Ramadan in a nutshell
Ramadan affects more than 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide and is considered a month of fasting and spirituality. It is believed to be the month when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
The month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the Islamic religion, along with the profession of faith, five times daily prayer, giving and pilgrimage. An important feature of this festive month is that it falls on a different date each year, as Muslims do not follow the Gregorian calendar we use, but the lunar calendar, where a year consists of 12 months and 354 or 355 days in a year. The fasting period lasts for 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the new moon, at the beginning of the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During this period, Muslims must abstain from eating and drinking, smoking, sexual intercourse, from sunrise to sunset, and avoid anger, envy, violence, lust and gossip. Children under 14 years of age, persons on the move, the sick, pregnant and nursing mothers, and persons engaged in war are exempted from the above-mentioned obligations.
