Fasting is called sawm in Arabic and is one of the five pillars of Islam. Healthy Muslims fast from dawn to sunset for almost thirty days during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Fasting requires abstaining from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity and refraining from seeing, hearing or performing any bad acts. It is a form of purifying one’s soul and feeling empathy for those less fortunate.