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"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed
for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that
you may guard against evil." Holy Qur'an 2:183
Around the world literally billions of people will take part
in an annual spiritual and physical observance designed to
promote advancement of the human being and healing. Fasting
in the month of Ramadan, the holy month observed by Muslims
across the globe, begins Monday Aug. 1, 2011 and will conclude 30 days
later.
Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Holy Qur’an
given to Prophet Muhammad of Arabia some 1,400 years ago.
Contained in the revelation is an injunction for the Believers
to fast as part of a prescription for healing ailments of
the body, mind and soul and to especially focus on their spiritual
development in this most sacred of months.
When Ramadan is discussed in the West, the focus is usually
on the abstention from food and drink during the daylight
hours, which is part of the divine command. What is often
lost is the beauty of the opportunity to stand and refresh
oneself, to shed bad habits that may have been picked up during
the year and to again fervently seek the pleasure and blessings
of Almighty God Allah.
“Fasting, one of the main pillars of Islam, is a principle
that must be practiced by every believing Muslim. In fact,
fasting has been enjoined in every age by every prophet that
has come to reform the conduct of man,” the Honorable
Minister Louis Farrakhan has said in a message devoted to
Ramadan.
“Since fasting is given to us as a prescription—and
a prescription is given to us by a doctor, telling us to take
a certain medicine at and for a specified time, to effect
a cure for a certain illness—in this case, Almighty
God Allah is The Doctor prescribing for all of humanity. And
now we are speaking specifically to the Black people of America,
that fasting is to be used as a cure for a sick spiritual,
moral, social and physical condition.
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that fasting
produces discipline. How? We know that we are creatures with
desires and basic human needs: Food, shelter, and love. We
need to be respected in our community. We have a hunger for
love, and for expressing our own being. All of these hungers,
all of these needs, must be disciplined and controlled if
society is to be successful,” he said.
If we desire success, we must follow guidelines laid down
that will lead to success, observance of the month of Ramadan
is among those guidelines.
In addition to the fasting and abstaining from sexual relations
with wives and husbands during the daylight hours, Muslims
are instructed not to engage in arguments or discord during
this month. The Muslims also devote more time to reading divine
scripture, the Holy Qur’an, and are to read one part
of the book every day. If that reading schedule is adhered
to, this wonderful book containing the words and divine wisdom
of Allah will be completed in 30 days.
Consider what such immersion in a pure word from the Lord
of the Worlds can do to resurrect the spirit and provide comfort
to those suffering in a world where spiritual values are hardly
celebrated and where righteous conduct and adherence to right
principles are mocked. Yet it is those everlasting principles
of good and right that will bring the relief sought in so
many ways and the harmony that seems to be so hard to find
in this life.
The benefit of Ramadan does not have to be limited solely
to those who declare themselves to be Muslims, the principles
can bring good to anyone who would follow these divine dictates.
Ramadan makes allowances for the sick and those who are on
a journey, so those who suffer from ailments can make wise
choices and still follow what Allah (God) has ordained.
So as this blessed month begins, let us commit our entire
being to following the commands of God as best we can and
challenge ourselves to practice this important ritual as best
we can—to fast, to pray, to read the divine word and
to avoid discord.
Such an observance would be of great benefit to our individual
lives and to the life of our entire community
[Editor’s note: On
May 16, 1988, Minister Farrakhan called to The Final Call
newspaper office from the United Arab Emirates to give this
special message of encouragement and inspiration to the Muslim
followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, friends and supporters
of the Nation of Islam, and the Black community in the United
States during the Sacred Month of Ramadan.]
In The Name Of Allah, The Beneficent,
The Merciful.
It is a great pleasure to be able to communicate
with you from the Muslim world, particularly during the Holy
month of Ramadan. Nearly one billion Muslims of every race,
color, creed and nationality are now observing the month of
Ramadan as a month of fasting in obedience to the injunction
given to us in the Holy Quran.
Surah (Chapter) 2, verse 183, it is written,
O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was
prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against
evil.
Fasting, one of the main pillars of Islam,
is a principle that must be practiced by every believing Muslim.
In fact, fasting has been enjoined in every age by every prophet
that has come to reform the conduct of man.
