Ramadan: Islam’s High Holy Month

Ramadan, the religion of Islam’s high holy month, begins this week for Muslims worldwide. Ramadan is a time of fasting to commemorate when the Quran was revealed to their final prophet, Muhammad.

Sawm, or fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Followers believe fasting pleases Allah and helps seek his mercy. While fasting, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and all other sinful behaviors and earthly pleasures from dawn until nightfall, or when they can no longer distinguish a blue thread from a black thread. Muslims take this observance so seriously that it is common to see people spitting on the ground during daylight hours so as not to swallow their own saliva.

The three most important days during Ramadan are the first evening, the Night of Power, and Eid al-Fitr. The beginning of Ramadan is determined by the lunar calendar: when the new crescent moon of the ninth month is visible in the night sky. The Night of Power is believed by Muslims to be the holiest night of the year: the night commemorating when Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur’an. And Eid al-Fitr is a celebration marking the end of Ramadan that falls on the first day of the solar month following Sawm.

If you would like to learn more about Islam, or to locate a Ramadan Prayer Guide near you, click here.

Please join millions of Christians as they appeal to heaven for Muslims. Pray for the Fulbe people as they seek God through prayer and fasting.

” ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD…” {Jeremiah 29:13- 14a}