The Benefits Of Roza During Holy Ramzan Month?

Different faiths have different ways of observing fasts. In Islam, roza or fasting in the holy month of Ramzan has a special significance and has been regarded as a farz or duty . It is one of the five pillars on which the edifice of Islam rests and it is only next in importance to namaz, the obligatory five-timesa-day prayers. It is the duty of every adult, sane and able Muslim to keep a fast for a whole month to make a person self-restrained and humble.

Roza is done out of deep love for God with genuine devotion, honest dedication and closeness to Allah. But mere abstinence from dawn to dusk is not roza in the real sense. In general terms, roza means abstaining from food, drink and physical intimacy .However, when we study its inner concept, we realise it to be the fasting of the heart, from unworthy concerns and worldly thoughts, in total disregard of everything but Allah.


A true follower during the period of roza should restrain himself from viewing anything that is blameworthy or reprehensible, or that which distracts the heart and diverts it from the remembrance of God.Fasting of the tongue requires guarding one's tongue from lying, backbiting, scandal-mongering, obscenity , rudeness and controversy . We must observe silence and remember Allah through the recitation of the Quran.

According to the Prophet, fasting is a shield, and one should not use foul or foolish language while fasting. We must close our ears to every thing reprehensible ­ for everything unlawful to utter is unlawful to listen to. That is why Allah equated the eavesdropper with the profiteer.

It is necessary to keep all the limbs and organs away from sin, like the hands and feet from reprehensible deeds, and the stomach from questionable food at the time of breaking the fast. The object of fasting is to induce moderation. The Prophet said, ``How many of those who fast, get nothing from it but hunger and thirst?'' Of what use is the fast if at the time of breaking it, it not only makes up for all that a person has missed during the daytime, but that he indulges by feasting? indulges by feasting?

It has become the tradition to stock up foodstuff for Ramzan, so that more is consumed during that time than in the course of several other months put together. It is well-known that the object of fasting is to experience hunger and to check desire, in order to reinforce the soul in piety . If the stomach is starved from pre-dawn to dusk, so that its appetite is aroused and its craving intensified, and it is then offered delicacies and allowed to eat its fill, its taste for pleasure is increased and its force exaggerated. Passions are then activated which would have been silent under normal conditions.

It is, therefore, desirable to cut down our intake of what we would consume on a normal night, when not keeping roza. What benefit would we get from the fast, if we consume more than what we would usually in a day?

When the fast is broken, our heart should beat with a mixture of fear and hope, as we do not know if our fast will be accepted or rejected by Allah. This is how we should feel at the end of any act of worship we perform as we express our faith in God and sincerity of purpose. To seek god's blessings through true devotion is an act of salvation.