Benefits Of Fasting What are the benefits of fasting? Fasting has many purposes relating both to the Lordship of God and thanksgiving for His bounties, and to man’s individual and collective life, as well as to his self-training and self-discipline. One of the multiple purposes of fasting connected with the...
Outline Of Spirituality This main article is about the outline of spirituality. Spirituality may refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality, an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being, or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including yoga, fasting, meditation, prayer...
Worshipping And Praying Within Sight Of Our Children There should be a place and time for performing our prayers at home. We should either perform our prayers at home in congregation, if possible, or we should take our children to the mosque, holding their hands on the way. The latter...
Asceticism (Judaism) A term derived from the Greek verb ἀσκέω, meaning “to practise strenuously,” “to exercise.” Athletes were therefore said to go through ascetic training, and to be ascetics. In this usage the twofold application—to the mode of living and the results attained—which marks the later theological implication of the...
Asceticism (Jewish) Rigorous abstention from any form of self-indulgence which is based on the belief that renunciation of the desires of the flesh and self-mortification can bring man to a high spiritual state. Asceticism never occupied an important place in the Jewish religion. Judaism did not believe that the freedom of man’s soul could...
Fasting In Christianity This article covers Fasting In Christianity. Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations and is done both collectively during certain seasons of the liturgical calendar, or individually as a believer feels led by the Holy Spirit. In Western Christianity, the Lenten fast is observed by many...
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of prayer and fasting. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter. Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed by Western Christians. It is observed by Catholics in the Roman Rite, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Independent Catholics, as well as by many...
St. Francis Fasting This article covers the St. Francis Fasting. Francis of Assisi (San Francesco d’Assisi, Sanctus Franciscus Assisiensis), born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, informally named as Francesco (1181/1182 – 3 October 1226), was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men’s Order of Friars Minor, the women’s...
Asceticism In Judaism This article covers asceticism in Judaism. Asceticism is a term derived from the Greek verb ἀσκέω, meaning “to practise strenuously,” “to exercise.” Athletes were therefore said to go through ascetic training, and to be ascetics. Rigorous abstention from any form of self-indulgence which is based on the belief that renunciation of the...
Top 10 Ways to Boost Spiritual Health This article covers how to boost spiritual health. Faith is a tremendous gift from God. But in the midst of our busy lives it takes some extra effort to stay spiritually healthy. A lot of things compete for our attention. We yearn to...
What Is Meditation? Meditation describes a large body of psychophysical techniques whose primary aim is the achievement of non-ordinary states of consciousness, typically through the concentration of attention on some object of thought or awareness. Though virtually all religious traditions contain a contemplative element, meditation practice is more often associated with...
Islamic Holidays Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting during daylight hours), and Muslims may invoke zakat (charity) on the occasion which begins after the new moon sighting for the beginning of Shawal. The Eid al-Fitr celebration begins with prayers the morning of the 1st...
Islamic Calendar The Islamic calendar, Muslim calendar, or Hijri calendar (التقويم الهجري at-taqwīm al-hijrī) is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual period of fasting and the proper...
Suhoor or Suhur Suhoor or Suhur (سحور, “of the dawn”, “pre-dawn meal”; is an Islamic term referring to the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting, sawm, before dawn during or outside the Islamic month of Ramadan. It is usually done around 4:00 AM. The meal is eaten before fajr prayer. Also,...
Iftar Iftar (or Fatoor) (إفطار ʾifṭār ‘break fast’) is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. Muslims break their fast at the time of the call to prayer for the evening prayer. This is their second meal of the day; the daily fast during Ramadan...
Tarawih Tarawih (تراويح) or taraweeh refers to extra prayers performed by Sunni Muslims at night in the Islamic Every Third Part Of Night during Ramadan. Name variations Acehnese: Seumayang Teurawèh Albanian: Namazi i teravive Arabic: صلاة التراويح, translit.Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ Azerbaijani: Təravih namazı Bengali: তারাবীহ, translit.Tarabeeh(taraweeh) Indonesian, Malay, Javanese: Salat tarawih, Solat tarawih Kazakh: Тарауих намазы Persian, Dari: نماز تراويح Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian: Teravih-namaz; Teravija Somali: Salaada Taraawiixda...
Laylat al-Qadr Laylat al-Qadr (لیلة القدر) or Qadr Night, variously rendered in English as the Night of Decree, Night of Power, Night of Value, Night of Destiny, or Night of Measures, is an Islamic belief the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
What Is Ramadan? Ramadan (رمضان Ramaḍān, Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, or Ramathan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five...
What Is Abstinence? Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstinence from alcohol, drugs, or food. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen to enhance life,...
What Is Asceticism? Asceticism (exercise, training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterised by the renunciation...