Ramadan

• 1. Introduction

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  Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and it runs for 29 or 30 days. Muslims around the world devote it to fasting, communal prayer, charity, and study of the Quran. It stands as one of the five pillars of Islam. For its duration, the rhythm of households and whole cities bends around the hours of dawn and sunset.

  The details of the month turn on questions that sound simple and are not. Who decides the morning on which it begins? What does a fast from dawn to sunset mean in a city where the sun barely sets, or aboard a spacecraft? How do employers, doctors, and governments respond to a practice that most Muslims keep? And why do some countries fine people for eating in public while others have tried to stamp the fast out?

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• 2. Keeping Time

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  A year of 12 lunar cycles falls 10 to 11 days short of the solar year, and that gap shapes everything about when Ramadan arrives. Each Islamic month starts when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. The calendar adds no extra days to catch up, so Ramadan migrates through the seasons. The Islamic day begins after sunset.

  The Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia shows the drift clearly. Its estimate for 2024 runs from the 11th of March to the 9th of April. In 2025 the month begins on the 1st of March and ends on the 29th of March. For 2026 the estimate is the 18th of February to the 19th of March. In 2027 it starts on the 8th of February and ends on the 8th of March. By 2028 the month opens on the 28th of January and closes on the 25th of February.

  The crescent, or hilal, typically shows itself one day after the new moon. That lets Muslims estimate the start of Ramadan in advance, though many prefer to confirm it by eye. Some insist on a local physical sighting. Others follow the calculated time of the new moon, or the declaration made in Saudi Arabia. The moon can qualify as a crescent at sundown in one place and only later in another. As a result, start dates differ between countries, usually by a single day.

  In 2014, Muslims in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Trondheim, Norway, fasted for almost 22 hours. Those in Sydney, Australia, fasted for about 11 hours. Most Muslims fast between 11 and 16 hours, but in polar regions the stretch from dawn to sunset can pass 22. Rulings known as fatawa direct Muslims in lands of midnight sun or polar night to follow the timetable of Mecca. Common practice, though, is to follow the nearest country where night can be told from day.

  Sunrise and sunset happen 16 times a day in low-Earth orbit, which makes an ordinary timetable useless. Muslim astronauts therefore keep to the time zone of their most recent physical contact with Earth. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, an astronaut from Malaysia, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. His fasting and prayer times follow sunrise and sunset at Cape Canaveral, in the Eastern Time Zone.

  The end of the month is read from the same sky. Eid al-Fitr is declared after a crescent is sighted, or after 30 days of fasting when no sighting is possible.

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• 3. Revelation and Roots

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  Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, is the night Muslims believe the Quran was first sent down to the world. Muhammad is said to have received his first quranic revelation then. It is considered the holiest night of the year. Tradition places it on an odd-numbered night among the last ten days of Ramadan. The Dawoodi Bohra believe it was the 23rd night.

  The Quran itself describes the month as the one in which it was revealed, as a guide for humanity with clear proofs and a standard for telling right from wrong. Muslims also hold that every scripture was handed down in Ramadan. That list includes the scrolls of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Quran.

  Shia Islam remembers a different event in the same month. Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph and the first Shia Imam, was struck during morning prayer on the 19th day of Ramadan in 40 AH. He died on the 21st day of the month. Shi'ites mourn and pray on these nights, especially in Iran.

  Muslims were first commanded to fast in the second year of Hijra, which corresponds to 624 CE. They nonetheless believe the practice is no innovation, and that believers have always needed it to attain fear of God, called taqwa. They point out that pre-Islamic pagans in Mecca fasted on the tenth day of Muharram to expiate sin and avoid drought. The Quran, in verse 2:183, says the fast had already been prescribed to earlier biblical communities. No explicit intertext for that earlier practice survives.

  Philip Jenkins offers a different line of descent. He argues that Ramadan fasting grew out of "the strict Lenten discipline of the Syrian Churches". Theologian Paul-Gordon Chandler and other scholars corroborate the idea, while some Muslim academics dispute it.

  The passage that commands the fast also says Allah intends ease for you, not hardship. That sentence is the logic behind who must fast and who may not.

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• 4. The Daily Rhythm

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  Before dawn each day, Muslims eat suhur, a meal they finish a short time before the light arrives. They then begin fajr, the first prayer of the day. From dawn to sunset the fast, called sawm, is obligatory, or fard, for every Muslim who has reached puberty.

