Lesson video

Hello, and welcome students once again, it's me, Mr. Latif.

And today in our learning, we'll been looking at Sawm.

A really interesting practise, that is done by many Muslims around the world, which is the act of fasting.

So what will our learning look like today? Today we'll be looking at to understand what Sawm is, and how it's significant for Muslims today.

And to look at how Sawm looks like in practise, they're linked to the month of Ramadan.

So as always those five things that you need, so please ensure that you have them, and if not, it's a great opportunity for you now to get them.

Please ensure that you have your excise book or some lined paper, a black or blue pen, a different coloured pen for any corrections.

Those attentive ears and that curious brain.

And once you have those five things, let's get into our learning for today.

So welcome to our learning today, and just a reminder that your title is Sawm.

So today we're going to be understanding what Sawm is, and why it is so significant for Muslim today, and to also learn how Sawm is practised, in the month of Ramadan, and the link with this month.

So what you need as always, are these five things.

Please ensure that you have the following five things on you now.

If not, this is great opportunity for you to pause the video to get them, but if you have them, let's continue on with our learning today.

So the first task I have for you is a bit of a thinking task.

What would you find hard to give up and why? So I got some images here to give you some examples.

They may be your clothes, it maybe your hobbies, it maybe certain food, it maybe your phone.

Do you think you can live without your phone? If so, how long do you think you can go without your phone? I know myself, I check my phone probably 30 40 50 times a day.

Now what I'd like for you to consider here, is what would you find hard to give up, but also why? So a good answer to this question would also be, you justifying your reasons.

So let me give you an example.

I will say, I might find it quite hard to give up, lemon sherbets.

You may already know this is one of my favourite sweets.

The reason for this is because I enjoy their taste.

It brings a bit happiness to my life, or I may, for example, find travelling hard to give up.

Why? Because I enjoy going to new countries.

I go and enjoy learning about new cities for me, and learning about the history of certain places.

So what I'd like for you to do for this task, is spend three minutes.

Spend three minutes to answer this question, and then we'll come back together.

So this part of the video, can I please ask for you to pause the video and see you in three.

Welcome back, so what did you find hard to give up and why? Was it friends? Was it food? Was it hobbies? was your a phone? And why is it hard? Is it cause you rely upon it and it's part of your daily routine? These are all interesting things, especially in terms of why it is hard.

The idea of relying upon it, and it being a part of your daily routine.

Now with Sawm Muslims are abstaining from eating and drinking during sunlight hours.

And we know we rely on food and water, and it's part of our daily routine.

For some of us, it may be part of our daily routine, three times for others twice, or maybe if you're not a big eater, only once.

So let's look at what Sawm is, in the Islamic tradition.

Sawm is one of the five pillars of Islam and it's an obligatory action, for all those that can perform it.

Now later on in our lesson we'll be looking at, the groups and conditions of people that are excused from performing Sawm and what needs to be done in order to ensure that they're still getting the blessings, of the reward of Sawm.

So what is Sawm? Well, Sawm is the act of fasting, and it's abstaining from food and water during sunlight hours.

But it's not just this.

It's also abstaining from bad habits, dishonesty, gossiping, backbiting, lying, rudeness.

It's said that there's no need for someone to abstain, from eating and drinking, if they're not going to give up bad habits as well.

And this will be part of a Haditha, that we'll look at later on in today's lesson.

So when is Sawm observed? It's observed during the holy month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month in Islam calendar.

And this is a special and significant month, because in this month the revelation of the Quran occurred, and that is known as the 'Nights of Power'.

And the 'Night of Power' is seen in the final 10 odd nights in the month of Ramadan.

And that is the night into which Angel Jibril, revealed the first revelation to Prophet Mohammed, to revelation of the Quran, which continued to occur for another 23 years in two cities, Mecca and Medina.

And Muslims are reminded that Quran is a direct and divine revelation of God, to all of humankind.

Now moving on, so we can understand that, what's really important is that the Muslims are not eating or drinking during those sunlight hours.

