THE MEANING OF RAMADAN

This article is about religious observances during the month of Ramadan. For the actual calendar month, see Ramadan (calendar month).

Ramadan
A crescent moon can be seen over palm trees at sunset in Manama, Bahrain, marking the beginning of the Muslim month of Ramadan
Observed by	Muslims
Type	Muslim, cultural
Begins	1 Ramadan
Ends	29, or 30 Ramadan
Date	Variable (follows the Islamic lunar calendar)
2010 date	11 August – 10 September
2011 date	1–29 August
2012 date	20 July-18 August
Celebrations	Communal Iftars
Observances	Sawm (fasting), zakat (almsgiving), Tarawih prayer, reading the Qur'an
Related to	Eid ul-Fitr, Laylat al-Qadr

Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎ Ramaḍān,Persian: Ramazan IPA: [rɑmɑˈdˤɑːn];^variations Turkish: Ramazan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex with their partners^[1] during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. Muslims fast for the sake of God (Arabic: الله‎, trans: Allah) and to offer more prayer than usual. Compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards by about eleven days each year depending on the moon; thus, a person will have fasted every day of the calendar year in 34 years' time. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

Contents

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• 1 Origins of Ramadan
• 2 The Beginning of Ramadan
• 3 Practices during Ramadan
  • 3.1 Fasting
  • 3.2 Prayer and reading of the Qur'an
  • 3.3 Iftar
  • 3.4 Charity
  • 3.5 Laylat al-Qadr
• 4 Eid ul-Fitr
• 5 Cultural aspects
  • 5.1 Decorations
  • 5.2 Ramadan in Turkey
• 6 See also
• 7 Notes
• 8 References
• 9 External links