What is Ramadan?

Statement of belief. To become a Muslim, a person must publicly repeat the Shahadah: "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of Allah." Prayer. Muslims pray five times a day‑at daybreak, noon, midafternoon, after sunset, and early evening." The Muslim must kneel and bow in the prescribed manner in the direction of the holy city, Mecca. Alms. Muslim law today requires the believer to give one‑fortieth of his profit (2.5 percent). This offering goes to widows, orphans, the sick and other unfortunates. Ramadan. The ninth month of the Islamic lunar year is called Ramadan and is the highest of Muslim holy seasons. Muslims are required to fast for the entire month. Food and drink, as well as smoking and sexual pleasures, are forbidden, but only during daylight hours. During Ramadan, many Muslims eat two meals a day, the first just before sunrise and the other shortly after sunset. During Ramadan, the believer must not commit any unworthy act. If he does, his fasting is meaningless. Pilgrimage to Mecca. This is called the Hajj and must be performed at least once in a Muslim's lifetime. However, if the pilgrimage is too difficult or dangerous for the believer, he can send someone in his place."

FASTING (Arabic, Roza) is to be observed the whole of the ninth month (Arabic, Ramadan). During the days of that month, no food and drink are allowed, but liberty is given for the partaking of food and drink at night.

In the same way Mahomet stated that in the month Ramadan, in Mount Hirá, the angel Gabriel came to him by night as he slept, held a silken scroll before him and compelled him to recite its contents, though he was unable to read or write. This and his pretended converse with the moon, his night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, were not performed in the presence of anyone, let alone before so many witnesses as to put the matter beyond possibility of collusion or fraud, and this lacks Mark No. 2 completely.

The new religion thus announced was Islam — a word which means submission or resignation to the will of God. His doctrine was summed up in his own aphorism, "There is no God but the true God, and Mahomet is his prophet." The six main articles in the theoretical faith of Islam were: 1, belief in God, 2, in His angels, 3, in His scriptures; 4, in His prophets; 5 in the resurrection and day of judgment; 6, in predestination. The practical part of the prophet's creed was equally unobjectionable, according to the prevalent thoughts of religious observance at the time. It embraces four great precepts: 1, prayers and purification; 2, alms; 3, fasting; 4, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was held to be so essential that any one who died without performing it might as well have died a Jew or a Christian.

The only really new and startling article in the religion of Islam was the divine mission of Mahomet as the apostle and prophet of God. But in these fair appearances the craft of Satan is most manifest. Such simple and elementary religious principles would do violence to none, but deceive many. History clearly proves that his opinions changed with his success, and that his violence and intolerance increased with his power, until it became a religion of the sword, of rapine, and of sensuality. "He is a gentle preacher," says Milman, "until he has unsheathed his sword." The sword once unsheathed is the remorseless argument. At one time we find the broad principle of Eastern toleration explicitly avowed: diversity of religion is ascribed to the direct ordinance, and all share in the equal favour, of God. But the Koran gradually recants all these gentler sentences, and assumes the language of insulting superiority or undisguised aversion. But, although the Koran has many points of resemblance both to Judaism and Christianity, it is thought that Mahomet was not acquainted with either the Old or the New Testament — that he rather drew his materials from Talmudical legends, from spurious Gospels, and other heretical writings, mixed with the old traditions of Arabia.

Full of this thought Mahomet retired to a cave near Mecca, where he had for his companions a Persian Jew, well versed in the history and laws of his persuasion, and two professing Christians; and here he commenced the compilation of that incoherent medley of truth and fable, called the Koran or 'Book.' Issuing from his retirement a few months later, he announced his new work to the world, and circulated a report among his friends that he had received it by instalments from the angel Gabriel. At forty years of age he publicly stood forth as the apostle of God, and began to teach the new doctrines; but followers gathered slowly, and he was much persecuted for a time by his kinsmen and brethren. By the end of three years, however, his following had considerably increased; and this turn in the tide of his affairs encouraged him to change his peaceful tactics, and to introduce the sword. But the moment was not ripe for the change, and he was compelled to flee from Mecca in order to save his life. The Mahometan era dates from this event, which is called the Hegira, or Flight. The story is, that being surrounded in his house, he blinded his Koreishite pursuers by scattering a handful of dust in their midst, meanwhile escaping in the confusion. The faithful still point to a passage in the Koran — "We have thrown blindness upon them that they shall not see," — in support of this fable; but it is safer to adopt the opinion of a modern writer, who says, The most probable account is that he clambered over the wall in the rear of the house by the help of a servant, who bent his back for him to step upon it." Yet from that time the religion spread rapidly, and when Mahomet returned to Mecca some ten years later he was attended by 150,000 followers; and entered the city with regal pomp and magnificence. Having made himself virtually master of Arabia, he retired to Medina, and died A.D. 632, at the age of sixty-three.

The fundamental doctrine of Mahometanism is embodied in the well-known dogma of its author, "There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet." "We follow," says the Koran, "the religion of Abraham, the orthodox, who was no idolater. We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and unto Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes." The worship of saints, and the use of paintings and images, were declared to be idolatrous, and are expressly forbidden in the Koran; while fastings, prayers, pilgrimages, frequent washings, and almsgiving are insisted upon. The following is the Mussalmans' creed, as taught in their schools at the present day. "I believe in the books which have been delivered from heaven and the prophets. In this manner was the Koran given to Mahomet, the Pentateuch to Moses, the Psalter to David, and the Gospel to Jesus. I believe in the prophets, and the miracles they have performed. Adam was the first prophet, and Mahomet was the last. I believe that for the space of fifty thousand years the righteous shall repose under the shade of the terrestrial paradise, and the wicked shall be exposed naked to the burning rays of the sun. I believe in the bridge Sirat, which passes over the bottomless pit of hell. It is as fine as a hair, and as sharp as a sabre. All must pass over it, and the wicked shall be thrown off. I believe in the water-pools of paradise. Each of the prophets has in paradise a basin for his own use; the water is whiter than milk, and sweeter than honey. On the ridges of the pools are vessels to drink out of, and they are bordered with stars. I believe in heaven and in hell. The inhabitants of the former know no want, and the houris who attend them are never afflicted with sickness. The floor of paradise is musk, the stones are silver, and the cement gold. The damned are, on the contrary, tormented with fire, and by voracious and poisonous animals."

