Ramadan ( ar, رَمَضَان, ') is the ninth month of the
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 ...
, and the month in which the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
is believed to be revealed to the
Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
.
Fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
during the month of Ramadan is one of the
Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree o ...
. The month is spent by
Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset. According to Islam, the Quran was sent down to the lowest
heaven during this month, thus being prepared for gradual revelation by
Jibreel to Muhammad. Therefore, Muhammad told his followers that the gates of
Heaven would be open for the entire month and the gates of
Hell (
Jahannam
In Islam, the place of punishment for unbelievers and other evildoers in the afterlife, or hell, is an "integral part of Islamic theology", Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009: p.401 and has "occupied an important place in the Muslim imagi ...
) would be closed.
[Hadith al-Bukhari 3:123](_blank)
Hadith Collection The first three days of the next month,
Shawwal, are spent in celebration and are observed as the "Festival of Breaking Fast" or
Eid al-Fitr.
Timing
The
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 ...
is a
lunar one: months begin when the first
crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
of a
new moon is sighted. Consequently, the Islamic year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the
solar year
A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky of a celestial body of the Solar System such as the Earth, completing a full cycle of seasons; for example, the time f ...
and contains no
intercalation, Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons. The Islamic day starts after sunset. The estimated start and end dates for Ramadan, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, are:
![An Iranian iftar meal (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/An_Iranian_iftar_meal_%282%29.jpg)
Many Muslims insist on the local physical sighting of the moon to mark the beginning of Ramadan, but others use the calculated time of the new moon or the
Saudi Arabian
Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...
declaration to determine the start of the month. Since the new moon is not in the same state at the same time globally, the beginning and ending dates of Ramadan depend on what lunar sightings are received in each respective location. As a result, Ramadan dates vary in different countries, but usually only by a day. This is due to the
cycle of the moon. The moon travels the same path all year round and when the moon is seen in the east, it is then seen traveling towards the west. All the countries around the world see the moon within a 24-hour period once spotted by one country in the east. Astronomical projections that approximate the start of Ramadan are available.
Events
Ramadan is observed by Muslims during the entire lunar month by the same name. The month of religious observances consists of fasting and extra prayers. Some important historical events during this month are generally believed to include:
* 2 Ramadan, the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
was bestowed on
Moses according to Islam.
* 10 Ramadan, death of
Khadija bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid ( ar, خَدِيجَة بِنْت خُوَيْلِد, Khadīja bint Khuwaylid, 555 – November 619 CE) was the first wife and is considered to be the first follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Khadija was the da ...
, the wife of Muhammad.
* 12 Ramadan, the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
was bestowed on
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
according to Islam.
* 15 Ramadan, birth of
Hasan ibn Ali
Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He briefly ruled as caliph from Jan ...
.
* 17 Ramadan, birth of
Ibn ʿArabi.
* 17 Ramadan, death of
Aisha bint Abu Bakr
Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referr ...
– a
wife
A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...
of Muhammad.
* 17 Ramadan, the
Battle of Badr was won by the Muslims.
* 18 Ramadan, the
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
(
Zabur
The Zabūr (also ''Zabur'', ar, الزَّبُورُ) is, according to Islam, the holy book of David, one of the holy books revealed by God before the Quran, alongside others such as the '' Tawrāh (Torah)'' and the Injīl (Gospel). Muslim t ...
) were bestowed on
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(
Dawood).
* 19 Ramadan,
Imam Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
struck on the head during prayer by
Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muljam al-Murādī ( ar, عبد الرحمن بن ملجم المرادي) was a Kharijite primarily known for having assassinated Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
Assassination plot
There ...
with a poisoned sword sword.
[W. Montgomery Watt (1956)]
''Muhammad at Medina''
Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 12. Watt notes that the date for the battle is also recorded as the 19th or the 21st of Ramadan (15 or 17 March 624).
* 20 Ramadan, the
Conquest of Mecca by Muhammad.
[>F.R. Shaikh, ''Chronology of Prophetic Events'', Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., London, 2001 pp 3, 72, 134-6. Shaikh places the departure on Wednesday, 29 November. This is apparently calculated using the ]tabular Islamic calendar
The Tabular Islamic calendar ( ar, التقويم الهجري المجدول, altaqwim alhijriu almujadwal) is a rule-based variation of the Islamic calendar. It has the same numbering of years and months, but the months are determined by arith ...
and then substituting Ramadan for Sha'ban in an (ineffective) attempt to allow for intercalation.
* 21 Ramadan, Caliph Ali martyred.
Laylat al-Qadr
The Qadr Night or Laylat al-Qadr ( ar, لیلة القدر), variously rendered in English as the Night of Decree, Night of Power, Night of Value, Night of Destiny, or Night of Measures, is, in Islamic belief, the night when the Quran was firs ...
is observed during one of the last ten days of the month (typically the odd nights). Muslims believe that this night which is also known as "The Night of Power" is better than a thousand months. This is often interpreted as praying throughout this night is rewarded equally with praying for a thousand months (just over 83 years i.e., a lifetime). Many Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.
Hadith
Prohibition to pronounce the word Ramadan by itself
According to numerous hadiths Ramadan is one of the
names of God in Islam, and as such it is prohibited to say only "Ramadan" in reference to the calendar month and that it is necessary to say the "month of Ramadan".
Sunni
Shia
Zaydi
See also
*
Islamic holy books
*
19 Ramadan
19 Ramadan is the nineteenth day of the ninth month ( Ramadan) of the Islamic calendar.
In the conventional Lunar Hijri calendar, this day is the 255th day of the year.
Events
* 40 AH - Ali ibn Abi Talib (''1st Shi'i Imam'') was wounded wi ...
*
21 Ramadan
*
23 Ramadan
23 Ramadan is the twenty-third day of the ninth month (Ramadan) of the Islamic calendar.
In the conventional Lunar Hijri calendar, this day is the 259th day of the year.
Births
* 220 AH – Ahmad ibn Tulun, the founder of the Tulunid dynast ...
Notes
References
External links
Islamic-Western Calendar Converter (Based on the Arithmetical or Tabular Calendar)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramadan (Calendar Month)
Fasting in Islam
9