Ramadan Preparation

Sawm is the fourth pillar of Islam, meaning one of those things that Allah (swt)

has made obligatory upon every Muslim.

Sawm comes from the word, imsak; which means to refrain from something
Allah ( swt) says in 19th Chapter of the Quran that maryam ( RA) the Mother of Isa (Jesus, pbuh) took a vow to sawmin.

To refrain from talking, so we have an example of Sawm - to refrain from something
Ramadan comes from the word Ramada which means scorching or excessive heat.

Ramadan is the ninth month on the Islamic Calendar.
In it is in this month that Allah (swt) prescribes fasting during the day for those who are capable, beginning with the sighting of the new moon.

Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Angle Gabriel. The Quran provides guidance and teachings directly from Allah.
And the life of the prophet was the Quran.

Many holidays have lost their meaning, and have become commercialized and materialistic and
Unfortunately Ramadan is no different. Allah ( swt) says in the Quran
Fasting was prescribed for you as it was for those before you that you may obtain Taqwa.

Taqwa means god consciousness, and in today's society it has been replaced with materialism, consumerism, and ignorance. We have no self restraint, we want what we want and we want it right now.

We want and purchase things we cannot afford. We make excuses of not being able to follow the path of Allah because of the conditions in which society has in place.

The conditions of the jahaliyah were the same of not worse.
In today's society we do not restrain and discipline ourselves.

God has been placed in the back of our minds, and when Ramadan comes we are forced to restrain our self and that brings about God consciousness.

Allah does not wish to place a hardship on us, but rather wants us to express our appreciation
We are to refrain from, not only eating, drinking, and sexual relations, but from anger, backbiting, and lying as well as other things; In addition to this we are also encouraged to read the Quran.