 This is our final session, insha'Allah, Ta'ala. So we are often asked by non-Muslims why we fast Ramadan, the 9th lunar month. The answer is given in verse 185 of al-Baqarah, the second of the three verses within the Quranic passage about fasting that we wanted to examine. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, شهر رمضان الذي انزل فيه القرآن هودا للناسي ومن يناسي من الهودة والفرقان The month of Ramadan is that which during the Quran was revealed, literally sent down. Sent down as a guidance for mankind, as clear proofs of guidance and as a criterion. So this eye refers to the inzal of the Quran, which is the descent of the entire Quran from the preserved tablet, to the earth during Ramadan in the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's 40th year. In the fifth book of the Torah, which is called Divarim or Deuteronomy, the author tells us that Moses, Musa alaihi wa sallam, fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in preparation for receiving the law of God. Moses is quoted as saying, لَخَمْ لُأَكَلْتِ وُمَا يِمْ لُأْ شَمِتِ neither bread did I eat nor water did I drink. Both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus peace be upon him fasted in the wilderness for 40 days prior to his public ministry. Therefore in the Bible and within the greater Judeo-Christian tradition, these are just a couple examples. The number 40 is often associated with a period of training or preparation for some sort of major historical event. In Genesis, the flood ended after 40 days and 40 nights, and first Samuel Goliath challenged the Israelites to fight for 40 days until David or Dawood alaihi sallam defeated him. In our case, Allah s.w. prepared the heart and mind of his beloved messenger, the greatest prophet of all time, our master Muhammad sallallahu alaihi sallam, to receive his final revelation. This ayah also refers to the Quran as a criterion, al-forqan. It is the standard by which something might be judged. Imam al-Qurta to be said that the meaning of this is that the Quran separates truth from falsehood and clearly delineates what is lawful and what is unlawful. Elsewhere in the Quran, Allah s.w. says, to see who sent down the criterion upon his servant that he may that he may be a warner unto the worlds. This first chapter 21 verse 1 refers to the 10 zeal of the Quran. So you have the inzaal of the Quran, then you have the 10 zeal of the Quran, the piecemeal revelation of the Quran from the angel Gabriel jibreel alaihi sallam to the heart and mind of the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi sallam over a 23 year period. Therefore, the greatest night of all nights in the sacred history of religion is the night during which the Quran was initially sent down to humanity, the night of power, the night of destiny, the night of constriction has these different meanings laid to the qadr. The Quran says that the night of power is greater than a thousand months. This event marks the commencement of the Quranic revelation with a single word iqra, read, read in the name of your Lord who created humanity. The third verse in the passage about fasting in al-Baqarah that I want to mention is verse 186. Now at first glance, this verse seems to be a bit out of place. It seems to be unrelated to the theme of fasting, but it is perfectly in place, I assure you. It reads, If my servants ask you directly to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam, when my servants ask you concerning me, truly I am near, I am close, I answer the call of the caller. When he calls me, so let them respond to me and believe in me in order that they may be guided. This aya highlights the imminence of God, in relation to his servants, not in terms of physical space or distance or direction, not in terms of physicality, but rather in terms of awareness, concern, knowledge, and love. But what does this verse have to do with fasting? Why is it in this passage regarding fasting? Why is this verse in the middle of this passage regarding fasting? Well, when we fast effectively, our thoughts shift from the mundane to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal. Thus we should feel a heightened sense of Allah's nearness to us, and this should provoke us to engage in constant communion with our Lord, to make dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam he said, Supplication is the essence of worship. So speak to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your own words, speak to him with hope, longing, love. The hadith literature also tells us that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam used to fast twice a week. This was the practice of the Jews and early Christians as well. Furthermore, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam noticed that the Jews of Medina were fasting on the 10th of Muharram. He said, This is a great day. The day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved the Bani Israel, the Israelites, from their enemies. And then the Prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam said, I have a greater claim to Moses than you. So he fasted on that day and ordered others to fast as well. This day, of course, is Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishray called Asarebi Tishray in Hebrew. An Aramaic is called Asura. That's an Arabic Ashura. And of course, this fast is Sunnah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept our prayers and fasting and that we have the best Ramadan of our lives. We ask for openings upon openings with respect to the Quran. We ask that he increase us in our understandings of the Quran. We ask that he increase us in useful knowledge and in light and in all good things. Alhamdulillahi rabbil al'alameen. Ameen. Jazaakumullahu khayran wa as-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi.