Today begins the month long celebration of the Islamic holy
time of Ramadan. Observant Muslims everywhere will be celebrating the
revelation of the Quran unto the Prophet Mohammed with fasting and prayer.
This year, Ramadan
begins at sundown on Friday, May 26 and ends at sundown on Saturday, June 24,
with Eid al-Fitr, or the breaking of the Ramadan fast. These dates vary
culturally. Last year, Ramadan started on Sunday, June 5 and ended on
Tuesday,
July 5.
This year Ramadan
falls between May 26 and June 24. During this time, observant Muslims will fast
during daylight hours. Fasting (sawm in Arabic) is another one of the Five
Pillars of Islam. The times of fasting with sunrise and sunset vary depending
on a Muslim’s location. According to the Fiqh Council of
North America, the first full day of Ramadan is on Saturday, May 27
with the Tarawih prayers on Friday night. The Tarawih prayers are extra prayers
performed by Sunni Muslims at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan.
1. It Incorporates Pre-Islamic Traditions
Prior to
Mohammed’s revelation, ancient cultures in Arabia participated in similar
rituals during the time that would become Ramadan. This included Mohammed’s
tribe of Quraysh, who inhabited Mecca. According to Sahih al-Bukhari
Hadith 3831, “‘Ashura’ (i.e. the tenth of Muharram) was a day on
which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.
The Prophet (ﷺ)
also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it
and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it… the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined.”
Muharram is the
first month of the Islamic calendar. Ashura commemorates the death of Husayn
ibn Ali, the grandson of Mohammed.
Other Islamic
traditions can also be traced to ancient Arabian and African peoples. Sabaeans,
an ancient people that inhabited the Arabian peninsula and Africa in what is
now Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Eritrea, are mentioned in the both the Bible and
the Quran.
The Arabs during
the pre-Islamic period used to practice certain things that were included in
the Islamic Sharia. They, for example, did not marry both a mother and her
daughter. They considered marrying two sisters simultaneously to be a most
heinous crime. They also censured anyone who married his stepmother, and called
him dhaizan. They made the major [hajj] and the minor [umra] pilgrimage to the
Ka’ba, performed the circumambulation around the Ka’ba [tawaf], ran seven times
between Mounts Safa and Marwa [sa’y], threw rocks and washed themselves after
intercourse. They also gargled, sniffed water up into their noses, clipped
their fingernails, plucked their hair from their armpits, shaved their pubic
hair and performed the rite of circumcision. Likewise, they cut off the right
hand of a thief.
2. The Start Date of Ramadan Changes Every Year
The dates of
Islamic holidays changes every year because the Islamic calendar is a lunar
calendar. There’s not a set amount of days in the lunar calendar. The lunar
calendar reflects the cycles of the moon, and when it is compared to or tried
to fit into a 12-cycle solar calendar (that most of the Western world uses),
there are slightly more than twelve lunations (or moon phases) in a solar year.
When the moon is
orbiting the earth, the earth is also orbiting the sun. After the earth
completes one orbit (a month) the moon must still move a little further to
achieve the same angular distance. This time period is called “the synodic
month” and it means “having a synod” or “a meeting,” meaning a meeting between
the sun and the moon.
It takes the moon
about 2 days longer for it to complete its full orbit than the earth with the
sun. Depending upon which orbit you follow for a calendar is what kind of
calendar you have: a solar calendar or a lunar calendar. Most Asian countries
traditionally used some sort of a lunar calendar, including Mongolia, Korea,
Japan, and Vietnam. The ancient Hebrew calendar also follows the lunar cycles
and is why Passover and other Jewish holidays fall on
different dates every year. The observation of a new day beginning with the
moon in Islam is also reflected in the Hebrew calendar.
Ramadan is the
name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This year, Muslims are
celebrating their 1438 calendar year.
This year Ramadan
falls between May 26 and June 24. During this time, observant Muslims will fast
during daylight hours. Fasting (sawm in Arabic) is another one of the Five
Pillars of Islam. The times of fasting with sunrise and sunset vary depending
on a Muslim’s location. According to the Fiqh Council of
North America, the first full day of Ramadan is on Saturday, May 27
with the Tarawih prayers on Friday night. The Tarawih prayers are extra prayers
performed by Sunni Muslims at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan.
To find the times
of sunrise (sehr) and sunset (iftar) for each day of Ramadan 2017, simply enter
your location or zip code at salah.com and note the times of sunrise
and maghrib (the daily prayer that happens at sunset.)
3. Ramadan Is Described in the Quran
The Quranic verse
describing the observation of Ramadan is chapter 2, verse 185.
It reads:
The month of
Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people
and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of]
the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal
number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you
hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for
that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
Ramadan is the
month that Islamic tradition holds that the Quran was first revealed to
Mohammed the angel of Gabriel. According to the book Loud Thoughts on Religion by Rafig Y.
Aliyev, Muslims believe all earlier Abrahamic holy books were revealed during
the month of Ramadan. These include the tablets of Abraham, the Torah, the
Psalms, and the Gospel of Jesus.
4. Fasting Is Meant for Only Healthy People
As stated earlier,
fasting is a major tenet of Ramadan. However, it is not meant for everyone. According to an article bny
Nour El-Zibdeh, RD on Today’s Dietician:
Exemptions to
fasting are travel, menstruation, illness, older age, pregnancy, and
breast-feeding. However, many Muslims with medical conditions insist on fasting
to satisfy their spiritual needs, and healthcare professionals must work with
their patients to reach common ground. Professionals should closely monitor
individuals who decide to persist with fasting.
Fasting can also
be harmful to those with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, renal disease,
and peptic ulcers.
5. Islam Is the Second Largest Religion in the World
Ramadan ends at
sundown on Saturday, June 24, with Eid al-Fitr, or the breaking of the Ramadan
fast. Eid al-Fitr is the first day of the new month of Shawwal. Usual
celebrations include family get-togethers, feasting, using perfume, wearing new
clothes, and gift-giving.
More than 1.6
Muslims will be celebrating Ramadan this year. Islam is the second most popular
religion in the world after Christianity. But according to the Pew Research
Center, that is going to change soon. They write:
The world’s Muslim
population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising
from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030… Globally, the Muslim
population is forecast to grow at about twice the rate of the non-Muslim
population over the next two decades – an average annual growth rate of 1.5%
for Muslims, compared with 0.7% for non-Muslims. If current trends continue,
Muslims will make up 26.4% of the world’s total projected population of 8.3
billion in 2030, up from 23.4% of the estimated 2010 world population of 6.9
billion
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