Representatives of this world religion must fast throughout the year during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, and several times on special holidays. Ramadan involves strict fasting ("Euras"), consisting of abstaining from food, water and intimate relationships during daylight hours. All of the above is permissible from sunset to sunrise. Those who, for some objective reason, cannot observe it, are exempt from fasting: elderly people, small children, people with chronic diseases, on the move, and under other circumstances that do not allow them to observe fast. It is noteworthy that women during menstruation are not allowed to fast. It is forbidden to inhale aromas, take water procedures, smoke and, paying tribute to modernity, chew gum.

A special fast is observed during the month of Shaaban - at this time prayers are especially diligently offered for the dead. Fasting on the day of Ashura (the 10th day of the month of Mukhharam) is associated with the transition of the prophet to Medina and is obligatory for Shiite Muslims, but voluntary.

Orthodox fasts

In total, Orthodox believers are prescribed about 200 days of fasting throughout the year. In terms of food, fasting is a refusal of animal products and everything that contains them, and in some cases there is also a refusal of vegetable oil or food altogether. The spiritual side of fasting presupposes awareness of one’s sins, repentance through Communion, good deeds and renunciation, resistance to human passions (renunciation of bad habits, development of kindness, humility and other spiritually beneficial qualities).

One-day fasts consist of weekly Wednesdays and Fridays (except for special continuous weeks), as well as some holiday Christmas Eves. For example, on January 18, before Epiphany, food is not eaten until the first star.

There are only 4 long fasts: Rozhdestvensky, Velikiy, Petrov and Uspensky. The Nativity Fast is especially joyful on the eve of the holiday and therefore not very strict. For 40 days (from November 28 to January 7), fish are blessed (except Wednesday and Friday).

Great Lent is the strictest and longest. Its dates are transferable depending on the date of Easter, the main Orthodox holiday. Animal food is strictly limited for 49 days, and in the first and last (Holy) week the amount of food is also limited. Fish is blessed twice - on the feasts of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.

Two summer fasts - Petrov and Uspensky - are good because they provide a variety of plant foods. Peter's Fast always ends on July 12, the corresponding holiday, and begins depending on Easter. Not strict, except for Wednesday and Friday, fish are blessed. It can last from one to six weeks.

The Dormition Fast precedes the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28). Quite strict. Not allowed on Wednesday and Friday vegetable oil. The fish are not blessed. But all this easily pays off with an abundance of all kinds of healthy vegetables and fruits. The fast is observed for two weeks.

Fast with a pleasant fast!

Yulia Shapko

Reading time: 7 minutes

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During holy month Muslim calendar, which is called Ramadan in Arabic, or Ramazan in Turkish, Muslims are required to observe strict fasting - limit yourself in drinking, eating and intimacy.

Following the rules of Ramadan, mature people give up their passions. This is how they cleanse themselves of negativity.

The fast ends with the great holiday of Uraza Bayram.

Features and traditions of Ramadan fasting - what are iftar and suhur?

Posting believers test the strength of the human spirit. Compliance with the rules of Ramadan makes a person reflect on his lifestyle and helps determine the main values ​​in life.

During Ramadan, a Muslim must limit yourself not only in food, but also carnal satisfaction of one’s needs, as well as other addictions - for example, smoking. He must learn control yourself and your emotions.

Observing simple rules post, every Muslim believer should feel poor and hungry, since the available benefits are often perceived as ordinary.

Swearing is prohibited during Ramadan. There is an opportunity to help the needy, the sick and the poor. Muslims believe that prayers and a month of abstinence will enrich everyone who follows the tenets of Islam.

There are two main requirements of fasting:

1. Follow the rules of fasting sincerely from dawn to dusk
2. Abstain completely from your passions and needs

Here are a few conditions for what a fasting person should be like:

• Over 18 years old
• Muslim
• Not mentally ill
• Physically healthy

There are also those for whom fasting is contraindicated, and they have the right not to observe it. These are minor children, the elderly and pregnant women, as well as those women who are menstruating or experiencing postpartum cleansing.

The fast of Ramadan has several traditions

Let's list the most important ones:

Suhur

Throughout Ramadan Muslims eat their meals early in the morning, before dawn. They believe that Allah will greatly reward such an action.