  The exemptions are set out plainly. They cover anyone who is acutely or chronically ill, traveling, elderly, breastfeeding, pregnant, or menstruating. Those who cannot fast must make up the missed days later.

  Abstinence goes beyond food and drink. Muslims also refrain from sexual relations and from sinful speech and behaviour. Fasting is said to turn the heart away from worldly activity and to cleanse the soul of harmful impurities. Muslims believe it teaches self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate. They also believe the spiritual rewards, called thawab, are multiplied during the month. A hadith captures the mood: "When Ramadan arrives, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of hell are locked up and devils are put in chains."

  At sunset, families break the fast with iftar. Traditionally the meal opens with dates, recalling Muhammad's practice of breaking the fast with three dates. Everyone then pauses for Maghrib, the fourth of the five required daily prayers, and the main meal follows.

  Iftar is often a social gathering, sometimes in buffet style. Dishes such as Qatayef, Chorba frik, Knafeh, and Haleem are common, and some desserts are made only during Ramadan. Water is the usual drink, though juice, milk, soft drinks, and caffeinated beverages often appear too.

  In the Middle East, a typical iftar offers water, juices, dates, salads, and appetizers. Main dishes include lamb stewed with wheat berries, lamb kebabs with grilled vegetables, and roasted chicken with chickpea-studded rice pilaf. Dessert, whether lokma, baklava, or knafeh, is considered the most important part of the meal.

  Over time, iftar has grown into banquets for hundreds or even thousands of diners. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the largest mosque in the UAE, feeds up to 30,000 people every night.

  Eid al-Fitr opens Shawwal, the next lunar month. It celebrates a return to the more natural disposition, called fitra, of eating, drinking, and marital intimacy.

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• 5. Giving and Gathering

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  Zakat is often translated as "the poor-rate". It is a fixed percentage of income that a believer must give to the poor, and it is obligatory as one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims believe good deeds earn richer rewards in Ramadan than at any other time. Many therefore donate more of their yearly zakat during the month, or all of it.

  Tarawih are extra prayers performed on the nights of Ramadan. Despite a popular belief to the contrary, they are not compulsory. The Quran has thirty juz', or sections, and Muslims are encouraged to read the whole book across the thirty days.

  A 2012 Pew Research Centre study found widespread observance, with a median of 93% across the 39 countries and territories studied. Fasting was high in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Central Asia and Southeast Europe were lower. Albania stood at 44%, Azerbaijan at 43%, and Kazakhstan at 30%.

  The TGM Global Ramadan Report 2023 expected 97% of Muslims to fast that year. It listed 98.9% in Asia, 96.4% in the Middle East, and 95.4% in Africa. By country, Indonesia reached 99.8% and Malaysia 99.5%. Saudi Arabia stood at 99.2%, Pakistan at 98.9%, Bangladesh at 98.6%, India at 97.8%, and Turkey at 93.9%.

  The same report asked about generosity. Seventy percent of respondents planned to increase worship and giving, rising to 74% among women. Some 97% agreed Ramadan was a period for generosity. Sixty percent had volunteered to give concrete help, and the figure was 67% in Asia. Among all respondents, 73% had donated money during Ramadan or Eid the previous year, against 84% in Asia. For 2023-62% planned to give more.

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• 6. Lanterns and Drums

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  In some Islamic countries, lights called fanous are strung across public squares and city streets. The tradition is believed to date to the Fatimid Caliphate, where people holding lanterns acclaimed the rule of Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah.

  Waking the neighbourhood for the predawn meal has its own sounds. In the Middle East, a mesaharati beats a drum through the streets so people rise to eat suhoor. In Southeast Asia, the kentongan slit drum does the same job. In Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, groups once sang qasidas at the time of sehri to wake Muslim neighbours. Chowk Bazaar holds great significance in Bengali culture during the month. Its iftar market is known for shahi jilapi, a delicacy prized for its large size.

  On the island of Java, many believers bathe in holy springs before the fast, a ritual known as Padusan. The city of Semarang opens the month with the Dugderan carnival. It parades the warak ngendog, a horse-dragon hybrid allegedly inspired by the Buraq. Firecrackers are widely used in Jakarta, even though they are officially illegal. A giant drum called the bedug is struck in the mosque each evening to announce iftar.