Since fasting is given to us as a prescription—and
a prescription is given to us by a doctor, telling us to take
a certain medicine at and for a specified time, to effect
a cure for a certain illness—in this case, Almighty
God Allah is The Doctor prescribing for all of humanity. And
now we are speaking specifically to the Black people of America,
that fasting is to be used as a cure for a sick spiritual,
moral, social and physical condition.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that
fasting produces discipline. How? We know that we are creatures
with desires and basic human needs: Food, shelter, and love.
We need to be respected in our community. We have a hunger
for love, and for expressing our own being. All of these hungers,
all of these needs, must be disciplined and controlled if
society is to be successful.
Whenever the human being lacks discipline,
the society reflects that lack of discipline in the manifestation
of excesses: Excessive eating, excessive drinking, excessive
sex, the lust for material things, the greed for power, the
overpowering of our intelligence by anger and envy. All of
these excesses break the spirit of brotherhood and destroy
human society.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that
the first law of the Universe is motion. After something is
put into motion, the second law is order. That which is in
motion must come under order. This order presupposes discipline.
And when there is no discipline, there is no order—whatever
motion we have will be brought to an end.
The lack of discipline, therefore, is not
only the death of the individual; it also is the death of
the family and the death of the society.
Thus, fasting is prescribed for us as it was
prescribed for those before us that we may guard against evil.
During this month of fasting, from dawn to
sunset, from dawn until dark, the Muslim will not put a drop
of water or food in his or her mouth. Nor will that Muslim
feed the hunger of sex during the daylight hours. Out of our
love for Almighty God Allah and obedience to what He has ordered
for us in the Holy Qur’an we carry out His discipline.
What are the results?
Self-imposed discipline
When we deprive ourselves of something so
essential to life as water and food, for a period of 15 to
18 hours, during the heat of the day, this discipline imposed
on ourselves makes it easy for us to discipline other hungers
or desires.
When we can stop eating and drinking, drives
which are natural to life itself, how much more easy is it
for us to stop lying, stealing and the practice of those sins
that destroy the peace and brotherhood of the society? This
fast of Ramadan is one of the greatest means of inculcating
self discipline.
We have all seen societies that are highly
disciplined by authoritarian rule. This is a discipline imposed
on others by a superior authority. Authoritarian rule often
leads to excesses: Despots, tyrants and dictators.
Certainly the discipline imposed on the members
of an authoritarian society does produce some good, but the
greatest of all disciplines is that which we impose on ourselves.
Self discipline leads to the restraining of
those passions in our own being that can be used by Satan
for the destruction of ourselves and things around us. Self-imposed
discipline leads to a healthy society, one where the people
truly can rule.
Excessive eating leads to obesity which brings
with it a myriad of other diseases culminating in heart failure,
stroke, stress, etc. Excessive sex leads to promiscuity, fornication,
adultery, the breakup of families and the destruction of the
basic unit of civilization, as well as the killing of millions
of unborn unwanted children.
The lust for material things leads to greed,
avarice and the over consumption or acquisition of things,
and ones glorying in things, that have no feeling, thereby
denying the humanity in self and others.
The lust for power, to be recognized, can
become so great that it gets out of control, then we see men
and women destroying others to get what they want and where
they want to go.
Anger is a force within the human being that
is so potent, if it is not controlled it will lead to the
destruction of the individual and others. You can see that
there is a need for personal discipline in our lives.
The fast of Ramadan and the discipline of
prayer at prescribed times during the day is the greatest
aid in developing personal discipline and regulating our affairs
and habits.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wanted to see
his followers supremely disciplined. Of course, in our infancy,
there was authoritarian rule, just as we had in our homes
under our mothers and fathers. And we witnessed some excesses
under this rule which led to grievous dissatisfaction on the
part of those who were offended by the improper use of authority.
But look how beautiful a society can become
when each individual imposes upon himself or herself the discipline
of fasting, the discipline of curtailing our own behaviors,
our own hungers, our own desires. This makes a very clean,
peaceful, righteous, progressive and orderly society. This,
by the help of Allah, is what we intend to produce.
Here in the Middle East where the temperature
sometimes gets up to 115 degrees, 120 degrees in the desert,
I found myself losing a lot of water. In one incident in particular,
there I was in the cool of my room, with a refrigerator full
of all kind of cold drinks. No one would ever have known if
I had taken a drink of water except Allah and myself. But
so desirous was I not to break the fast and give in to my
great thirst, I took water and rinsed out my mouth making
sure that not one single drop passed into my throat, so that
I might be obedient to Allah. While I watched visitors to
this region eating and drinking, I maintained my discipline.
