RAMADAN MUBARAK

Ramzan or Ramadan is one of the biggest occasions of Muslim calendar

If you're a Muslim or have Muslim friends, you know how big of a deal it is.

The ninth month of Muslim calendar, Ramadan, is considered to be the most sacred month of the lunar year of approximately 354 days. Ramadan also is one of the five pillars of Islam: Salat, Shahada, Zakat, Ramadan and Hajj.

Ramadan usually begins 11-12 days earlier every year as it is based on the lunar calendar. Every 33 Islamic years, Gregorian calendar aligns with lunar calendar. Ramadan isn't just about fasting etc. Basically, Ramadan begins and ends based on the sighting of the new moon. In 2023, Ramadan month began around 23 March and will end around April 20.

During Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur'an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate. Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Qur'an and performing special prayers.

Muslims generally celebrate Ramadan by fasting from pre-dawn to sunset, with a fast of between 11-16 hours depending on the time of the year for a period of 29-30 days.

For Muslims, Ramadan is a time to train themselves both physically and spiritually by avoiding any negative acts such as gossiping, backbiting, lying or arguing. Ramadan is also a highly social time as Muslims invite each other to break fast together and meet for prayers at the mosque. The practice of fasting serves several spiritual and social purposes: to remind you of your human frailty and your dependence on God for sustenance, to show you what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty so you feel compassion for (and a duty to help) the poor and needy, and to reduce the distractions in life so you can more clearly focus on your relationship with God.