So what does that look like in practise? Now the key thing I mentioned there was the idea of the lunar calendar.

So within Islam, the lunar calendar actually moves back.

So for example, you know how are we have a fixated within the Gregorian calendar from January to December, the Swam calendar actually shifts back we exit to the citing of the new moons.

So for example this year, Ramadan was in April and may.

Now next year it will shift back 10 days so we add later parts will be for example April the 10th to then May the 10th.

Now the months after that, then it will continue to shift back.

So we think about 2023, yeah, which is a while away from this time I've shot this video which is 2020, Ramadan will then be in March, April.

So we can see actually, it does get easier.

Depending on how long you live your life but then previously you can tell that its actually much harder.

'Cause you know in the months of August, the sunlight hours you know, are very long time.

They are about 18 hours, you can imagine how long and how difficult it is to go without food and water and to abstain from it for those 18 hours.

So to abstain from eating during sunlight hours this is known from Suhur to Iftar or before, which is known as Fajr to Maghrib.

The two prayers, so the morning prayers to the evening prayer.

Now what's really important here is that muslims are able to eat once the sun goes down.

So many muslims will wake up very early to have a meal.

Now there not going to be stuffing their face, and there's many reasons for that.

The whole purpose of Sawm is actually this idea of self discipline So they probably going to have a very stable and a very diverse breakfast.

So they're going to think about food that's going to allow them to continue to have energy throughout the day, and many would drink much and a lot of water.

Now, even when they open up there fast as well, the fact they've gone 18 hours without food, the purpose is not just to stuff your face once again, it's actually thankful and it's actually detoxing your body as well as well as spiritual development.

So the purpose Sawm here is to develop good habits and discipline.

And it's also to understand that a value and to appreciate the blessings that you.

The concept of food and water is a blessing from God.

God provides you with that.

And also to sympathise with the poor.

There many people will have to go throughout their whole life to do Swam, the act of fasting not by choice actually, because actually they actually have anything.

So these are secondary order goods.

Remember what I mentioned beforehand, the first reason as to why muslims perform so, is to please Allah and to obey their Lord.

So we can understand during sunlight hours Muslims cannot eat or drink and they have to abstain from bad habits.

Now, if they were to break their fast, and they're were to do it without an intention it is seen as a very serious sin.

Yeah, so when something has happened to them straight away, is not that like God's going to strike lightning on the person who doesn't straightaway unless He choose to do so.

But it's seen as a major, major sin.

So the key thing here is if you have broken your fast and you did that unintentionally, that you just had forgotten.

Yeah, then you know, it's not seen as a bad deed.

And many Muslims will continue to perform their fast.

So we'll look at, for example, what breaks your fast later on in today's learning.

Now, before we do that, there's a task I'd like for you to do.

On this part of the video, I'd like for you to pause the video, and to answer this question.

What is Sawm? Now for this task, I'd like to give you five minutes and I've got some key words that's going to help you.

So could i please ask you to write the question what is Swam and I see you in five minutes.

So welcome back.

How did you do? Let's go over our answer together.

So you should have had, Sawm is the fourth after the five pillars.

And it's observed in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar known as Ramadan.

Now you may have not had that, so please ensure that you include that within your answer.

And as mentioned previously, this is a special and blessed month, as is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Sawm is an act of worship which Muslims perform to submit to Allah and to show obedience to Him.

Sawm is the act of fasting, in which Muslims abstain from eating and drinking during sunlight hours.

And they also aim to refrain from dishonesty and sinful acts even more during this time.

And it last either 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the moon.

So that is what Swam is.

So we've got a definition of it.

It's one of the five pillars, it's found in the month of Ramadan it's an act of worship, on what muslims abstain from doing and how long the month of Ramadan and the action of Swam lasts.

So it's 20 or 30 days of Sawm It's not that they are fasting for 29 or 30 days in a whole one big section.

So it's not like they're abstaining from food and drink from the first to the 30th it's each day.