During traditional suhoor don't overeat, but you should eat enough food. Suhoor gives you strength for the whole day. It helps Muslims to stay sane and not be angry, as hunger often causes anger.

If a believer does not perform suhur, then his day of fasting remains valid, but he will not receive any reward.

Iftar

Iftar is evening meal, which also takes place during fasting. You need to start breaking your fast immediately after sunset, that is after the last day(or the fourth, penultimate prayer of this day). After Iftar comes Isha - Muslim night prayer(the last of the five obligatory daily prayers).

What not to eat during Ramadan - all the rules and prohibitions

What to eat during Suhoor:

• Doctors recommend eating complex carbohydrates in the morning - cereal dishes, sprouted grain bread, vegetable salad. Complex carbohydrates provide the body with energy, despite the fact that they take a long time to digest.
• Dried fruits - dates, nuts - almonds and fruits - are also suitable.

What not to eat during Suhoor

• Avoid protein foods. It takes a long time to digest, but it loads the liver, which works without interruption during fasting
• Should not be consumed
• You should not eat fried, smoked or fatty foods in the morning. They will cause extra stress on the liver and kidneys
• Avoid eating fish during Suhoor. You'll want to drink afterwards

What not to eat in the evening after adhan

• Fatty and fried foods. It will harm your health - cause heartburn and put on extra pounds.
• Exclude from food products instant cooking – various cereals in bags or noodles. You won’t get full of them and literally after an hour or two you’ll want to have another meal. In addition, such products will increase your appetite even more, as they contain salt and other spices.
• Can't eat sausage and frankfurters. It is better to exclude them from your diet during Ramadan fasting. Sausages affect the kidneys and liver, satisfy hunger for only a few hours, and can also develop thirst.

Despite the prohibitions and strict rules, there are benefits from fasting:

• Refusal of carnal passions
  A person must understand that he is not a slave to his body. Fasting is a serious reason to give up intimacy. Only by abstaining from sin can a person preserve his purity of soul.
• Self improvement
  By observing fasting, a believer is more attentive to himself. He gives birth to new character traits, such as humility, tolerance, obedience. Feeling poverty and deprivation, he becomes more resilient, gets rid of fear, begins to believe more and more and learns what was previously hidden.
• Gratitude
  Having gone through refusing food, a Muslim becomes closer to his Creator. He realizes that the innumerable benefits that Allah sends are given to man for a reason. The believer gains a sense of gratitude for the gifts sent.
• An opportunity to experience mercy
  Fasting reminds people of the poor, and also encourages them to be merciful and help those in need. Having gone through this test, the believer remembers kindness and humanity, as well as the fact that everyone is equal before God.
• Economy
  Fasting teaches people to be economical, limit themselves and curb their desires.
• Improves health
  The benefit to a person’s physical health is manifested in the fact that digestive system resting. Within a month, the intestines are completely cleansed of waste, toxins and harmful substances.

Holy Ramadan schedule until 2020 - when does Ramadan fasting begin and end?

IN 2015 Ramadan fasting begins on June 18 and ends on July 17.

Here are the following dates for Holy Ramadan:

2016– from June 6 to July 5.
2017– from May 26 to June 25.
2018– from May 17 to June 16.
2019– from May 6 to June 5.
2020– from April 23 to May 22.

Violation of the Ramadan fast - actions that interrupt the Muslim fast of Ramadan, and punishments

It is worth noting that the rules of Ramadan fasting apply only during daytime days. Some actions performed during fasting are considered prohibited.

Actions that interrupt Muslim Ramadan include:

• Special or intentional meal
• Unspoken intention to fast
• Masturbation or sexual intercourse
• Smoking
• Spontaneous vomiting
• Administration of rectal or vaginal medications

However are lenient towards similar actions. Despite their similarities, they don't break the fast.

They include:

• Unintentional meal
• Administering medications using injections
• Kisses
• Caresses, if they do not lead to ejaculation
• Teeth cleaning
• Blood donation
• Period
• Involuntary vomiting
• Failure to perform prayers

Punishments for those who break the Ramadan fast:

Those who unintentionally broke the fast due to illness, must perform the missed day of fasting on any other day.

For sexual intercourse committed during daylight hours, the believer is obliged to defend another 60 days of fasting, or to feed 60 needy people.

In many Christian denominations Lent is central. How to fast in order to comply with all religious requirements?

