DUBAI (Al Arabiya, Agencies) Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, will start the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on Wednesday along with most other Gulf states, regional media reported on Tuesday.
The exact dates of the start and the end of Ramadan depend on the sighting of the new moon as many Muslim countries reject using astronomical calculation for the Muslim lunar calendar.
Most Arab states
Muslims observe the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar by abstaining from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset during Ramadan.
Qatar also announced that Wednesday is the first day of the fasting month, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to their respective state news agencies.
Kuwait also announced that Ramadan begins on Wednesday, Al-Arabiya news channel said.
In Egypt, Ramadan will also start on Wednesday, the state-run MENA news agency reported.
In Syria and Yemen, the month will also begin on Wednesday, while Oman will mark Thursday as the first day of Ramadan, state media said
Jordan’s chief Islamic justice Ahmad Hilayel said the new moon could not be sighted in the kingdom. But he said it was sighted in some neighboring countries and that Jordanian scientists used astronomical calculations to determine that Ramadan starts Wednesday in the country.
Lebanon also announced the beginning of the fasting month on Wednesday, the official news agency NNA said citing the Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabani.
The holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijri calendar, during which the faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during daylight and, in the evening, eat small meals, perform prayers, recite Quran and visit friends and family.
It is a month of piety, alms-giving and fasting in order to instill the body and spirit with the rigors of abstinence, a time of worship and contemplation and to strengthen family and community ties.
Fasting Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, the others being the ‘shahada’ or profession of faith, the obligation to pray five times a day, the giving of alms or ‘zakat’ and going on pilgrimage to Mecca, the ‘hajj.’
All post-puberty Muslim believers are expected to fast during Ramadan, and even though children are exempt, it is recommended that they become accustomed to the practice progressively.
Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, the sick and travelers all have the right not to observe the fast, but they must do so as soon as they are able.
It is traditional to break the fast after sunset with a meal known as ‘iftar,’ consisting of dates and goat’s milk, as the Prophet Mohammed
is said to have done. The last meal before dawn is known as ‘suhur.’
Businesses and offices reduce opening hours during the day and often re-open in the evenings.
The holy month ends with feasting and gifts on Islam’s biggest festival, ‘Eid al-Fitr.’
Pilgrims flock to Islam’s holiest sites at Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, especially on the last 10 days of the month. The holiest night is on day 27, marking the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet in 610 AD.
Source: AlArabiya
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