Yes, just a correction there that I mentioned 29 or 30 days separately.

Yeah, it's not like they're doing it one big go.

Now what I'd like for you to do now is the following.

We're going to consider and understand what the Quran and the Hadith say on Sawm.

So remember that the Quran is a divine direct word of Allah, which is found in the holy book of the Quran.

And the Hadith are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, which have been recorded.

So for this class, I'd like to give you 20 minutes.

Now what you'll have to do in a moment is open up the resource sheet, titled Worksheet on Sawm in the Quran and Hadith.

In that worksheet, you'll find some verses that I would like you to explore and to investigate, so can I please for you to pause the video at this point, and I'll see you in 20 minutes.

So, welcome back.

Let's go over these verses together.

So the first one we have is this Hadith, which says the following, "Whoever does not give out false statements, I.

e telling lies, and evil deeds, and speaking bad words to others, Allah is not in need of his fasting, leaving his food or drink." So what does this tell us about Sawm? This tells us that Sawm doesn't mean to go hungry and thirsty all day.

It is also about spiritual discipline and refraining from bad and ensuring that you are doing good.

Bad deeds done performing Sawm will nullify it.

Which means that actually, the action of Sawm , the action of fasting becomes meaningless.

If you don't give up your bad habits and you don't give up your bad discipline, and if you're not performing good actions during the day as well, there's no need for Sawm.

So really important thing that Muslims try to continue to do, which is, as we already know, one of the compulsory acts is the Salah, the prayer.

So many Muslims will ensure that they're really trying their best to pray five times a day, and they should be praying it anyway, because it's obligatory as well.

Now the verse from the Quran, " O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you that you may develop God-consciousness." So we know that term already, don't we? Dakwah which means God-consciousness.

So Allah here mentioned in the Quran that the act of Swam enables a believer to develop God-consciousness.

And this is important for many reasons.

By having God-consciousness, this will help them to become more dutiful towards Allah, and to be obedient servants towards him.

So having God-consciousness, reminds them of the power and the mighty of God.

It reminds them that God is all knowing and all seeing and all hearing.

So all the good actions they do, God is aware of this, for all the bad actions that they do, God is aware of this.

So this is really important because it impacts the life of a Muslim by having Dakwah it reminds them of their duty towards God and reminds them to be obedient individuals who develop good characteristics and good morality.

Now if there's anything that you need to add, please ensure that you're just pausing the video now.

But if not, let's continue.

Now you have these verses as well.

"Allah the Exalted and Majestic said, Every act of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting, it is exclusively meant for me, Allah, and I alone will reward it.

Fasting is a shield." So this is a really fascinating and such an interesting Hadith This Hadith tells us that actually the reward of fasting is only known to Allah.

And this really encourages Muslims to continue to observe the Swam and to fast.

'Cause the reward is extremely great and is something they want to seek.

This reward is only known to God and God alone.

And this is really interesting as well.

Fasting is a shield.

So we do not know what the shield is.

It may be a shield from there sins, it may be a shield from the hell fire.

Now the second verse here, from the Quran, "Fasting for a limited number of days, so whoever among you is ill or on a journey during then, then an equal number of days are to be made up and upon those who are able to fast but with hardship, a ransom, a substitute of feeding a poor person each day, and whoever volunteers excess, it is better for him.

But too fast is best for you, if only you knew." So this tells us certain people are excused from fasting.

If you are ill, or if you're travelling or those that are sick.

So the ill and the ones that are travelling, they can make up for at the end of Ramadan.

But for those that are seriously sick and may have a long term illness which means that from abstaining from food, and water will actually make them more sick.

They are told to feed a poor person for each day they cannot fast.

So we're kind of touching upon them, here who is excused from fasting and what is done instead.

So we can still see actually, there's good deeds done, and for those that excused from doing it temporarily because they may be ill for a day or they're travelling, that they are to make up at the end of the month.

But for the one who is severely ill, they are able to be excused and to feed a poor person instead daily.

So this is done really easily.

