During a meeting with representatives of the public that took place in Dushanbe on May 12, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon called on Tajikistanis to help vulnerable people during the holy month of Ramadan.
The head of state, in particular, called on entrepreneurs not to artificially raise prices for basic food products during Ramadan. During the holy month of Ramadan, entrepreneurs in Muslim countries reduce prices “because it is one of pious acts in Islam,” Tajik leader noted.
Ramadan is the month of patience and abstemiousness and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan means the superiority of spiritual food over physical food and abstention from bad deeds, Rahmon said.
The head of state also called on the people to avoid wastefulness. “We know that some our citizens are setting a rich dastarkhan before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. That is no more than window-dressing and wastefulness,” Rahmon stressed.
Ramadan is the month of spiritual cleansing and bodily harmony, which promotes the strengthening of such qualities as restraint, wisdom, tolerance, compassion and mercy in people, the head of state said.
This year, the holy Islamic month of Ramadan is expected to start in Tajikistan on May 17.
The fourth pillar of Islam, which is fasting, is practiced during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat and sun-scorched ground. It is the ninth month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, established in the year 638 CE. It is considered the most venerated, blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed at this time; religious observances associated with Ramadan are kept throughout the month.
The most prominent event of this month is the fasting practiced by observant Muslims. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat the Suhoor meal (the predawn meal) and perform their fajr prayer. They break their fast when the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib (sunset), is due.
During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God Almighty. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate, intended to make Muslims more generous and charitable. Muslims can eat after the sun has set. Pregnant women, the elderly, the ill, travelers and children who have not reached puberty are all exempt from fasting as lack of food and liquid in these situations could be detrimental to health.