We find the habit of fasting with the Jews in the New Testament too. The prophetess Anna served God with fastings and prayers night and day (Luke 2:37). In contrast to the disciples of the Lord Jesus the disciples of John and the Pharisees fasted often (Matt. 9:14).

The Lord Jesus, in His parable of the Pharisee and the publican in the temple, lets the former speak self-complacent words: "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican: I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:11-12). From this we see that in New Testament times too fasting as a religious "exercise" was a tradition, as it still is today in certain Christian churches and various religions (in Islam for instance).

"Moreover, when ye fast,..."

I was held in high esteem because of my moral conduct, and was considered very religious by my Mohammedan friends. I went to the Mosque five times a day to pray. I fasted, and performed many external rites, and observed many ceremonial washings. I was self-righteous in my own eyes, wrapped up in pharisaical religiousness. Such was the unhappy state of my heart. All sorts of conflicting thoughts came into my mind. I did not wish the secrets of my heart to be disclosed. The question, What after death? oppressed me.

So when at last I told my father of the change that was coming over me, he was perplexed and suggested a careful study of the Koran and Hadis (sayings of Mohammed), so that I might compare the two religions, Mohammedanism and Christianity. I applied myself to a critical study of both religions and their founders. The following conclusions were forced upon me: — the Koran does not provide a way of salvation, nor does it prove to me that it is inspired of God, Mohammed too had no credentials, that I could see, to qualify him to be a prophet of God, and much less to be a saviour, seeing he had to pray for the forgiveness of his own sins. Thus my confidence in the religion of my ancestors was being undermined. The innermost craving of my mind was left unsatisfied by Mohammedanism.

Mahomet is now an independent sovereign. Arabia, delivered from idols, embraces the religion of Islam. But, though the prophet is now a temporal prince and a successful warrior, he neglects not the duties of a priest. He constantly led the devotions of his followers, offered up the public prayers, and preached at the weekly festivals on the Fridays. He blasphemously assumed to be prophet, priest, and king. The mixture, the delusion, is the inspiration of hell; it is like the masterpiece of Satan, issuing from the realm of darkness. The fanaticism of his followers was urged on by the inducements of plunder, and the gratification of every evil passion. The appropriation of all female captives was recognised as one of the laws of war, and the reward held out to valour. The maxims inculcated on all the faithful were such as, "One drop of blood shed in the cause of God, or one night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months' employment in fasting and prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven; at the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion and odoriferous as musk: and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim." The war cry of the intrepid Khaled was, "Fight on, fight on and fear not! Paradise, paradise, is under the shadow of your swords! Hell with its fires is behind him who flies from battle, paradise is open to him who falls in battle." Thus animated, the Moslem armies were fired with enthusiasm; and, thirsting for the spoils of victory here and a sensual paradise hereafter, they rushed fearlessly into battle.

It will help at the outset to make my story plain, if at this stage I say what Mohammedanism stands for. The terms Mohammedanism and Islam are interchangeable terms. The former is the name given to the followers of Mohammed; the latter the name given to the movement by Mohammed himself. The word, Islam, is an Arabic word, denoting resignation to the will of God. The Creed of Islam is summed up in the well-known statement, "La ilaha Allah, Mohammed resul Allah," which translated into English means, "There is no God but one, and Mohammed is his prophet." This is the great rallying cry of the armies of Islam. Their propaganda is carried on with fanatical zeal. Islam is a great system based on monotheism. It is the religion of one-sixteenth of the world's population. Within eighty years of its inception, it spread over a great part of Asia with phenomenal rapidity, and later to Africa, largely through the persuasion of the sword. It is based on two cardinal points, Iman, the Faith or Creed; Din, its Practice. The Mohammedan boasts of the simplicity of his religion, and that all we need to do to obtain salvation is to know and believe its teaching, and so an abundant entrance into paradise is assured. On these two words hang all the laws and morals of Islam. The God of Islam is almighty and all powerful, but not a God of love, nor even of justice. Much stress is laid on the intellectual and metaphysical attributes of God.

The Qur'an, or Koran, called the Recitation, is the Mohammedan's great book. It urges moral response on the part of man as created by Allah, foretells the day of judgment, and depicts the tortures of the damned, and the seductiveness of a very sensual paradise for the believer. With increasing fervour Mohammed stated that he received the very words of God, ipsissima verba, through the agency of the Angel Gabriel. It teaches that salvation depends on our good deeds outweighing our bad deeds. The reading of and the hearing the Koran read is considered productive of great good. Its recitation is supposed to expiate sin. It is claimed that Mohammed is the last and greatest of the prophets, that he superseded Christ, and abrogated the four Gospels (Arabic, Injil). It is taught that Mohammed intercedes with God on behalf of his followers, and that out of Divine mercy, and consideration for the prayers of the prophet, Allah will grant forgiveness of sins.

The Mahomedan is not ashamed of his religion, for it is a phase of this world. He will kneel down on his mat anywhere in public when the time for public prayer arrives, and with no feeling of shame will go through his devotions. Would any Christian be equally free to kneel down in the streets, or in a railway carriage to pray?