If your son or daughter is hooked to video games and play stations and is also fasting during the month of Ramzan, it is advisable for her or him not to play games.
“Fasting during Ramzan — Roza — is meant for abstinence and prayers. Laying video games or play station is distracting and therefore not advisable since it takes away from the piety of the occasion”, says the Shia helpline that has been set up in Lucknow to answer queries related to Ramzan and “Roza”.
The helplines, set up separately by Shia and Sunni communities, are getting 150 to 200 phone calls every day and there are also calls from other parts of India and countries like Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Sharjah. Maulana Syed Saif Abbas Naqvi says that majority of the callers want to know if the Roza is deemed broken due to a lapse.
“We tell them that only if a food particle enters the throat or comes out of, that the Roza considered broken. Some are worried about the fast being broken due to injection and we set their concerns at rest. If someone is administered an injection or has eaten something to counter sudden decrease in sugar level, there is provision to observe compensatory Roza even after Ramzan is over, the Maulana explained.
“If a person has cut short the Roza due to illness he or she can make up for it by observing the fast after Ramzan and there is no fine. The person can also compensate for it by giving 750 gram cereal to a poor. But, if the Roza was broken intentionally, the person can make peace with Almighty only by either observing 60 continuous Rozas or by feeding 60 poor persons,” the Maulana added.
A number of callers have sought to know whether they can get their tooth extracted during Ramzan fasting. The answer is yes, provided blood and medicine do not enter the throat.
Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali who started the Ramzan helpline service about a decade ago, said that it is not mandatory for pregnant women to observe Roza during Ramzan but as per their convenience, they can observe it later,” he said. In the early years, the queries were related to applying nail polish, make-up, getting hair-cuts etc. during Ramzan but this year, the majority of callers want to clear doubts about medical issues. The Shia and Sunni communities, apart from the telephone helpline, have also started inviting queries through email. “By next year, we hope to start an interactive website for this purpose,” said Maulana Saif Abbas Naqvi.