Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 192
192 cause of the exemption continue over a lengthy period of time or become permanent, as in case of old age or a chronic infirmity, the exemption is absolute; but the person concerned, if he can afford it, should arrange to provide food for a poorer person throughout the month of Ramadhan (2:185). The month of fasting, being a lunar month, comes eleven days earlier every year, thus rotating through the year, so that in every part of the world it falls in all seasons in turn. In the tropics, when the month falls in the summer season the fast entails considerable hardship because normal occupations have to be carried on, and in the intense heat and dryness a severe degree of thirst may have to be endured for several hours each day. However, the fast is not a penance. It is a physical, moral, and spiritual discipline. A similar discipline has been prescribed in other faiths, though in some it has now only a symbolical significance. The object of the fast is, as already observed, the attainment of righteousness. Through the experience of the fast, the worshipper should be led to exalt Allah for His having provided the guidance relating to the fast and to the beneficent use of His favours and bounties (2:186). The fast places everybody, rich and poor alike, on the same level. The well-to-do experience the pangs of hunger and thirst identically with their less- favoured brothers and sisters, so that, for the former,