Ramadan notes

01 07 2014

1. For Muslims Ramadan is a period of introspection.
2. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting.
3. Ramadan begins and ends with the appearance of the new moon.
4. On the night of 27 Ramadan—the “Night of Power” (Laylat al-Qadr)—Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad the Qurʾān.
5. Allah forgives the past sins of those who observe the holy month with fasting.
6. The iftar usually begins with dates or apricots and water or sweetened milk.
7. Muslims in some communities ring bells in the predawn hours to remind others that it is time for the meal before dawn, called the suhoor.
8. Ṣawm can be invalidated by eating or drinking at the wrong time.
9. Able-bodied adults fast during the daylight hours from dawn to dusk
10. Pregnant or nursing women, children, the old, the weak, and the mentally ill are all exempt from the strictures regarding fasting.

introspection: examination of one's own thoughts
stricture: a restriction