  Indonesian tastes and rewards shift with the month. In Aceh, large cuts of beef or buffalo are especially popular, and in Central Java snails are. Toward the end of Ramadan, most employees receive a one-month bonus known as Tunjangan Hari Raya.

  Two greetings travel widely. Ramadan mubarak means a blessed Ramadan, and Ramadan kareem means a generous one.

  In northern Nigeria, families gather for suhur before dawn and share iftar at sunset. Local foods include rice dishes, bean cakes, and traditional drinks. Mosques host nightly prayers and charity events, and communities organize food sharing for people in need. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated on a large scale and is commonly called "Small Sallah" there. Across West Africa, mosques often organize large iftar gatherings and religious lessons, with an emphasis on hospitality, generosity, and family unity.

  Television viewing rises sharply because the usual prime time coincides with iftar. Schedules stretch into the late night to meet suhur. Arab broadcasters traditionally premiere serial dramas called musalsal, similar to Latin American telenovelas. They run about 30 episodes, so that they last the whole month. Advertisers in the region compare Ramadan to the Super Bowl in the United States, and a 30-second peak-time commercial usually costs more than double its normal price.

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• 7. Law and Work

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  Egypt prohibits the sale of alcohol during Ramadan, and several Muslim countries have criminalized eating and drinking in public during daylight hours. Penalties for publicly eating, drinking, or smoking can include fines or jail in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, and Malaysia. In the United Arab Emirates the punishment is community service. In parts of northern Nigeria, the Hisbah police corps raids restaurants and shops and arrests people found eating or drinking. Human rights advocates have criticized such practices.

  Other governments have pushed in the opposite direction. In the USSR, officials suppressed the observance of Ramadan. Albania banned Ramadan festivities during the communist period, yet many Albanians fasted in secret.

  China is reported to have banned fasting for officials, students, and teachers in Xinjiang since 2012. Radio Free Asia alleges that residents of Kashgar Prefecture are compelled to film proof that they are eating, and are encouraged to report neighbours who fast. Chinese diplomats deny that any ban exists. Antara, Daily Times, and Pakistan Today have also carried accounts of residents fasting in Xinjiang. A reporter from the British magazine The Economist visited in 2024 and found that many Uyghurs do not fast because of pressure from Chinese authorities.

  Muslims keep working through Ramadan, though hours are shortened in some countries, such as Oman and Lebanon. In Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, employees may work no more than six hours a day and 36 hours a week. Working Muslims are often advised to tell their employers that they are fasting. How far religious accommodation protects them varies by country, and policies that disadvantage them have drawn discrimination claims in the United Kingdom and the United States.

  An Arab News article reported that Saudi Arabian businesses were unhappy with the shorter hours. Some described a drop in productivity of 35-50%, and they proposed salary bonuses to encourage longer days. Merchants, meanwhile, can enjoy higher profit margins during Ramadan because demand rises.

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• 8. Health and the Body

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  Fasting in Ramadan is considered safe for healthy people, while those with certain preexisting conditions may face risks. Most Islamic scholars hold that people who are ill need not fast. Pregnant women who fast face health risks, including the potential for induced labour and gestational diabetes.

  Studies point to some benefits. Fasting in Ramadan has been shown to raise insulin sensitivity and lower insulin resistance. Among people with a history of cardiovascular disease, one finding showed a significant improvement in the 10-year coronary heart disease risk score. Lipid profile, systolic blood pressure, weight, BMI, and waist circumference improved as well. The fasting period usually brings modest weight loss, though the weight can return afterward.

  In many cultures, the month also brings heavy eating and drinking at suhur and iftar. That habit may do more harm than good. Fasting is safe for healthy people as long as overall food and water intake is adequate, and anyone with a medical condition should seek advice if problems arise.

  A review by an Iranian group suggested that fasting might produce renal injury in patients with moderate kidney disease, defined as a GFR under 60 mL/min, or severe kidney disease. It did not appear injurious to renal transplant patients with good function, or to most stone-forming patients.

  The education departments of Berlin and the United Kingdom have tried to discourage students from fasting, saying that not eating or drinking can cause concentration problems and bad grades. A study of 55 professional Algerian soccer players found that performance declined significantly in speed, agility, dribbling speed, and endurance. Most of those measures stayed low two weeks after Ramadan ended.

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