Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar and it is a holy month of fasting for muslims. It starts and finishes with the appearance of the new moon bringing in the happiness of the beginning of the sacred month of Ramzan and then the second New Moon bringing in the celebration of Eid! The month of Ramadan and the observation of fasting serves as a reminder for Muslims to feel compassion for the poor and needy and aims to reduce distractions to help people focus on their religion and their relationship with God. It is celebrated by the global Muslim community as it has huge significance in Islam.
Allah states: O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain Taqwa.
Allah states: Ramadan is my month.
Important month for many reasons:
-Fast during the month of Ramadan as it is one of five pillars of Islam and therefore it is an essential part of Islam in which every Muslim believes.
– A muslim is given reward equal to 70× per each good deed performed during Ramadan
-Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) the Holy Quran in one of the last odd nights of Ramadan.
-Last odd nights start from the 21st and end on the 29th of Ramadan. There is one night in which the Book of Allah was revealed. The worship of these nights is equal to the worship of 1000 nights.
According to the above information, the month of Ramadan is a great source to get many rewards. And what if someone performs Ramadan Umrah? Just imagine how many rewards he will get. It is a golden chance for everyone who performs Umrah this year because almost all Travel agencies are provide Affordable Ramadan Umrah Packages so that you can get more rewards this year.
What the Muslims do in the Ramadan:
In the Arabic language, the word fast is called Sawm and literally means “to abstain”. Its real meaning is not only about abstaining from drink, food, physical relationship or smoking but also abstaining from talking bad about others behind their backs or using foul or bad language and any other form of bad deed.
Allah says about this month that the reward of one worship is equal to the reward of seventy worships. Therefore, each Muslim tries to perform every part of fast because it is an opportunity of every Muslim to get more and more rewards.
During the month of Ramadan muslims don’t eat or drink from dawn to dusk, but it is not obligatory for all. There are some people on which fasting during Ramadan is not compulsory.
1: A traveller
2: A sick person
3: States of Menses or Post childbirth bleeding (for the women)
4: The Old or those with chronic diseases
5: A pregnant and breastfeeding woman
30 Good Deeds For:
1. Pray without distractions.
2. Quit a bad habit.
3. Fajr: Don’t miss it.
4. Stay up after fajr prayer to read Qur’an and athkar.
5. Perform Ramadan Umrah.
6. Wake your family and friends up for sehri.
7. Volunteer to feed the poor or donate some groceries for poor households with children.
8. Listen to Quran more often.
9. Set up a charity jar and distribute its contents and continue this habit as a gift of Ramadan.
10. Develop a habit of following a few of the Prophet’s sunnah.
11. Help your mom around the house.
12. Finish a chapter of the Qur’an per day.
13. Make a habit of praying taraweeh everyday without fail.
14. Pay a visit to the ill with a Ramadan gift.
15. Distribute water bottles and food for Iftar.
16. Tell children Hadiths from the Qur’an.
17. Invite your friends and relatives over for iftar or suhoor (but not too often as it may disturb your prayers).
18. Pack provision boxes for the less fortunate.
19. Buy extra prayer beads and give them out to family, friends and mosques.
20. Send iftar to neighbors.
21. Pray tahajjud (late hour prayers) and continue this habit as a gift of Ramadan.
22. Read about the last 10 days of Ramadan and plan the prayers that you can do on those Nights.
23. Never stop du’aa.
24. If you make a mistake, pray and ask for tawbah. Continue this habit for life for Allah loves those who repent.
25. Feed an animal or water a plant.
26. Attend an Islamic discussion circle.
27. Forgive those who wronged you. Allah loves those who forgive.
28. Teach someone something good you know.
29. Prepare Eid gifts and send them out.
30. Keep the good deeds coming even after Ramadan.
Fast consists of two parts.
1. Sahoor – When the time of fast starts it is called Sahoor.
2. Iftar – When the time of the fast ends, it is called Iftar.
It is a crime in some countries for people to drink or eat in public during this month. After the sunset prayer which is called Asar prayer, Muslims gather in mosques and homes to break their fast with a meal called the Iftar. People use different foods to break their fast but normally dates and water are consumed by everyone as it is Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
Taraweeh:
Taraweeh starts after the fifth prayer i.e Isha Namaz. Tarweeh is also called Qyam ul-Lail. It is simply offered as Muslims perform the other 5 prayers. In the Taraweeh Namaz the Imam recites the complete holy Quran in a span of 29 to 30 days. According to different sects, the number of Taraweeh rakats are different, such as, some perform 8-rakats and some perform 20-rakats.
Islamic months consist of 29 or 30 days. The end of Ramadan is celebrated as Eid ul-Fitr (feast of fast-breaking) and is the day when Allah gifts his servants for their prayers and sincerity during the month.
