And I responded with the following email, which I thought to share with you, spelling and grammar mistakes well intact. Enjoy.

As per Ramadan – I would LOVE to!
- ‘Ramadan’ is the name of the month (like October or November) and the Muslim calendar, like the Jewish one, is a lunar one. As such, and unlike the Gregorian (Christian) calendar, the dates are never solidified, but rather shifting, so the beginning of Ramadan precedes its last year’s beginning day by 11 days.

Say Ramadan 2009 began on August 12, then Ramadan 2010 will usually fall on August 1.

- In Islam, there are 5 pillars of faith:

(1) Declaration that there are no gods but God and that his final prophet is Muhammad (which, intrinsically also means that as a Mulsim, you must believe in all prior Prophets beginning with Abraham, and including Moses, Noah, Jesus (peace be upon them), etc., and also believe that there are over 250,000 Prophets who came down to mankind and whose names have been lost. This to me is God’s way of asking Muslims to respect all faith traditions, no matter what or who they come from since we can never be certain whether that individual (i.e., Buddha) was a Prophet whose message was lost / skewed by mankind over time);

(2) Paying an annual tax to the needy (they do not have to be Muslim and it most definitely does not have to be to a Mosque). I believe that on the highest rank of ‘needy’ is clearly indicated the orphaned. Specifically, one must pay 2.5% of the value of their *unused* assets;

(3) Fasting during the month of Ramadan, which means no eating, smoking, drinking (not even water or gum) from sunrise until sunset. No sexing, either during this same time, and if one is pregnant, menstruating or in poor health, then they are excused from the fast;

(4) Prayer five times a day; and,

(5) Performing Hajj once in your lifetime if you are able and have the money. Where one has neither, then the *intent* to perform Hajj is considered enough before God.

(The above are not to be confused with the 5 articles of Islam, in which a Muslim must believe, and are: (1) Belief in God (obviously); (2) Belief in Judgement Day; (3) Belief in the books of revelation (Torah, Bible & Qur’an); (4) Belief in God’s archangels (Gabriel, Azrael, Michael); and (5) Belief in the messengers (Prophets).)

Fasting is the only one item of the 5 pillars for which God did not give Muslims a clear “why.” The others were all explained; fasting is said to be done for Him. Full stop. To the inquisitive and curious that may not be enough of a reason – for me, specifically, and so I understand it as a means to:

(a) hone my self discipline (fasting is no easy matter – but at the end of the 29 or 30 days, you wake up and think: I can do *anything*) and self-control. Essentially reaffirm that I am the master of my body, rather than slave to it.
(b) understand that it is a *luxury* to walk to the sink and grab a glass of water when we’re thirsty. That it is a blessing to feel hungry and run out and grab a burger or a pizza or a fruit, etc. When we consider the levels of poverty and death from starvation that occur at a sick rate on an hourly basis – this understanding is unmatched and critical in a day when apathy seems rampant.
(c) In the last few years, Ramadan has served as a time to take stock of my past 12 months. I usually have a running list of actions I have committed and with which I am not entirely comfortable, situations in which I have placed myself that I was probably best not to, and improper and unkind ways in which I have mistreated individuals. I try to remedy where I can, take note and change where I can not, and ultimately take the coming year to remove influences which I believe aren’t too healthy (emotionally, physically or spiritually).

It’s a slow road and I am a slow learner who sometimes tumbles back into the same mistakes; but still, it’s a great road if you’re up for the introspection and reminder that we should strive to be in a constant state of evolution and (inshallah) improvement.

And that, sir, is your very first blip of info on Islam.
Questions?
(p.s. I LOVE talking faith matters – love love love it!) :)

But for the video, the above was originally posted on 09/09/10.

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