By: Shazia Yousuf
“The true believer resembles a lute whose voice will not improve, unless its belly is empty.” [A Hadith attributed to Phophet Muhammad s.w].
For Muslims, the month of Ramadan is the month of obligatory fasting, during which one is required to abstain between dawn and sunset from eating and drinking.
The abstinence could go beyond the obligatory requirements to include anything that might stimulate the outer senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. This would mean anything such as violent images, strident sounds, gossip or slander, obnoxious or sweet smells, and so on.
It could even be extended to include the inner faculties, such as thought, memory, emotions and imagination, and all the attractions of the phenomenal world.
