Ramadan Coursework - page 1
Keywords: Ramadan Coursework GCSE Reliogious Studies Education RS RE R.S. R.E.
By slashwk on 23/11/2006 17:32:53
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
Question A
When the new moon is sighted to signal the start of the month of Ramadan, there is great excitement. People call Mecca as it is announced on the radio, or in some countries cannons are fired. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is very significant for Muslims. This essay will illustrate its importance and purpose as being the single most important month in Islam.
One of the most noticeable things about the month of Ramadan is the fact that Muslims all embark on a customary fast (Saum). This not only means the refraining from food and drink for certain amounts of time, but also includes refraining from smoking, sex and all other types of comfort, and they must abstain from bad thoughts such as greed, lust, and anger. Muslims also use the time of Ramadan to read more of the Qur’an and to get a deeper understanding of its meaning. Some very devout Muslims will read the Qur’an from beginning to end.
All Muslims must fast during the month of Ramadan, but there are exceptions for those who it would either be unwise to fast, or those for which fasting would have no benefit. These are the exceptions:
• Women who are menstruating, pregnant or breast feeding
• People who are ill
• Children under 12 years of age
• The aged
• Those on a tiring journey
• The insane
Those who are excused are required to make up for it later. If they still are unable to fast, they are required to give some form of charity, usually the cost of two meals to the poor for each day of fasting that they miss. Those who purposefully break the fast and are unable to resist temptation are expected to pay for 60 meals for poor people. Children may fast for only half a day at first, just to get them used to the effects of fasting. But once they become twelve years old, they are expected to fast along with the adults.
Fasting occurs during the daylight hours on every day of the 29/30 days of the month of Ramadan. This is from dawn (two hours before sunrise) until sunset. The fact that the Islamic lunar calendar is eleven days shorter than the western solar one means that the month of Ramadan moves backwards and falls in different seasons for different years. This means that Ramadan could, and has, occurred during the hot months of the summer where the
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