RAMADAN
Ramadān is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is made up of 12 lunar months, like all the other months of the Islamic calendar it is traditionally determined by the sighting of the growth of the new moon. In this month we Muslims practice fasting (for the entire duration of the month, 29 or 30 days). It represents the fourth of the five pillars of Islam , and ends with the beginning of the following Islamic month of Shawwāl in which the feast of breaking the fast is celebrated. Ramadan is the only month mentioned nominally in the Quran.
What does Ramadan fasting consist of?
Ramadān is a blessed month for us Muslims, it is the month of abstention and purification , during which in addition to practicing food fasting (including food, drinks and water), we also practice sexual and spiritual fasting from dawn to sunset, the prayer activity also intensifies , with the entire reading of the Koran, with a particular prayer in the mosque (tarāwīh), with the spiritual retreat in the mosque (I'tikaf), with meditation , with charity zakāt ul‐ Fitr.
When does the month of Ramadan fall?
Every (solar) year the beginning of each Islamic lunar month moves back by approximately 10.11 days compared to the previous (solar) year and completes a complete cycle in approximately 33 years , so every Muslim always fasts at different periods in the various years and in the summer periods, Muslims in the Northern Hemisphere will practice long fasting in the heat with many hours of light, but at the same time their brothers in the Southern Hemisphere will perform a short fast in a cold climate.
How does Ramadan fasting take place?
Ramadan fasting begins on the first day of the month of the same name, before the time of salah al‐fajr which generally occurs before civil dawn , suhūr is eaten, the last meal to face the day and then fajr is prayed.
For the entire duration of the day until sunset you don't eat anything, you don't drink anything, you don't have sexual intercourse, you adopt self-controlled behavior and you immerse yourself in spirituality.
At sunset, at the time of the maghrib prayer, the fast (Iftār) is broken, preferably by being careful about what you eat , starting with just one or two dates and water, you do the salah al-maghrib and eat the Iftār, the meal of breaking the fast and so on for a lunar month; it ends with the beginning of the following Islamic month of Shawwāl , (also determined by the sighting of the growth of the new moon), in which the festival of breaking the fast, called 'Aīd (u)l-Fitr, is celebrated . Keep reading...