Now many charities, as mentioned before, Islamic charities, they have options for those that are seriously ill to donate money daily for the 29 or 30 days of fasting for which they are excused.

Now if there's anything that you need to add or have any corrections that you need to make this is a great opportunity for you to pause the video, if not.

let's continue.

So welcome back.

We kind of mentioned some key things there, in terms of who's exempt from fasting.

But there's also another group of individuals.

So number one, children under the age of puberty are excused from fasting.

They don't have to fast, but many children may choose to fast 'cause there's a thing that you know, the Muslim family do.

So many children from a young age may start to fast before puberty, eight or nine.

But your meant to start fasting at the age of puberty.

And the reason for this, is there's many verses in the Hadith that says the person at the age of puberty, they are then responsible for their actions.

Now, I mentioned before, the sick, the sick are excused from fasting.

And they are meant to do the following, they're meant to feed a poor person daily for every fast they cannot do.

Now the elderly are also excused from fasting.

For those that are old, and their health is quite poor, if fasting is going to harm their health, they're excused from fasting as well.

And also, the pregnant.

The woman who is pregnant is excused from fasting.

For example, we know the woman who is pregnant, she has to feed not only herself, but her newborn, which is really important.

So the woman who is pregnant is excused from fasting.

Now a pregnant woman may choose to make up this fast later on.

So maybe after that she's breastfed the child for one or two years, that she makes up the fast.

And then maybe then she does it over the span of a year.

Now the one who's also travelling a long distance.

So long distance, it's a different school of thought on what the distance is.

The journey is seemed to be like a distance, which is you know, more than two hours in terms of travel.

Now, many Muslims for example, they may be working and they may have meetings.

So let's say someone lives in Manchester and they've got a meeting in London.

Now that journey itself may take more than two hours on a train or maybe four hours if they're driving.

For that person, actually, they may choose actually to be like, "you know what, I'm going to make it back to Manchester before the sunset." So I continue to fast.

Or some may say, "actually, I'm excused and I make up for another day.

Because I'm travelling so much, it's going to be very difficult for me.

' So this is a group of individuals that are exempt from fasting.

And also the poor.

The poor and needy, who live in severe poverty, well they are excused from fasting because unfortunately, as I mentioned before, fasting is something that they may have to do everyday because they don't actually have any food or any water.

So how does fasting look like in practise? Well I mentioned before, it's in the month of Ramadan, and this is a really important month, because it's a very spiritual month for the Muslims 'cause it's the month in which the Quran was revealed.

Now, many Muslims believe that in the last odd 10 nights, they seek out a Laylat al Qadr.

Laylat al Qadr, is known as the Nights of power.

So it is believed in the last 10 odd nights that this is the Nights of power to which worship consists of the same of 1000 months.

So 1000 months of worship is equivalent to about one night.

So the person who stays up, continues to perform additional prayers gives gifts to Laylat al Qadr, reads the Quran, all those good deeds equate to 1000 months of worship.

So that's really important.

So all these actions that Muslims are doing during the month of Ramadan are really important.

And in terms of practise, as well.

It's not just the action of Sawm.

The action of Sawm is one thing that Muslim do during Ramadan, There's actually all the other additional actions they do.

Sawm is a good way for them to develop spiritual discipline.

It develops not only abstaining from food and drink, but to develop an incursion to perform Dakwah To perform good actions like Sabr, sadaqah, and to read the Quran.

So, what does it look like in practise? Fasting also should encourage a Muslim not to be lazy to perform this additional prayers to perform the Dhikr and develop Sabr.

So Dhikr is reciting the names of God.

And Sabr is the act of patience.

So you have to think about this, yeah, going that long without food and water is really going to test your patience So to develop Sabr, or your patience is really, really important.

The night prayers of Taraweeh, Taraweeh prayers are mainly done within the mosque, but you're in lockdown, many people may have been doing out at home.

So Taraweeh prayers are actually a recitation of the Qur'an over the 30 days.

So it's very long prayers.

