Tariq Ramadan's sort of biography of the Prophet - peace be upon him - is proving to be perfect reading for the holy month. The Messenger gives a clear, in many ways simple account, but the meditations on the meanings of events - the book's subtitle is The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad - add an intriguing dimension. And it's not that these meditations are particularly complex. They have a strikingly noble simplicity that seems to almost mirror their subject.
This notion of simplicity is something that I've come to realise is central to Islam. Despite the sophistication of much Islamic thought and philosophy there's always an awareness of the need to maintain a sense of clarity at the heart of things: a simplicity that is both demanding and rewarding.
In that sense the fast is really quite simple - yet profound in its implications.
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