How much do you know about Ramzan?
Ramzan is the time when, many Muslims believe the angel Jibril (Gabriel) began his revelations to prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. These revelations became the Quran, the Islamic holy scripture.
During Ramzan, Muslims seek to deepen their faith by abstaining from worldly pleasures — including eating, drinking and smoking — from sunrise to sunset. Like Lent for Christians and Yom Kippur for Jews, Ramzan is also a time of contemplation and introspection. COMMON PRACTICES During Ramzan, Muslims wake up before dawn to have or sahar, a pre-fast meal. It consists of plenty of fluids, fruits, grains and other foods that are harder to digest and will sustain them throughout the day.
Even if they do not eat a full meal, Muslims are encouraged to follow in the tradition of Muhammad and at least drink some water and eat a date. Following sahar, Muslims say fajr, the morning prayer, and begin their fast. Following a day of fasting, families break the fasting together with an evening meal following sunset and the adhan, a call to prayer.
Following the meal the adhan is said again, fol lowed by the Salat alTaraweeh, the night prayer. During Ramzan, the Quran is broken into 30 sections so that the entire Quran can be read by the end of the month. TERMS TO KNOW ¦ Sahar : The pre-fast meal before dawn. ¦ Iftar: The evening meal and prayer during Ramzan. ¦ Halal: Means “released” and pertains to what is allowed, specifically when it comes to food. ¦ Haram: Means “forbidden for sacred reasons.” ¦ Zakat: Stands for purification; Muslims give up a portion of their wealth in excess of what is needed for sustenance to “purify” or legitimise what they retain. ¦ Zakat al-fitr (ZA-kot alFITTER): The contribution given at the end of Ramzan for Id. LUNAR CALENDAR The Islamic calendar is lunar — days begin at sunset rather than sunrise. A lunar year has 354 days rather then 365. While it still has 12 months, each month is 29 or 30 days, and the start of each new month is marked by the hilal, crescent moon.
During Ramzan, Muslims seek to deepen their faith by abstaining from worldly pleasures — including eating, drinking and smoking — from sunrise to sunset. Like Lent for Christians and Yom Kippur for Jews, Ramzan is also a time of contemplation and introspection. COMMON PRACTICES During Ramzan, Muslims wake up before dawn to have or sahar, a pre-fast meal. It consists of plenty of fluids, fruits, grains and other foods that are harder to digest and will sustain them throughout the day.
Even if they do not eat a full meal, Muslims are encouraged to follow in the tradition of Muhammad and at least drink some water and eat a date. Following sahar, Muslims say fajr, the morning prayer, and begin their fast. Following a day of fasting, families break the fasting together with an evening meal following sunset and the adhan, a call to prayer.
Following the meal the adhan is said again, fol lowed by the Salat alTaraweeh, the night prayer. During Ramzan, the Quran is broken into 30 sections so that the entire Quran can be read by the end of the month. TERMS TO KNOW ¦ Sahar : The pre-fast meal before dawn. ¦ Iftar: The evening meal and prayer during Ramzan. ¦ Halal: Means “released” and pertains to what is allowed, specifically when it comes to food. ¦ Haram: Means “forbidden for sacred reasons.” ¦ Zakat: Stands for purification; Muslims give up a portion of their wealth in excess of what is needed for sustenance to “purify” or legitimise what they retain. ¦ Zakat al-fitr (ZA-kot alFITTER): The contribution given at the end of Ramzan for Id. LUNAR CALENDAR The Islamic calendar is lunar — days begin at sunset rather than sunrise. A lunar year has 354 days rather then 365. While it still has 12 months, each month is 29 or 30 days, and the start of each new month is marked by the hilal, crescent moon.
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