Commemorating God's revelation of the Quran

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct which month Ramadan is in the Islamic lunar calendar.

~ Ramadan begins Saturday and is a time of obligatory fasting from dawn to dusk

Hafez Amer spoke of maintenance in his noon sermon June 13 at the Cape Girardeau Islamic Center, as two dozen men sat listening on the arabesque rugs.

He explained that every machine needs to be run empty for a cycle to clean out the system.

"God built the human body to perfection and he made Ramadan as the maintenance period," he said.

The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Ramadan is when Muslims commemorate God's revelation of the Quran. It begins Saturday and is a time of obligatory fasting, during which the faithful refrain from ingesting anything from dawn to dusk.

In the Quran, God says, "Fasting is prescribed to you ... that you may learn self-control." Amer said that the physical benefits of fasting are only a vehicle by which Muslims cultivate their relationship with God.

"We stop eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum; everything until sunset," Amer said. "Doctors can prove [the physical benefits of fasting], but it's enough for us that God tells us to do it."

Fasting in Islam is more than just refraining from food, however. Ahmad Sheik said that watching what comes out of your mouth is just as important as what goes in during a fast.

"The physical side is just a small part of it. When you're fasting, you're not supposed to do anything bad," he said. "During Ramadan, if you harm someone or answer with a bad word, even if someone insults you, you lose your fast."

Sheik has observed the Ramadan fast since he became old enough to do so, and since the lunar calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar, Ramadan comes a bit earlier every year. Sometimes it's in the summer, and other times it's in the winter.

"When I was a kid 32 years ago, Ramadan came at this time of year," he said.

He said the cyclical timing of Ramadan proposes unique challenges to Muslims around the world.

"Sometimes it's in the winter and it's easier, and sometimes it's in the summer and it's harder," he said. "And think about Muslims in places like Alaska where the sun only sets for a few hours a day in the summer."

Some, like Amer, already are performing a few fasts a week during the current month of Sha'ban in preparation for the strict fasting of Ramadan.

"It's optional, but if you do it, you shrink the stomach a bit and you're better able to celebrate Ramadan," he said.

Sheik explained that Ramadan is one of the times that Muslims believe that God is especially receptive to their prayers.

"We make prayers asking God both for forgiveness and for worldly goods," he said. "We ask God for comprehensive goodness."

Since Ramadan is a time when Muslims venerate the Quran in particular, they work through the entire script over the course of the month, some at each prayer service.

"It's so important because every single letter of the Quran is the word of God," Amer said. "In Islam, this direct link with God is very important to us."

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