Ramadan 101

Salaam everyone, and Ramadan Mubarak!

Today marks the first day of Ramadan, and the first day of my Ramadan vlog, ‘Moon Wars’! Throughout this month, I’ll be creating vlogs on a different topic regarding Ramadan, including some relevant Hadiths, crucial duaa’s and the significance of Ramadan.

I’m doing this vlog so that I can learn more about Ramadan while also teaching you, and inshallah, the goal is that we all come out of this Ramadan more informed and better for it.

Today’s topic is Ramadan 101.

So what is Ramadan? Ramadan is the 9^th month in the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, as in it follows the moon. Ramadan starts roughly 11 days earlier each year for that reason. The month begins the evening when the new crescent moon is first sighted throughout the world.

Every year, there is a lot of chaos and disagreement amongst the Muslim community over when Ramadan starts because some places don’t see the moon, which results in Ramadan beginning on different days in different places. This year, the moon was spotted very late at night on Tuesday in Hawaii and California, leading to some places pushing it off until Thursday.

Ramadan is observed by Muslims all across the world to commemorate when the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad (saws). Muslims observe this month by fasting, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, during daylight hours. They begin their fast with a pre-dawn meal, referred to as suhoor, and abstain from food and drinks throughout the day. They break their fast at sunset with a meal, referred to as iftar, usually containing dates and a variety of fried foods and fruit.

Although the not-eating part of Ramadan often is the part most people remember, it is so much more than that; it’s about abstaining from any act that will distract Muslims from their focus of being a better Muslim. This includes watching TV, smoking, listening to music, cursing, sexual activities, and any negative thoughts, such as anger or jealousy. Instead, during the day, Muslims usually spend their time getting closer to God by reading Quran and praying.

That’s pretty much a run-down of Ramadan! Hope you learned something new! Tune in next week for another informational post about tips on how to get through Ramadan!