasting due to health problems. Are such individuals unable to attain the spiritual benefits and rewards of Ramadan?
Topics addressed in this episode include the purpose of fasting, the dangers of the tongue, and how people who can’t fast due to reasons outside their control can still attain the benefits of this blessed time of year.
