i. Sawm (fasting)- There are many words used for fasting in the Quran. This word in particular was used by the arabs before Islam for a very interesting purpose. It was used when they train their horses to go into battle.

The camel is created for the desert environment, it can survive a long time in the desert with a little bit of water. Horses are not built like that. Horses were the preferred option for battle because they are faster. The problem with horses is that they do not last in the heat. The Arabs had a way of training their horses to survive the heat and they used to call that sawm.

The first thing that came to the mind of the ancient arab when they heard sawm, was getting their horses ready for battle.

Allah says in the Quran: I have mandated sawm upon you

The first thing that comes to the mind of the listener is: Wait, now i am the horse. I am the owned property that is being trained by Allah to ygo into battle. And right after this discussion in Surah Baqarah, Allah talks about the battle of badr. SubhanAllah.

When next ramadan comes, remember that it is supposed to be a training for you to help you gain the quality of Taqwa. A quality , you will need to face the battles for the rest of the year.

Interesting, isn't it?

very. those ancient Arabs and battle sef. was there no other way to survive in the harsh desert, or they were just genetically confrontational.