Ramadan, also known as Ramadhan or Ramazan, is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. Ramadan had been the name of the ninth month in an Arabian tradition long before Islam. Ramadan starts on April 13. Ramadan is the period of prayer and fasting for Muslims. Ramadan purifies the soul is another Muslim belief. They also believed that the Holy Quran was given from heaven. At this period Muslims fast and it lasts the full month. The Arabic term for Fasting is Sawm. They eat nothing from sunrise and sunset. Fasting during the holiday is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the daily prayer. Those who are not too fast during Ramadan are the elders, disabled, women who are on their period, children, etc. Fasting reminds Muslims of the suffering poor; also, it helps Muslims gain self-control and cleanses the body and mind. Ramadan is the time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time in their day-to-day activities. It is a time of prayer and contemplation. The fast is broken with prayer and meal it is called the iftar. Then the fast continues in the morning. During Ramadan, Muslims go to the mosque and spend several hours praying. During Ramadan, Muslims recite a special prayer called Taraweeh prayer (Night Prayer). The reason we celebrate the month is that the Quran says that Muhammad received the Quran on the twenty-fourth day of the month of Ramadan. On the evening of the 27th day of the month, Muslims celebrate the Laylat-al-Qadr (the Night of Power). The night is believed to be one of the 10 last days of the month. Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr on the first of Shawwal, with much celebration and feasting. The name of the holiday Eid-ul-Fitr is a pretty literal translation of the event that is being celebrated “The Feast of Fast Breaking”. The only day the Muslims don’t have to fast in the Ramadan season is Eid. This festival brings sympathy, brotherhood, and love and takes away hatred, jealousy, and hostility. The hardness of Ramadan is not misery to people, but it is a great intangible gift God donates then to get rid of Satan’s temptations and their extreme desires and inhumanity. The Muslims visit their friends and relatives to greet the Ramadan wishes to each other. Ramadan is the blessed month when god blesses everyone with love and brotherliness. I am ending this essay with this.

Thank You

Laura Cicily Mathews, Class-7, Indian Learners Own Academy