Yeah, much more longer than the five daily prayers, Reciting of the Quran as I mentioned, and many Muslims also may choose that in the month of Ramadan, as well as fasting, visit the elderly and the sick and giving to charity.

So this part of the video I'd like to give you eight minutes, yeah not seven, eight minutes.

So what I'd like you to do, is to answer the following three questions.

Who is exempt from fasting? How does fasting link to Ramadan? And what actions do Muslims perform as they fast? So there's some key things we went over just there together.

So this part of the video, can I please ask you to pause and I'll see you in eight minutes.

So welcome back, let's go over our answer together.

So those are exempt from fasting are, the children, the sick, the elderly, the pregnant, and anyone travelling a long distance.

And fasting links in the month of Ramadan, as it's observed during this month.

And it's also during the "Nights of power" known as Laylat al- Qadr, in which good account to that of a 1000 months.

Many Muslims whilst they fast, also in practise, read the Quran, perform Dhikr, do the Taraweeh prayers, support those in the local community, give charity, working hard as well.

And to develop their, what's the word of again for patience? Sabr.

S A B R So this enables them to achieve high levels of spiritual discipline, and good deeds whilst abstaining from food and water.

So the purpose of Sawm is not only just to obey your Lord, and to be obedient to God, but actually it should develop the sense of spiritual discipline that develops you to do more good actions as well.

Not just to lose weight, Yeah, not to shrink your stomach.

You know that actually you don't have to always be eating or drinking, or to actually understand the blessings that you receive from you know, these things that God gives you according to Muslim, food and water.

So in summary, what have we learned today? What actually what we've learned is that Sawm is a really interesting part of the five pillars.

Now, Sawm as an action is a physical action But also develop spiritual discipline.

So we see a link there to Salah, and Salah is a physical action is also a spiritual action.

So abstaining from food and water isn't the only thing that Muslims do.

They also abstain from bad habits during sunlight hours in the month of Ramadan.

Then we've also understood that action of Sawm occurs daily for 29 to 30 days, which Muslims cannot eat during sunlight hours or drink water during sunlight hours.

We know also Sawm is an act of worship, and the reward is only known to Allah as mentioned in the Hadith.

Sawm encourages, so you can see how it influences.

It encourages Muslims, to be pious to develop taqwa and actually to be thankful for what they have.

It encourages them also to remember the poor and to help the poor.

Remember what I said that as a secondary order good.

That is not the first direct purpose of Sawm.

That is something that develops as they do it, action it out.

You know what, we have to remember the poor, actually, we should help the poor.

For many people around the world, this is their daily life not having anything to eat or not having anything to drink.

Most, you know, many Muslims may actually be very blessed to have maybe more than three meals a day, they can snack as well.

And, as mentioned, finally, it occurs for 29 or 30 days in the month of Ramadan, which is the holy month for Muslims. So really fascinating and a really interesting part of beliefs.

And also really interesting part of practises, the practise that Muslims do.

And this is a key thing I didn't mention before is the act of unity as well.

So I mentioned this previously in lessons, the concept of The global brotherhood and unity of humankind of the Muslim community.

It is this idea that and encourages Muslims, that everyone is doing good together and they are all doing it for the sake of God.

So the act of opening up the fast, not necessarily breaking the fast.

This is a wrong term that many people use.

Muslims do not break their fast, they open up their fast.

When they open up their fast, is a time for them, families to come together to be thankful for each other and to be thankful for the things that they have as well.

So really interesting lesson there on Swam.

Now just a final thing, as always, please ensure that you're able to share your work with Oak National by asking a parent or carer to share your work on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @OaknNational or #LearnwithOak and it gives me Mr. Latif a fantastic opportunity to see all your excellent work.

Now the one final thing left to do.

Yes, you know already, please ensure that you have a go at the five questions in the quiz.

And it gives me an opportunity and for your R.

E teach as well to see how well your understanding this on Sawm the fourth out of the five pillars.

And on that note, I will see you soon, Take care.

Best wishes.