The fast is not for everyone. All males are required to fast unless they are elderly, on a journey, or ill. Healthy females who are not pregnant or nursing will also fast. Children are exempt.
Source/Credit: The Star Phoenix
By Darlene Polachic | July 10, 2015
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community is in the midst of observing Ramadan, the holy month of fast which began on June 18 and ends July 17.
The daily Ramadan fast begins an hour before sunrise (about 3:30 a.m.) and ends at sunset (about 9:30 p.m.). During that time, adherents abstain from all food and drink.
The reason for the fast, says Zahid Abid, missionary to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, is to increase a person's spirituality and gain nearness to God.
"If a person who is fasting commits a sin, the fast has no purpose," Abid says. "The person is only staying hungry."
The fast is not for everyone. All males are required to fast unless they are elderly, on a journey, or ill. Healthy females who are not pregnant or nursing will also fast. Children are exempt.
On weekdays, the daily fast is broken at home after sunset, then the family will go to the mosque for prayers.
On Saturdays and Sundays, congregants will gather at the mosque around 8:30 p.m., hear teaching from the Qur'an, and at 9:30 p.m., break the fast together with a prepared meal. The communal gathering is generally attended by 250 to 300 people.
Abid says prayers during Ramadan are the same ones offered throughout the rest of the year, but because Ramadan is considered a sacred time, the number of worshippers increases.
This Ramadan, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Canada launched Fast with a Muslim Friend, a nationwide initiative that invites non-Muslims in vicinity of a mosque to come and participate in the fast. The hope, says Abid, is to break down some of the barriers that exist between Muslims and non-Muslims and create greater harmony between the two.
Ramadan ends on July 18 with the festival of Eid. Muslims will gather for special communal prayer on the day of Eid. Abid says about 700 to 750 men, women and children will gather in Prairieland Park to offer prayer. Muslims normally offer prayers five times a day; on Eid there are six prayers.
The festival is celebrated with a special feast at home, to which relatives, friends and neighbours are invited.
There is a strong focus on sweets, Abid says, and cakes are exchanged and eaten with other families. Children receive gifts of money or toys.
Muhammad Zeeshan, president of the youth group at Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, says the youth sector of the community is very focused on serving the broader community.
"The youth group includes men aged 15 to 40," he says. "That's the age when they are part of the workforce, and most active."
The Ahmadiyya community has about 250 in this age category.
"The group has 18 different departments that address nearly all the dayto-day activities of the community including such things as sports, service to the community, financial affairs, charity and much more.
Service to the wider community is a significant involvement for the Ahmadiyya youth group.
"For instance, we have gone to City Hall and asked for the opportunity to do cleanup in Diefenbaker Park after Canada Day celebrations," Zeeshan says.
"Every year we do a food drive for 10 days in December. We collect money from within the Ahmadiyya community and use it to purchase food which is delivered to the Food Bank. Last year we donated 8,500 pounds of food. This is something that is done by our communities all across Canada."
The Ahmadiyya community is also registered with Canadian Blood Services in the Partner for Life program and strives to raise its donation pledges each year.
Read original post here: Fast with a Muslim Friend campaign focuses on unity
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times. Ahmadiyya Times is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.