This Saturday evening (April 2, 2022) marks the beginning of Ramadan (RAWM-uh-dawn), a sacred month in the religion of Islam. Ramadan is one of the most important times of the year for Muslims.
Muslims are people who follow the religion of Islam, which was founded by the prophet Muhammad back in the year 622. Their holy book is called the Quran or Koran.
There are many Muslims, not just in the United States, but all over the world. Nations in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia have large populations of Muslims. Almost two billion people believe in and follow Islam.
To better understand the month of Ramadan, it will help to learn about two things: The Five Pillars of Islam and the Islamic calendar.
The Five Pillars are guides that help Muslims live good lives. The Five Pillars are fasting, faith, prayer, charity, and the Hajj, which is a trip (or pilgrimage) to visit the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
Fasting means to go without food and drink on purpose to show obedience and improve one’s spiritual life.
Fasting allows Muslims to think about and be grateful for their lives and to think about and help people who are less fortunate, such as those who are poor.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day for a month. Another way of saying this is they don’t eat while its light outside. Instead of having breakfast, lunch, and supper, they will have an early breakfast before the sun comes up, no lunch, and a late supper after the sun has gone down.
Ramadan may sound like a terrible month, but to Muslims, it’s a happy, positive time.
Ramadan begins slightly earlier each year. Here’s why.
Just like the calendar that we are used to, the Islamic calendar has 12 months. However, its months have different names than ours and is based on the cycle of the moon, also called the lunar cycle.
The moon goes from being a new moon (it’s in shadow and we can’t see it) to slowly becoming a full moon and then back again. A complete cycle takes about 29 and a half days.
On a calendar, half a day would be awkward, so some of the Islamic months will have 29 days and some will have 30.
A year, according to the calendar we use, has 365 days. The Islamic year has 354 or 355 days, depending on the lunar cycle. This means that Ramadan starts about 10 days earlier each year on our calendar. This year, Ramadan starts on April 2. Next year it will start on Mar 23, the year after that, it will start on Mar 11, and so on.
Fun Facts.
• The Muslim word for fasting is sawm.
• Not everyone fasts during Ramadan. Young children, for example. Also, the very old, people who are ill, people who are traveling, and mothers of young children are excused from fasting.
• “Ramadan Mubarak” means have a blessed Ramadan. It’s a festive greeting, like saying “Merry Christmas” to a Christian or “Happy Hanukkah” to a Jew. Even if you are not Muslim, it’s okay to wish a Muslim friend “Ramadan Mubarak.”
• If you don’t feel comfortable trying to say “Ramadan Mubarak,” it’s okay to say “Happy Ramadan.”
• After the last day of Ramadan there is a three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (or just Eid) which means breaking of the fast. Family and friends gather during Eid and there is much food and fun.
At that time, the greeting becomes Eid Mubarak, or Happy Eid.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