When answering the question of how to fast, you can go deeper into listing the rules and explaining the truths. But more important than all the regulations and norms is your individual attitude towards fasting. First of all, fasting should not be a burden, but a joy!

How to fast - basic rules

Before, how to keep a post, you need to understand that fasting is not some kind of system for losing weight, it is a kind of training of spirit and body. Thus, the main meaning of fasting for a Christian is repentance. But, regardless of the reasons for which you decide to limit yourself in nutrition - religious or health-related, you must know how to fast correctly so that it brings only benefits to both mental and physical health.

• Xerophagy. The most severe restrictions on food are in the first and last weeks of fasting - during them the fasting person will have to give up even vegetable oil.

• Raw food without oil. In the first week, from Monday (the day after the end of Maslenitsa), you should eat raw food without oil for 6 days. You should eat the same way during the remaining weeks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from Monday to Wednesday of the last week (Holy Week).

• Boiled food without oil. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as on the last day (Saturday) of Lent (before Easter), you should eat boiled food without oil. The exceptions are Thursday of the 5th week (boiled with butter), Tuesday Holy Week(raw without butter) and Holy Thursday (boiled with butter, wine allowed).

• Boiled food with butter and wine. Sundays (the last day of the week) and Saturdays (the first day of the week) are the easiest days of fasting, since they allow the consumption of boiled food with butter and wine. Exceptions are the first week and the last, Passion. On Sunday Holy Week You should eat fish, and on Saturday - boiled food without oil. Wine is allowed to be consumed during a meal in the amount of 2-3 krasovuls - vessels the size of a fist.

• Refusal to eat. It is not recommended to eat anything on Friday of Holy Week.

How to fast and eat properly?

These are the basic rules regarding how to fast. But before you begin to comply with it, you will have to study its many nuances. To simplify the task, you can study the list of products allowed in fasting. These should form the basis of your diet during the 40 days of fasting:

• plant foods - fruits, vegetables;

• pickles (pickled and pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut);

• crackers, drying;

• dried fruits, honey, halva (instead of sweets)

• mushrooms;

• black and gray bread;

• nuts;

• tea, jelly;

• porridge on water.

You will have to give up food of animal origin - both meat and chicken, and milk and eggs, baked goods, sweets and mayonnaise. If you have no idea how to keep a post if it implies complete ban on animal food, then good news for you: as an exception on the twelve feasts (Annunciation and Palm Sunday) it will be possible to eat fish, and on Lazarus Saturday - fish caviar.

Before fasting, you should discuss fasting with your spiritual director or priest. If for you this is just a health procedure, then consult with your attending physician. Remember the main rule regarding how to fast - it is established for healthy people.

Followers of Islam are now celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, during which every believer fasts. They live according to lunar calendar, which means that every year the period of spiritual purification begins in different time, but certainly for the 9th month of the year. In 2018, Ramadan began on May 15 and will end on June 14. During this time, Muslims are prohibited from taking food and water during daylight hours. And only after sunset the usual way of life begins: the family begins to eat.

The holy month was created for spiritual and physical cleansing. Ramadan is honored as a memory of the fact that it was during this period that the first lines of the Koran appeared to the Prophet Muhammad. It is believed that during this period the gates of Heaven are open and the doors to hell are closed, and even the devils are on chains. For a whole month, those who honor Islamic traditions pray more than usual and adhere to strict fasting.

But the day before the onset of Ramadan, you need to prepare. Perform a complete wash of the body and voice your intention to fast. Then say a special prayer and the next morning forget about eating during the day. The main thing is to do good deeds, give alms to the needy and feed the hungry.

Supporters of Islam argue that fasting helps Muslims control their emotions. This way they are freed from everything negative: anger, envy, temptations. The main task of the righteous is to get closer to Allah. Fasting contributes to this in the best possible way, pacifying the soul and flesh.

What time can you eat today during Lent: who is allowed not to abstain

There are some exceptions for certain categories of people who, for objective reasons, cannot adhere to traditions. It's about about pregnant and lactating women, children under age, sick and elderly people. They are allowed not to fast, otherwise there is a risk of deterioration in their health.

If, due to circumstances, you have to retreat from fasting for several days, then after the end of Ramadan it is important to compensate for these days by abstaining from food and water during the day for the same number of days. Another option is to feed the hungry. At the same time, for the amount that a person usually spends on food for himself for one day. For every day of deviating from fasting, one hungry person must.

