With the holy month of #Ramadan starting tonight, I want to tweet something each day to help educate about what this month means to over 1.5 billion people living all across the world.

Ramadan is the name of a month in the Muslim calendar. Muslims follow the Lunar calendar, which is 11-12 days shorter than the solar (gregorian) calendar. This means the month of Ramadan falls on different days each year. The primary benefit of this is that Muslims all over the

world get to fast at different times and in different seasons. This way, throughout our lives we get the opportunity to fast in shorter and colder days in winter, as well as the longer and hotter days of summer. For me this year, the fast is approx 15 hours long.

In Islam, the fast consists of abstaining from all food and drinks from sunrise til sunset. Yes, not even water! The purpose is to give up what is lawful, for the sake of spiritual progression. Instead of focusing on physical needs, the point is to nourish the soul through

patience and prayer. Usually Muslims pray 5 times a day, but in the month of Ramadhan there are extra voluntary prayers, performed pre dawn, during the day and late at night. It has been scientifically proven that fasting has a great effect on the spirit, as was the practice of

Prophets from time immemorial. Fasting, seclusion, reading from the Holy Quran, pondering on the Creator and His creation and making positive changes in our behaviour to become a better person, these are all goals of #Ramadhan

#Ramadan is not about food. It’s about giving up what is allowed to feel a sense of sacrifice. Sometimes we get distracted with planning lavish iftar meals, but we should not lose sight of the fact that our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) lived on very little food throughout

his life and the same goes for Ramadhan. He opened his fast with dates as they were plentiful in the area and also because they are very nutritious. But he didn’t follow it with a meal so extravagant that it would make up for multiple meals. We should be thankful to God for

giving us so much, and eating what He has given us is a part of that gratitude. Just don’t lose sight of the importance of sacrifice in this holy month and of feeling connected to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and also to those less fortunate than us. May Allah enable us to make

positive changes during this month of reflection and to continue those for the rest of the year, Ameen.

The Holy Qur’an has a deep connection with the month of #Ramadhan
The first revealed verse to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) occurred in Ramadhan. Over the next 23 years, the verses of the entire Qur’an were revealed to him. It is our firm faith that the Qur’an is

strictly the word of God. In it, God promises to safeguard the text from any changes. That is why any copy of the Qur’an worldwide has the exact same Arabic text. It has been translated to 100s of languages but the Arabic has remained the same over the past 1500 years. Throughout

the year, Muslims recite the Qur’an on a daily basis; both in their daily prayers as well as from the Scripture. In the month of Ramadhan, this increases many fold as it is the desire of all Muslims to complete a reading of the entire book within the month. That is all 114

Chapters. This makes the Holy Qur’an the most read book in the world! Interested in learning more?Visit http://www.alislam.org  for more information on this wondrous book

The Holy Quran on fasting
Chapter 2: 184

The Holy Quran on fasting
Chapter 2: 185