Wikipedia
Ramadan
Ramadan ( Ramaḍān, ) (also written Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, Ramdan, Ramadaan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. ; BBC, 03 October 2005 Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God ( and to offer more prayer than usual. 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. As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving forward about ten days each year as it is a moving holiday depending on the moon. Ramadan was the month in which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
Origins of Ramadan
The name "Ramadan" had been the name of the ninth month in Arabian culture long before the arrival of Islam; the word itself derived from an Arabic root , as in words like "" or "" denoting intense heat, scorched ground and shortness of rations. In the Quran, God proclaims that "fasting has been written down (as obligatory) upon you, as it was upon those before you". According to the earliest hadith, this refers to the Jewish practice of fasting on Yom Kippur.Sunan al-Tirmidhi I.145.
Sometimes referred to as "the night of fate", Laylat al-Qadr is considered the most holy night of the year, as it is the night in which the Quran was revealed to Muhammad.Robinson> Muslims believe it to have occurred on an odd-numbered night during the last 10 days of Ramadan, either the night of the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th (in Sunni thought) or the 19th, 21st or 23rd (in Shia thought). Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr on the 1 of Shawwal, with much celebration and feasting. During the month following Ramadan, read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan