Ramzan

Ramzan or Ramadan is celebrated across the world by the Muslim community. It is the name of the ninth month of the lunar-based Islamic calendar. They believe Ramzan, a most sacred month as the verses of the Quran was given to Prophet Mohammad by Allah this month. 

Muslims observe fasting from dawn to dusk, abstain from smoking, drinking, lying and pleasures during this month. Charity, prayers and community gatherings are common along with fasting. Fasting is the most revered activity for them as they believe that it fosters the sense of devoutness among them. Moreover, fasting (Sawm) is one of the five pillars of Muslim. Others are Faith in Islam (Shahada), Pray five times a day facing towards the direction of Mecca (Salat), Donating the part of earnings (Zakat), Visting Mecca (Hajj).

People aged more than 12 or reaching puberty can participate in fasting. They wake up early in the morning, have food before the sunrise (called Sahar) and observe strict fasting, not even drink water till sunset. They are done with fasting once the sun sets, and they will participate in common prayers and breaks the fast usually with dates (called Iftar), and then they will have food. Fasting is exempted for those who are travelling, pregnant, suffering from illnesses, lactating and menstruating. If one breaks fast because of any reason, he/she should fast again at a later date. Typically, they do fasting to worship Allah rather than dietary things. Moreover, it is mentioned during the prayers before Sahar and Iftar as a part of Intention (Niyyah).

Generally, Ramzan starts from after the new moon day when the crescent appears in the sky, and similarly, it ends when another crescent appears after new moon day in the next month (around 30 days). At the end of the Ramzan, they break the fast while celebrating the three-day-long festival called “Eid-ul-Fitr”.