Ramadan, a time for spiritual renewal
Every Muslim in the world fasts during Ramadan which is a month for the replenishment of the soul. It is a month of spiritual renewal between Man and God, and getting closer to Almighty.
It is a month of restitution, restoration and spiritual enlightenment of the soul carried by each individual into the hectic cycle of worldly affairs, its excesses and over-practices.
The 30-day month, give or take a day, depending on the sighting of the lunar moon, is a period of putting the brakes on, of re-establishing spiritual relations with God, and whose supreme feature is fasting from dawn till dusk for individuals, men, women, old and young.
Fasting is a must, the ultimate denial of rebuffing oneself from food and drink for a certain period of time.
Fasting also impels on people to abstain from sex during the day but is fine after sunset.
It calls upon them to be more forceful in their prayers—although the Salat, prostrating before God is five times a day is the same as in normal days, there is the convention of mosque praying at night—to continually utter versus from the Quran, either loudly or within oneself.
The fast as well demands people not indulge in "tongue wagging" talking too much, cursing and or gossiping especially about other people, and filling their conversation with the words of God and His spiritual Book, the Quran.
Although this is understood, it's difficult to enforce in a society of hundreds of people, thousands and millions, and is left to individuals to hold their tongues during the fast.
As Islamic countries make up around 1.5 billion people who fast all at the same time, a global phenomenon in itself, there will always be people who deviate and break the fast, but the general trend over the years decades and centuries, have been to show strength of force: Fasting for God Almighty.
This period is designed to stress not only that there is a direct link between the individual and God, but that there is a daily "nurturing" process whose accumulation are "finalized" during the holy month of Ramadan in the pledge of men and women to God.
Islam is not a religion of nation-states. Loyalty, allegiance is ultimately to a higher being, Allah.
