Hossam Badrawi Official Website
(Article published in Al-Azhar Magazine, Wednesday, Ramadan 5, 1443 AH, April 6, 2022 AD)
The holy month of Ramadan has begun, and I wondered: How can we, while we are in the twenty-first century, wait for the eye to see the crescent of the moon in order to determine the beginning of the month, when science allows us to determine it for the next thousands of years, by the minute and the second. How can a person today not know when the month begins and when it ends, and organizes the times of his work, travel and holidays while waiting for the eye to see the crescent????

As for me, it is time for us to work our minds and be aware that what was 1400 years ago was related to his time. It is high time to respect accuracy and absorb science.
Why do many Muslims not work during Ramadan, and are lazy under the pretext of fasting, and go to work late and leave early, and argue in crowds, and why do they fight over food and sweets, in this particular month, and what is fasting related to all of that!!!!
A young dreamer asked me: Don’t you see with me, Doctor, that fasting has become an excuse for not performing one’s duty? I said: I agree with you. He said: If fasting will prevent an employee from performing his work in the service of citizens, is it not right for the state to punish him because his job is to facilitate the fulfillment of their needs? I said: I agree with you. He said: And what is this nonsense about strange questions, such as does entering water into the anus when rinsing break the fast? Is this not absurd that dwarfs religion and distorts fatwas? I said: I agree with you and wonder.
An educated girl and a reader said: I have read the verses of fasting, and I wonder about those who were prescribed to fast before Islam. And the Arabs in the island used to fast in the same month.
I said: As far as I know, even the ancient Egyptians used to fast, and yes, the Arabs before Islam used to fast and perform Hajj to the Kaaba. The sanctification of the month of Ramadan is not only an Islamic custom, because the Arabs used to sanctify it in ancient times, and Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, sanctified this month and glorified it, and committed himself to the cave of Hira in it, swearing oaths in it, giving alms in it, and feeding food.
Likewise, the Sabeans, according to the sources of Arab history, used to fast for thirty days, beginning the month with the appearance of the crescent, and ending it with the appearance of the crescent of the new month. Likewise, the Jews used to fast several days of the year, as fasting for them was an expression of sadness, and most of the days in which they fast were considered mourning, and they were fasting as an expiation for sins, in addition to the fact that they believed that fasting protects them from the occurrence of calamities. The Christians also have specific and separate days in the year that they are keen to fast, as is the case with the ancient Egyptians who used to fast and set certain days for fasting. The young woman said: Who are the Sabeans, I have not heard of them before?? I said: Because you do not focus on reading, the Sabeans were mentioned independently in the Holy Qur’an and in the following verses. (Surah Al-Baqarah): Those who believe, those who are Jews, Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does righteousness, they shall have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.
And in (Surat Al-Ma’idah) it is stated: “Those who believe, and those who are Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does righteousness, there is no fear for them, nor for them they grieve.” Islam still exists today.
The important thing is that fasting existed in different forms before the advent of Islam, and God says in His book in Surat Al-Baqarah: “O you who have believed! To the one who transferred to you, may you be faithful.”
Here, the whole group asked me what I would advise them to do in Ramadan.
I thought about what I read of philosophy, physics, Sufism, and comparison of religions. Then I thought about controversial issues about the astronomical date of Ramadan and adjusting the lunar months every three years with a month without a name until the spring months come in spring, Ramadan in August and September, and the pilgrimage in December and January, as is imposed by the cycle of the earth, the sun, the stars, and the movement of the universe, which the first Arabs used to do in the beginning The Hijri calendar, then I said to myself, No, this is not the time for controversial discussions. Better to advise them than

Qur’an with some life wisdoms, as we do in education, when we talk about values and skills to be applied. So I went back to my research and told them:
Ramadan is an opportunity for all of us, as it is a month in which souls prepare to draw closer to God. Let us take from the Qur’an its advice for us in the practice of life and make this month the beginning of a better human project for all
one of us. They said how and what do you mean? I said, with the logic of education in explanation and simplification, I will make it ten commandments, which make each one of us a better human being, all of which are taken from the verses of the Noble Qur’an:
First: moderation in eating and drinking, as it is the month of fasting.
Second: Moderation in spending and life in general: “And do not let your hand be tied to your neck, and do not extend it completely.”
Then he remained silent and enclosed in a wall.”
Third: The way we speak and speak loudly with our voices.
The voice of a donkey.”

Rather, the Holy Qur’an has set the way of this walking for us, whether it is  formally or figuratively, for it says: “And do not walk on the earth with ease.
Fourth: parental care. “And there is no one who does not know what is wrong with you.
Fifth: Controlling suspicions and striving for the truth, so he said, “O you who have believed!
Sixth: a
