What You Are Required To Do In RamadanWe should realize that Allah made Saum (fasting) obligatory on us as a= way for us to worship Him: and for the fasting to be acceptable and beneficial,= we should observe the following conditions:* It should be unders= tood that here, like in all other Islamic undertakings, the intention must be ma= de clear that this action is undertaken in obedience to Allah, in response to = His command and out of love for Him.Performing the other acts of worship and dut= ies is most important, and Salat in particular, without which no other act of worship is ac= cepted by Allah. Praying in congregation is a great aspect in our religion. Everyone should attend: its reward is twenty seven times greater than = that which is performed individually. The Prophet (peace be on him) was just about to burn the houses on those who did not attend = the congregational prayers. Refraining from bad beh= avior such as lying, cheating, music, smoking, backbiting and slandering others to create animosity among them. The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "No slanderer shall enter the Jannah." To be extraordinarily cautious in using the senses, the mind and, especially, the tongue; to abstain from careless= and gossipy chats and avoid all suspicious moti= ons. A fasting person preserving the purity of the fast should not be involved in talking behind others, intrigues, aspersions, vilifications, lies, altercations, name-callings and swear= ing as well as perjuries. The Prophet (peace be on him) further said i= n an authentic Hadith : Fasting is a shield; so= when it is a day of fasting one should not indulge in obscene behavior or glamour, or shout about; if any one quarrels with him or engages him in fight, he should say: 'I am fastin= g'. Fasting does not mean merely abstaining from eating and drinking the things that break fast. In this sense Allah's Messenger (peace be on him) has also said in an authentic Hadith: " Whoever does not give up lying sp= eech (false statements) and acting on those lies and evil actions etc., All= ah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his Saum (fasting)".[ See Fath Al-Bari, Vol.5,= page 18] (3:127-OB)