Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for the Muslim community. On the Islamic Calendar, it is the ninth month, and the month we believe the Qur’an, our Holy Book, was sent down from heaven. We do not know the exact date, only that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ brought it down. During the month of Ramadan, We perform various religious activities, such as praying to Allah (SWT). During the entire month of Ramadan, we fast every day from dawn to sunset. We eat “suhoor” before fasting, and “iftar” to break our fast. It's regarded as an act of worship to attain Allah's (SWT) conscious piety and one of submission to Allah (SWT). Another reason why we fast is to test our patience and self-restraint. We participate in extra prayer, increased charity and generosity, and intense study of the Qur’an.
Ramadan is celebrated on different dates each year. Every year, Ramadan starts approximately 11 days before it did the previous year. The exact date always depends on the sighting of the crescent moon, because we follow the Islamic Calendar. This year the moon was sighted on the night of Sunday, March 10, and fasting began on Monday, March 11. The month of Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days, depending on the time when the moon signifies the start of the next month, Shawwal.
Ramadan ends with a reward. After thirty or twenty-nine days of fasting, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by going to the mosque to pray, typically during Zuhur, when the sun is at its peak, eating food, giving money and gifts, and spending time with family. Gifts are also given to the poor. In Arabic, Eid means “feast, festival, holiday”.
So, overall, Ramadan is one of the most important months of the Islamic Calendar. It is celebrated all over the world by Muslims and is considered the month when the Holy Qur’an was revealed to us. It is a time of praying, generosity, and good. Not only did Allah (SWT) forbid us from food and drink from sunrise-sunset, but in Ramadan, we also must not listen to loud music, forgive others, not waste time, and, most importantly, abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and forceful vomiting between dawn and dusk. Ramadan is a time of starting fresh and anew in the name of Allah (SWT)