Ramazan or Ramadan, is a attractive festival which is celebrated amongst the Muslims all over the world to celebrate the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is done by the Muslim community from dawn to sunset.
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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Hijri calendar, which Muslims refer to their religious festivals and is based on the lunar cycle.
Ramadan is important to Muslims because they believe it is the month when Prophet Mohammed received a series of revelations from God which combined to form the Koran, the Islamic holy book.
People support one another in fasting and invite each other to the community meals (iftar) at sunset.
This year, Ramadan began the evening of Sunday, June 6 (first day of fasting is Monday), and ends during the evening of Tuesday, July 5. During the fast they are required to abstain from food and water, as well as smoking and sexual intercourse.
Even when taking medications (for example, a dry pill), those fasting should take them without drinking water, or outside daily fasting hours when possible.
And for the Muslims who won the lottery – and reside in the southern hemisphere in countries like South Africa and Australia this Ramadan: no gloating.
In an effort to help Canadians unfamiliar with the month of Ramadan to gain a better understanding and appreciation for it, Canadian Muslims have launched the “Fast with a Muslim Friend” campaign. However, the elderly, the sick, pregnant women and children are exempt.
Fasting occurs from dawn to dusk and is considered one of the Five Pillars that are the fundamental religious duties of Islam.
Across Canada, there is also variation in terms of fasting hours given the differences in sunrise and sunset times.
At the end of Ramadan, there is huge three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr.
But the fasting provides focus and room for heightened spiritual awareness and reflection in their lives, he said.
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Most people will then go home and share a larger meal as a family, before a few hours of sleep and the day restarts. Some Muslims recite the entire Qur’an by the end of Ramadan through special prayers known as Tarawih, which are held in mosques every night of the month, during which a section of the Qur’an is recited.
