ramadan – The Pen Magazine

The fourth pillar of Islam: fasting

03/05/201913/05/2019 The Pen

The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting in the month of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur’an was revealed, in solidarity with the poor, and as a spiritual exercise cultivating qualities of discipline, self-denial and non-indulgence. This is the month in which Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual activity between dawn and dusk, and busy themselves with the practice of the Divine Remembrance (dhikr), and reading and reflecting upon the Qur’an. Yet it is also a month of material blessings and joy, and after dark, a festival month…

The impact of Ramadan to the economy

06/06/201604/08/2016 Ahmet C. Gülenay

Economics is a very strange discipline among all disciplines partially because of its direct relationship with every part of life. But perhaps what makes it so interesting is its aim to derive empirical and in a way scientific results from social events or behaviours. Thus, the term social science first called with Economics for its method of combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. Say in mathematics, a derived result is certain and undisputable since the data flow has no brake in its own chain. You either gain a result or you…

Ramadan: the golden opportunity

06/06/201604/05/2019 İdris Tüzün

Titled as the sultan of the eleven months a new blessed Ramadan is coming. We live in the end times. We commit many sins and are addicted to various of them. The best way to get rid of our sins is to evaluate Ramadan at utmost level. While returning Madinah after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah our Prophet (asw) told his companions that a surah was revealed to him that night, and it was more pleasing to him than anything on earth. Why he talked like that is because surah al-Fath…

The luminous colour of Ramadan: ‘Mahyas’

30/09/201403/05/2019 Mustafa Yılmaz

Mahya is an exciting Ramadan tradition enhancing the atmosphere of the blessed month. Mahya is accepted as the herald of Ramadan in our old culture. As good news of Ramadan, it smiled to Muslims with its sparkling face. The tradition of mahya still continues although there are not many masters of it nowadays. In the era of Ottomans, a special importance was attributed to it and never neglected. The aims of this tradition with written messages are to direct people at kindness, to promote good deeds and to encourage children…

Feasts, Festivities, and Special Occasions in Islam

24/09/201316/04/2014 Mohammad Mazhar Hussaini

Islam has enacted two festivals which have special timings, rituals and ceremonies. These special occasions have effective benefits for social and individual well-being. Islam, the religion of fitrah (nature), allows its followers to experience the pleasures, joy, and gaiety of festivals and celebrations. Maintaining Islam’s unique identity, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) declared two festivals, namely the Feast of Fast-breaking (Eid-ul-Fitr) and the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid-ul-Adha). In addition to these two main festivals, other social festivities such as the festivity of the Newly Born (Aqeeqah) and the festivity of the…

Fasting and Allah’s Lordship

09/07/201303/05/2019 The Pen

The fast of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is one of the greatest of the marks and observances of Islam. There are many purposes and instances of wisdom in the fast of Ramadan which look to both Allah’s (SWT) Lordship (rububiyyah), and to man’s social life, his personal life and the training of his instinctual soul, and to his gratitude for Divine bounties. One of the many instances of wisdom in fasting from the point of view of Allah’s (SWT) Lordship (rububiyyah) is as…

Ramadan; a blessed month for spiritual healing

09/07/201303/05/2014 A.Cihangir İşbilir

Praises be to Allah that we have reached the blessed month of Ramadan of 1434. The dictionaries say that one meaning of ‘Ramadh’ is the rain of autumn. We will wash our spirits with the mercy and compassion of this blessed month and make them ready for new seasons. We will try to search and find the Lord of the nights and recognize the value of each moment. The Islamic world will form itself into a regular congregation, responding to the glory of Divine Lordship with a perfect discipline of…

A Better Ramadan in Turkey

22/08/201122/08/2011 Yunus Emre Pehlivan

This Ramadan brought many differences to Turkey. Although many express that they miss the old Ramadans, for the last few years Ramadan has been better in Turkey. Especially this one has undergone significant changes. The rich gave up hosting expensive iftar dinners. Media- including the secular ones- increased broadcasting on religious issues thanks to Ramadan. The drought in Africa increased awareness that many people and organizations, including government, media, institutions and more, joined the aid campaigns for Somalia. Ramadan is the month of thankfulness. It would be very wasteful to…

May it be us who are responsible?

22/08/201122/08/2011 Salahaddin Özel

We are enjoying the Holy month of Ramadan of 1432, or are we really? Using the word ‘enjoy’ I mean spiritually uphold and practice holy month. It is a moment to share a time for your spirit to mature and to listen to the beats of your heart. What does your heart accompany while it is beating? Does it keep the time with the noise around your physical surrounding or the music in the nature singing the union of the existence which indicates the Compassionate Creator’s undeniable presence? In the…

King’s Open Treasury Day

15/08/201114/08/2014 Hamza Berat

In a far distant country was an old man. During his lifespan, had he loads of opportunities to collect some money for his old age but he failed to do so. He was given bounty upon bounties, and richness upon richness all the way through his life yet he was unfortunate to spend in vain all his wealth due to his bad habits and friends and else. At the end of the day, he was in the red and had no wealth but owed money to many. He was trying…