Thus, during Ramadan, Muslims eat from sunset to dawn, pray during the day and, at first glance, lead a normal lifestyle. Night hours become a small holiday in such a difficult and important period of life as Lent. For the entire period of the holy month, you need to give up bad habits and under no circumstances engage in intimate life. This is one of the most serious violations.

The peculiarity of the summer season is that it occurs during the longest daylight hours. So, in Kazan, believers will begin fasting on June 18 at 0.57 and will end only at 20.31. Each region has its own time depending on the time of sunrise and sunset. How to properly prepare for 20 hours of abstinence?

How to eat on time?

The general recommendations are as follows: after sunset, the fasting person eats a light meal, and two hours before dawn, a heavier meal. Since the time to break the fast is very limited this year - about 4.5 hours, which occurs at night - it is better to avoid fatty and spicy foods, which can cause thirst.

Muslims who fast every year notice that it is difficult in the first two days, and then the body rebuilds itself. The main thing is not to overeat immediately after iftar, first eat dates, drink water, and after a while move on to the main dishes.

During the holidays, give preference to light dishes. Photo: AiF/ Aliya Sharafutdinova“If you choose the right products, then fasting is not difficult. The main thing is to tune in, he says Head of the Union of Muslim Women of Tatarstan Nailya Ziganshina. “If a person decorates his day with good deeds, then he will be distracted from thoughts about food and the day will pass unnoticed.”

Nailya Khanum advises drinking as much as your body requires during the hours of breaking your fast. Food should be balanced in composition: “At home we add a lot of vegetables and fruits to our diet, eat fish, and steam meat. This diet will not cause thirst or upset stomach.”

“In order to feel less thirsty during fasting in the heat, you need to eat less. For example, I don’t eat during the prescribed morning meal, but only drink water. It’s easier for me to endure fasting this way,” he says. Deputy Mufti of Tatarstan Rustam Hazrat Batrov. -

“We need to pray that the Almighty will ease the burden of fasting,” adds Nailya Ziganshina. - Last year, before the onset of Ramadan, it was hot, but after the collective prayers, cool weather settled in for the entire month. Therefore, I wish relief to everyone who fasts!”

Principles of education

The observance of a 30-day fast is associated with the mention in the Koran that in this month Allah, through the Archangel Gabriel, sent down the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad in the form of a revelation.

“The fast was known to the Arabs even before the rise of Islam and was observed not only because of the lack of food, but had a certain religious meaning: it is possible that the Arabs knew about healing properties famine, since all peoples have been accumulating knowledge about human body. This is evidenced by the presence of fasting in all religions,” says local historian and hajji Abdulla Dubin.

Why does the start time of the uraza constantly shift?

Uraza consists of complete abstinence during daylight hours from eating and chewing gum, drinking, smoking, drinking alcohol, sexual relations. But in addition to physical cleansing, spiritual cleansing is also necessary.

“This is a chance given to each of us to refine our morals, to overcome bad habits and lose the heavy burden of your own sins, says Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Samigullin. - People close to us, relatives, friends, our neighbors and acquaintances need a kind word, help and compassion. Let this month become a time for uniting hearts, make us generous and responsive.”

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims should not quarrel and argue, experience negative emotions, but should do charitable deeds, give alms, help those in need and, of course, pay more attention to prayer. See prayer times for Tatarstan here.

Ask the Almighty to make your fast easier. Photo: www.russianlook.com Fasting is obligatory for all Muslims over 12 years of age, with the exception of those who cannot observe it for good reasons - illness, pregnancy, extreme old age. Islam allows fasting only if it does not harm human health. The Koran states that the sick, the elderly, travelers, pregnant women and all those for whom fasting is a burden can postpone it until a more favorable time. For example, a traveler - until he returns home, a sick person - until he recovers, a pregnant or nursing mother - until the end of breastfeeding.

If, for some reason, a Muslim did not keep the fast completely, he is obliged to make up for the missed days after the end of Ramadan. For each day of fasting missed due to health reasons, you can pay fidiyya - 200 rubles. The amount of fitr-sadaka (alms of breaking the fast) this year for Tatarstan residents is set at 100 or 500 rubles - the believer chooses how much to pay.