Ramadan is an Islamic religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. In the western calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving forward about ten days each year. In 2009, Ramadan falls begins Saturday August 22 at sunset.
Followers of the Islam religion are known as Muslims. In the U.S. less than 2% of the population is Muslim. While it is impossible to get an exact number, best approximations are that there are between 1 and 4 billion Muslims in the world.
The purpose of Ramadān is a time of reflecting and worshiping Allah or God and is a festival of giving and sharing. During this time the key observances are fasting, prayer and zakat or charitable giving. Muslims are also read the entire Qur'an and are encouraged to slow down from everyday affairs so that they may focus on self-reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment, establishing a bond between themselves and Allah or God through prayer, supplication, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others.
The most prominent event of Ramadan is fasting. Participating Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, sexual conduct, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. This aspect of Ramadan is similar to the Catholic practice of penitence during Lent and the Jewish practice of fasting for Yom Kippur. To find out more about world religions and their similarities and differences, read world religion magazines.
Muslims believe that through good actions, they get rewarded twice as much as they normally can achieve. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.
The elderly, the chronically ill and the mentally ill are exempt from fasting, although the first two groups must make an effort to feed the poor in place of their missed fasting. Also exempt are pregnant women, women during the period of their menstruation, and women nursing their newborns.
In addition to fasting, another key observance of Ramadan is prayer. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Sahur and perform the fajr prayer. They stop eating and drinking before the call for prayer starts until the fourth prayer of the day. They may continue to eat and drink after sunset until the next morning's prayer call. Then the process starts all over.
Another key observance during Ramadan is zakat, which translates to charity. Zakat requires believers to give 2.5% of their cash assets, including the value of their jewelry or stocks to the Muslim needy and poor. Zakat might be given at any time in the year, but Ramadan's focus on compassion and introspection often prompts a greater outpouring.
Recently, USA Today newspaper reported that since the September 11 attacks of 2001, Muslims in the U.S. have struggled to be sure the charities they choose support human welfare without financing terrorism. In June 2009, President Obama pledged in his address to the Muslim world that the government would take IRS and anti-terrorism measures to make it easier to donate. To learn more about President Obama's stance on zakat charitable giving, read news magazines like Time, The Economist, The Week and BusinessWeek.
Followers of the Islam religion are known as Muslims. In the U.S. less than 2% of the population is Muslim. While it is impossible to get an exact number, best approximations are that there are between 1 and 4 billion Muslims in the world.
The purpose of Ramadān is a time of reflecting and worshiping Allah or God and is a festival of giving and sharing. During this time the key observances are fasting, prayer and zakat or charitable giving. Muslims are also read the entire Qur'an and are encouraged to slow down from everyday affairs so that they may focus on self-reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment, establishing a bond between themselves and Allah or God through prayer, supplication, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others.
The most prominent event of Ramadan is fasting. Participating Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, sexual conduct, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. This aspect of Ramadan is similar to the Catholic practice of penitence during Lent and the Jewish practice of fasting for Yom Kippur. To find out more about world religions and their similarities and differences, read world religion magazines.
Muslims believe that through good actions, they get rewarded twice as much as they normally can achieve. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.
The elderly, the chronically ill and the mentally ill are exempt from fasting, although the first two groups must make an effort to feed the poor in place of their missed fasting. Also exempt are pregnant women, women during the period of their menstruation, and women nursing their newborns.
In addition to fasting, another key observance of Ramadan is prayer. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Sahur and perform the fajr prayer. They stop eating and drinking before the call for prayer starts until the fourth prayer of the day. They may continue to eat and drink after sunset until the next morning's prayer call. Then the process starts all over.
Another key observance during Ramadan is zakat, which translates to charity. Zakat requires believers to give 2.5% of their cash assets, including the value of their jewelry or stocks to the Muslim needy and poor. Zakat might be given at any time in the year, but Ramadan's focus on compassion and introspection often prompts a greater outpouring.
Recently, USA Today newspaper reported that since the September 11 attacks of 2001, Muslims in the U.S. have struggled to be sure the charities they choose support human welfare without financing terrorism. In June 2009, President Obama pledged in his address to the Muslim world that the government would take IRS and anti-terrorism measures to make it easier to donate. To learn more about President Obama's stance on zakat charitable giving, read news magazines like Time, The Economist, The Week and BusinessWeek.
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