Ramadan, Lent, and Yom Kippur: One Fasting – Three Refinements
Table of Contents The Ramadan Fasting (sawm) Almsgiving (zakat) Reading of the Qur’an Night of Qadr Lent Prayer Fasting Almsgiving Yom Kippur Refrain from Work Visit to Synagogue The Kol Nidrei The Morning Service The Musaf Service The Afternoon Service The Neilah Attire Almsgiving Conclusion Fasting is total or partial abstinence from food, drink, or any gratifications for religious, ethical, or health purposes or reasons. The latter two purposes (ethical and health) are not the subject of this writing. Fasting for religious purposes is the theme of this writing, therefore, we will try to describe each fasting practice as independent of the other. In this writing, we will consider fasting from the perspectives of the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The description of the practices will be in descending order (that is, Ramadan, Lent, and Yom Kippur and not chronologically as they should be). The reason for this approach is to remov