Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 193
193 hunger and privation cease to be mere expressions and become an experience shared in common. Besides the observance of the regulations regarding such matters as food and drink, the month of fasting provides an opportunity for concentration on, and intensity of, communion with God. The supererogatory service in the latter part of the night becomes obligatory during Ramadhan , though some people find it more convenient to perform it immediately after the late evening service. Also more time is devoted to the study of, and reflection over, the Quran than at other times. Every opportunity is sought to intensify the exercise of the moral and spiritual values, and though normal occupations and duties are carried on as usual, everything is subordinated to the main purpose. In this context it would be useful to complete the perspective by considering briefly the ordinances of Islam regulating food and drink. In the matter of food and drink the prohibitions are: blood, the flesh of an animal that has died of itself, the flesh of swine, and the flesh of an animal on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked, meaning thereby sacrifices made to idols or other gods, and offerings to saints or any being other than Allah (2:174; 5:4). The first three categories are prohibited because they are harmful to the body, and that which is harmful to the body is necessarily