The Blessed Month of Ramadan 1444 AH
Dr. Mozammel Haque
Ramadan Mubarak and
Ramadan Greetings to all of you, especially to all the readers of Islamic
Monitor website. May this holy month
bring barakah, and Allah's boundless
mercy upon the believers and harmony, tolerance and peace in the world.
I know you are wondering
how come I am greetings everybody with Ramadan Mubarak when it is still not
clear when it will start, when the moon is not yet visible. You are absolutely
right. The reason is: today is Tuesday, 21 March 2023 corresponding to 29
Shabaan 1444AH.
RAMADAN MUBARAK 1444AH
Muslims throughout the world followed
either astronomical calculations or the testimonies of local moon sighters. The
Muslim holy month of Ramadan will begin either on Wednesday, 22 March or on Thursday,
23 March depending on moon sighting on the eve of 22 March. Muslim lunar months
last between 29 and 30 days, depending on sighting of the moon on the 29th
night of each month. If the moon is not visible, the month will last 30 days. By
the Gregorian solar calendar, Ramadan comes 10 to 12 days earlier each year.
In order to declare the
beginning of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority countries depend
on the testimonies of local moon sighters. The Judicial High Court then makes a
decision on when Ramadan begins.
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court
has called on all Muslims in the Kingdom to look for the Ramadan crescent on
Tuesday evening, Saudi Press Agency has reported.
Tuesday, today, corresponds to
Shaban 29, 1444 and if the Ramadan crescent is spotted on Tuesday evening, then
Ramadan will begin on Wednesday. If not, the holy month will start on Thursday.
The court said anyone who
sights the Ramadan crescent with their eyes or through binoculars should notify
the nearest court to their location and record their testimony there, or
contact the nearest centre so that they can be directed to the nearest court.
Ramadan Mubarak
Muslims all over the world still stick
to the tradition of looking to the sky to start their fasting and ending. The
fasting month of Ramadan starts with the sighting of the Ramadan crescent in
the horizon with the naked eye. Under the Shari’ah, if the new crescent was
seen by any trustworthy person supported by two witnesses his testimony would
be documented and the whole nation would accept that testimony. The Blessed
month of Ramadan will start inshaAllah on Wednesday, the 22nd of
March 2023 or Thursday, the 23rd of March 2023 depending on the
sighting of the moon.
Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Greetings
to all of you, May this Blessed month bring barakah, and Allah's
boundless mercy upon the believers and harmony and tolerance for the world.
I welcome Ramadan, the month of
Mercy and Repentance, the month of the Qur’an, of Laylatul Qadr (the night of
power) and of repentance and forgiveness. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is
one of the Pillars of the Islamic faith. It was declared an obligatory duty (Fard)
in the second year of the Hijrah upon each and every mukallaf (one
capable of carrying out religious duties, i.e. a sane adult).
Blessed Month of Ramadan
Allah the Almighty made Ramadan fasting
compulsory for Muslims. Allah said, “O those who believe, the fasts have been
enjoined upon you as were enjoined upon those before so that you be
God-fearing.’ [Surah Baqarah, 183]. Literally, Sawm means ‘to abstain’.
In the terminology of Islamic law, Sawm means ‘to abstain from eating, drinking
and sexual intercourse: with the conditions that one abstains continuously from
dawn to sunset, and that there is an intention to fast.’ Therefore, should one
eat or drink anything even a minute before sunset, the fast will not be valid.
Similarly, if one abstained from all these things throughout the day but made
no intention to fast, there will be no fast here too.
Allah the Almighty said in the Qur’an
“…And eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appears to you distinct
from its black thread…” (Al-Qur’an, 2:187) Literally defined, fasting
means to abstain “completely” from foods, drinks, intimate intercourse and
smoking, before the break of the dawn till sunset, during the entire month of
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year.
Fasting in Islam is based on the lunar
calendar and is tied to the sightings of hilal, the crescent, or
new moon. Allah the Almighty stated: “They ask you concerning the new moons.
Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time… (Al-Qur’an,
2:189). And the Traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Eat until
you see the crescent and break not until you see the crescent. If it is cloudy
calculate the period of the month.” (Muslim and others).
Fasting in Ramadan is compulsory upon
every Muslim, male or female, who has these qualifications, e.g. mentally and
physically fit, adult full of age which is normally fourteen and fairly certain
that fasting is unlikely to cause any harm, physical or mental, other than the
normal reactions to hunger, thirst etc.
The said qualifications exclude the
following categories: children under the age of puberty and discretion; men and
women who are too old and feeble to undertake the obligation of fast and bear
its hardships; sick people whose health is likely to be severely affected by
the observance of fast; travellers may break the fast temporarily during their
travel; pregnant women and women breast-feeding their children may also
break their fast and women in the period of menstruation (of a maximum of ten
days or of confinement (of a maximum of forty days. They must postpone the fast
till recovery and then make up for it.
The holy month of Ramadan is the month
of mercy, forgiveness, and seeking release from the Hell-fire. It is the month
of repentance and acceptance of prayers. It is the month when the devils are
chained, the gates of Hell are looked and the gates of Paradise are
opened. That’s why; Muslims welcome Ramadan each year with energy and
happiness, and are saddened only when the month departs. Fasting is for the
living, not for mourning.
Ramadan is a month of worship. Muslims
should welcome the month with repentance and seeking Allah’s pardon. We should
keep away from committing sins; worship Allah sincerely and spending the night
and day in prayer, supplication and recitation of the Holy Qur’an.
Fasting is a shield which helps prevent
many sins and with which Muslim protects himself from Hell-fire. Fasting is
more than abstaining from food and drink. It also means to abstain from any
falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from
arguing and quarrelling. Therefore, fasting helps to develop good behaviour.
Fasting inculcates a sense of
brotherhood and solidarity, as a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy
and hungry brothers feel. This gives Muslim a new sense of togetherness and
association.
Allah the Almighty said in the Qur’an:
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind,
and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion (between right and wrong).
(Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 185) As Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an,
every Muslim should prepare himself to welcome the blessed month of Ramadan by
strengthening his relationship with the Qur’an. A Muslim is encouraged to
complete one recitation of the Holy Qur’an during Ramadan.
We should engage more and more in the
recitation of the Qur’an, in dhikr (remembrance of Allah),
perform extra Salah (ritual prayers) at night and renew identity with one
another in our obedience to Allah.
Ramadan is called the month of charity
and sympathy; a month of giving in charity and sharing meals to break the fast
together. Many Muslims also pay Zakah in the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to
bring about permanent improvement into our lives. We can do this by making a
goal to remove a harmful trait from our character or speech, whether it be
argumentation, backbiting, making false promises, or resentment against a
fellow Muslim, or a sinful matter from our lives. Insha’Allah by the baraka of
this month, this effort will result in change that will benefit us in this
world and the next.
I would again like to take this
opportunity to wish all of you a blessed Ramadan. May this blessed month bring
unadulterated peace to everyone in the world. May Allah make this Ramadan a
month of increasing nearness to Him, and May He accept all of our fasts and
worship. Ameen.
Thus Ramadan becomes a blessed month of
physical, moral and spiritual renewal through fasting, charity and worship.
This is the moral and spiritual gifts of Ramadan. “We can say that Ramadan
gives us the great gift of Taqwa (Piety). Taqwa is the sum total of Islamic
life. It is the highest of all virtues in the Islamic scheme of things. It
means God-consciousness, piety, fear and awe of Allah and it signifies
submission to Allah and total commitment to all that is good and rejection of
all that is evil and bad,” said Dr. Muzzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
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