Added: 01/26/2006 |
Ramadan: A Time Of FastingRamadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and is a month long holiday. For the United States, the Ramadan timetable began October 5, 2005.
The main scope of Ramadan consists of fasting for an entire month, which is the standard Ramadan timetable. For fasting Ramadan month people do not eat during the daylight hours and only partake of small meals in the evening. During fasting Ramadan, celebrators spend time visiting with family and friends and work on strengthening community ties.
Fasting Ramadan has special meaning in the Muslim religion. Fasting is means of learning self-control, which is highly important in the Muslim religion. The act of fasting Ramadan is said to ascend one in nature thereby bringing them closer to God. Fasting also provides a way of experiencing hunger so one can learn to sympathize with the less fortunate and is considered beneficial to one's health as a means of curing overindulgence and other destructive behaviors.
Ramadan is also a time of intense worship. Reading of the Qur'an is of vital importance during Ramadan. While worshiping followers also participate in charity and spend much time thanking God for all of His bounty and forgiveness.
The Ramadan timetable is figured by using physical sightings of the moon as well as astronomical calculations. Ramadan does not start the same time all over the world. The Ramadan timetable that is used depends on which country you are in. The US relies heavily on the Islamic Society of North America who tracks sightings of the new moon through various spotters across the country. The beginning of Ramadan is figured by the sighting of a new moon and ends the last day of the Muslim month.
Since the Islamic lunar calendar is shorter than the standard calendar by eleven days, the holiday migrates through the seasons. The entire cycle of revolution takes, nearly thirty-five years thus the length of Ramadan days varies from one place to another. On average, a Ramadan day is thirteen and one half hours long half of which is spent fasting.
The last ten days of Ramadan are reserved for special spiritual powers grant by God. During these days, Muslims will worship to become closer to God through devotion to doing good deeds. The Night of Power, believed to be the night that the first verses of the Qur'an were written, is usually celebrated on the 27th night of Ramadan. For most Muslims this night is spent doing nothing but prayer.
The month of Ramadan is a time when most Muslims spent much time reading the Qur'an. There is an obligation to read as much of the holy book as possible and many read the entire text at least once before the end of Ramadan. In the Mosque, each day there is reciting of the Qur'an, which acts a way of reading for many of the followers.
The most common practice during Ramadan is for the fast to break at sunset each day and a meal is served. Since Ramadan is a time of togetherness, whole communities eat at the same time and invite one another to enjoy the Ramadan dinner.
Men will usually break their fast with dates, which follows the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad after which the meal is served. Most followers find that they cannot eat nearly as much while fasting so the meals are small in comparison to other times of the year.
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