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Ramadan (Arabic:
رمضان, Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious
observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic
calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an began to
be revealed. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which Muslims don't eat or
drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person
patience and humility. Ramadhan is a time to fast for the sake of God, to offer
even more prayer than normal and ask forgiveness for the sins of your past and
ask for guidance in the future. To refrain from every day evils and try to
purify oneself through self-restraint and good deeds.
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RAMADAN
to Start on Monday, September 1, 2008 - Variance by Region
Ramadan in 2008 will start on Monday, the 1st of September and will continue for 30 days until Tuesday, the 30th of September.
Based on sightability in North America, in 2008 Ramadan will start in North America a day later - on Tuesday, the 2nd of September.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, will start the Muslim fasting month
of Ramadan on Monday along with most other Gulf states, regional state media
reported on Saturday.
Senior religious councils in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the
United Arab Emirates said the moon's crescent was not sighted after nightfall
on Saturday, and so Sunday would be the last day of the month preceding
Ramadan.
Muslims
scan the sky at night in search of the new moon to proclaim the start of
Ramadan, the holiest month for the world's more than one billion Muslims,
during which observant believers fast from dawn to dusk.
Note that in the Muslim calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Muslims will celebrate Ramadan on the sunset of Sunday, the 31st of August.
Although Ramadan is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, since the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar and the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. This difference means Ramadan moves in the Gregorian calendar approximately 11 days every year. The date of Ramadan may also vary from country to country depending on whether the moon has been sighted or not.
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Women Juggle All and More During Ramadan
CAIRO - When Omniyah
Mohammed comes home from her day job as a teacher in Cairo during Ramadan, she is
glad that at least the school day is over early. Still ahead of the middle-aged
mother of four is the job of cooking the sumptuous evening feast which ensures
much of the fun spirit of the Islamic holy month. Following Muslim tradition,
her family often invites relatives, neighbours and friends to share it.
For Mohammed, as for many Muslim women across the
world, Ramadan means not just a month of spirituality but also a lot of extra
work - with constant juggling between day job, household, preparing the feasts,
and observing the religious rituals which include fasting during the day and
praying all through the night.
The challenge for Mohammed, she explains, is to get
closer to God during Ramadan amid all this clamour.
"I love reading Quran, it really raises my
spirit. I really love going to the Tarawih prayers (prayers of comfort) every
night," she says. But throughout the month, she has to struggle to pray as
much as she wants or take "spiritual quality time" for herself, she
adds.
"I really wish they would give us a break during
the month, so we (women) can fully abide by the religious ritual," she
says. During Ramadan, the woman is usually the unsung hero. And cooking for the
whole family is often not even her only concern. Doing good for others - for
Muslims an act greatly rewarded by God especially during Ramadan - is usually a
task also handled mostly by women.
Many women, often with their children in tow, attend
to visitors in mosques in poor areas. Others enlist in charity activities and
community work in hope "of gaining more thawab", the reward of
blessing" for doing good.
Noora Khorshid has both a day job and a community
service duty during Ramadan. Together with her friends - also in their early
twenties - and relatives they have set up what they call a "food bank for
the poor."
Beginning weeks before Ramadan, they first visited
poor areas to do a rough social assessment, and then set up a plan for the holy
month and began to collect money and other donations.
"We distribute food everyday among the fasters in
these poor areas, and in the streets. We do it ourselves, sometimes we have men
to help. Sometimes, we have to rent a small truck to carry the food for
us," Khorshid says. "We also buy water dispensers and set them in
different places."
Work, worship and charity efforts
Despite the vast amount of pressure, juggling work,
worship and charity efforts, there usually is "a beautiful spirit",
Korshid says: "We laugh as we work together. It's fun."
Basma, who did not want to disclose her family name,
is another example. A mother of two, a pharmacy owner who gets no help during
Ramadan, she manages to cook for everyone including several of the poor in her
area.
"I start preparing before Ramadan, because for me
what is important is not just to feed those close to me but also to feed the
needy and the poor," she told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.
By contrast, Heba Hassan, a 23-year-old stay-at-home
wife, says she decided not to follow her family's tradition and hold grand
feasts. She doesn't even want to be invited herself, she said. Her husband also
has no time to help her because of his work as a medical doctor, she said.
"I choose to enjoy Ramadan instead. In general,
there is more religious awareness now. I don't waste Ramadan in setting up
meals, but in getting closer to God," she says.
Nevertheless, Hassan says her duties during Ramadan
have changed dramatically since she got married less than a year ago. Before,
she would spend most of her day studying, watching television and occasionally
helping with setting the Ramadan table.
"Now my day routine is different. I am in charge
of a household, so I take care of everything," says Hassan. Being on her
own most of the day, Hassan gave more attention to worship and to the kitchen.
"I would wake up at noon, after spending most of
the night and dawn praying and reading Quran, and go straight to the
kitchen," the young woman tells dpa as she sits with her legs crossed on
the floor of one of Cairo's biggest mosques.
She also has become more observant of Ramadan.
"During I have the Quran on all the time (on radio) especially while I'm
working? Either this or I open an Islamic channel to listen to religious
sermon." Many women agree that - despite the extra commitments, the
running-around, and also the sleepless nights - Ramadan is a unique experience
for them.
"Despite the endless work, no one can imagine how
thrilled I am during Ramadan," says Khorshid, the active charity
volunteer. "I feel peaceful. With what I am doing, I'm not focusing on me,
for once, but on the people and on making them feel good during Ramadan."
"The worship of Ramadan is what gives me the spiritual push for the months to come," says Hassan.
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