I say to all of us as Muslims, this fast if
properly followed by you will lead to your and my ability
to put all of our appetites under control. This is why fasting
is prescribed so that we may guard against every form of evil.
As we have indicated, practically every evil comes out of
a hunger that we desire to satisfy. Since we cannot discipline
that hunger, we exceed the limits. Fasting, therefore, is
prescribed.
I plead with all of the Muslims to do everything
in your power to make this fast successful. Follow it all
the way through, and at the end of these 30 days, you will
become a new person.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad desired ease
for us; as the Holy Qur’an teaches of Allah, He desires
ease for His creatures. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad knew
that we were a group of people who had lived undisciplined
lives following after our slave-masters and their children.
Now that we have embraced Islam, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
wanted us to practice fasting, but he chose the month of December
for us to do the fast of Ramadan. Of course, this made us
totally different from the Islamic world, but on careful examination
of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, his rationale and understanding
is very well accepted now as we explain it to the scholars
of this side of the world.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad chose December
because the days in that month are shortest, and since Allah
desires ease for us, and the example of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
was one that he desires ease for his followers, the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad likewise wanted us to make the fast, so he
chose the shortest days in the year for us to observe the
fast.
Secondly, he did not want us to continue practicing
the behavior during the month of December which disgraced
the memory of a righteous servant of Allah, Jesus, the son
of Mary. So the Honorable Elijah Muhammad chose December as
the month for his followers to observe Ramadan. His reasons,
I repeat, are wise and justified, but he also wanted us to
grow up to be able to follow the Holy Qur’an as perfectly
as is humanly possible.
The Holy Qur’an tells us that we should
fast during the month of Ramadan, and now the followers of
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, having matured in our understanding,
are now fasting with the entire Islamic world.
May Allah bless each one of you to complete
this fast successfully. May Allah bless us to increase in
discipline so that we may leave alone those things which displease
Almighty God Allah, in order to be acceptable in His Sight.
Let us, during this sacred month, thank Allah
for this most precious of all gifts, the gift of the Revelation
of the Holy Qur’an which came to the world through Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him.
And lastly, may Allah bless us with a discipline
that will strengthen the peace of our community, and strengthen
our peace in the total society. I appeal to all of our friends,
and all of our Christian Brothers and Sisters to practice
this discipline called fasting. If you can do it one or two
days, three or four days or maybe one week, it will show you
that you also have the strength to put off certain unclean
habits from your life.
Let every Muslim strive during this month
of Ramadan to rid himself or herself of some habit that we
know Allah disapproves of. Fasting will give us the strength
to overcome it.
MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU
VERY MUCH FOR READING THESE FEW WORDS, AS I GREET YOU IN PEACE.
AS-SALAAM ALAIKUM.
© Copyright 2008 FCN Publishing, FinalCall.com
Daily Prayer Times:
These prayers are obligatory and
should be practiced at home or abroad (within cleanly secure
areas when possible) by all Practicing Muslims on a daily
basis.
Fajr (Dawn)
Dhuhr (Midday)
Asr (Afternoon)
Maghrib (Sunset)
Isha'a (Night)
For more information
on prayers we recommend this book: "Muslim Daily Prayers"
can be ordered by calling 866-602-1230 or by visiting www.Finalcall.com
Join an open independently operated prayer line.
The FAJR PRAYERLINE Schedule: Dial 218-844-8230 enter 885340
FAJR PRAYER- 4:30am EST to 6:15am EST, 7 days a week
4:30am---lectures from The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Min. Louis Farrakhan.
5:00am---The Adhan and Salat (2 Rakas) are completed
5:20am---Guest Quranic Reader and then comments
6:00am---Announcements and closing prayer
QURANIC RECITATION: 7 days a week and the Holy Qur'an is read from cover to cover, every 7 days.
Saturday to Sunday, 6:30am EST to about 10:30am. EST
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ARABIC CLASS: Every Saturday at 7:00pm EST to 9:00pm EST
Learning the Al-Fatiha, the Adhan, Salats in Arabic; Also History of Islam, the Qur'an and the forming of Arabic letters, numbers and the language.
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THE FAJR PRAYERLINE IS A SERVICE TO THE BELIEVERS AND A BENEFIT TO OUR NATION!!
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Photos: Minister Farrakhan, Latino
Members of the Nation of Islam,
also Minister Farrakhan speaking in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
