ISLAM AND THE WEST - 34

Literally, Sawm means 'to abstain'. In Islamic law, Sawm means 'to abstain from eating, drinking and marital intimacy; with the conditions that one abstains continuously from dawn to sunset, and that there is an intention to fast'. “Intention to fast” means that a person has to form a deliberate intention (Niyyah) to keep a fast. Otherwise, if a person doesn’t eat or drink from dawn to sunset some day just because they were too busy to do so, it doesn’t constitute a sawm.

 

Fasting is mandatory for all post-pubertal Muslims during the whole month of Ramadan, the 9th month of Islamic or Hijra calendar, though there are some exemptions like in case of illness or travel. As Islamic calendar is based on a lunar year which is slightly shorter than the solar year, Ramadan falls earlier by 10-12 days every solar year.

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