A brief explanation of Ramadan
January 27, 1996
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan falls in the ninth month of the Muslim year, as prescribed in the Koran. It is the most sacred time of year for the world's 1 billion Muslims. The Muslim calendar date is Ramadan 1, 1414.
The exact date of Ramadan's beginning is determined by the sighting of the new moon by a trustworthy witness ; Muslim clerics in different areas may declare different starts for the month.
According to Encyclopedia Britanica, Ramadan is similar in function to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Ramadan is seen as an "obedient response to a command from God."
Ramadan's fast, called Sawm, is one of the five pillars, or basic institutions of Islam. The other four are affirmation that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet; praying five times daily; giving to charity; and making a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Muslims are supposed to abstain from eating, drinking or having sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during Ramadan.
"Long before Islam, the month of Ramadan was regarded by Arabs as a holy month," wrote Isma'il R. Al Farqui, Ph.D, in the January 1994 edition of Al-Hewar. "... The Arabs reckoned Ramadan as the month of spiritual stocktaking. Throughout its duration, they were especially keen to please, to settle old debts and disputes, to do good to their neighbors."
Muslims often use the time for spiritual introspection, much as Mohammed did before his commission as Prophet, Al Farqui wrote.
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