Ramadan

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Ramadan, Ramadhan, Ramazan

***** Location: Muslim Regions
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Ramadan is the ninth (9th) lunar month of the Muslim calendar. As soon as the new moon is sighted in the ninth lunar month the Fast of Ramadan begins and is held for a month. During this time Muslims fast during daylight hours. They start the fast as soon as there is enough light to distinguish a black thread from a white one and break their fast at sunset with the meal of "iftar" which is often taken with friends or family.

During Ramadan the adults fast from all food and liquids, from smoking and sexual relations whilst renewing their commitment and concentration on the five pillars of their faith.It is a time of purification, reflection and contemplation.The month-long fast ends with a three day feast called "Eid-al-Fitr" (the Feast of Fast Breaking)


http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/story.htm
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/ramadan1.html

Eryu

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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr, which in 2005 occurs on November 4 -- literally the "Festival of Breaking the Fast". Lasting for the entire month, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and in the evening eat small meals and visit with friends and family. It is a time of worship and contemplation. A time to strengthen family and community ties. Charity and good deeds are always important in Islam and they have special significance at the end of Ramadan. As the month draws to a close, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to mosques.

Anthony Tidswell
http://francevoila.com/archives/118.html

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Ramazan commemorates the beginning of the total revelation of God to humanity and its complete and absolute reconciliation with God.

"saum" is a normal arabic word meaning "fast" Ramazan is a whole month of fasting, but most Muslims fast on other days as well, some everyweek.

"iftar" is arabic meaning "breakfast"
"fitr" is a meal, or eating.

The end of Ramazan is 'eid ul fitr, which literally means celebrating eating again.

Fasting for Muslims means no eating drinking smoking or sexual relations from about two hours before dawn until sunset. it also means kindness and no arguing, and all war or hostility is strictly forbidden, and poor people have a right to receive free food and during ramazan you must contribute to the poor. It is one of the pillars of the faith, paying the poor tax, during Ramazan.

What constitutes the break fast is totally a mater of local custom. In one place you "must" eat an olive. In others, you "must" eat a date. In some places you must drink water first. And so on. Every place I have been believes they are the only ones who are "RIGHT." Wherever a polite Muslim goes, they conform to the local practice, and agrees when explanations come that this one is the "real" original one. You NEVER argue during the fast. That is part of the fast.

Ramazan is for families and friends and neighbors and loved ones to be close every evening. Also every day one reads some Quran, and you have 8 to as much as 20 extra prayers after the last prayer. The last ten days, one practices silence, if one can.

YOU MUST beak your fast at sunset, and you are supposed to have a final meal before the IMSAK, the "stop eating" before morning prayer which is about two hours before dawn.

ordinarily, the rule is that one wears clean clothes to pray, and you wash usually before praying, so Texas muslims probably wear jeans and a T-shirt, and Alaskan or Scottish Muslims probably wear a sweater and warm socks, and in Arab countries where I lived over a decade just about any color except red, with white, navy blue, brown and grey being most common, with black or green rare.

In Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, white is most common. In Jordan, Palestine and Syria, navy blue and grey are more common and white uncommon. There is no rule covering muslim dress from men or for women, except cleanliness and modesty: men and women both should be fully dressed when praying or going outdoors. What that means is interpreted according to local cultures very very differently (with a LOT of disagreement).

usually while praying we wear no shoes because of the cleanliness rule and we do usually wear a cap, or hat or other kind of head cover. The question of shoes is strictly a matter of cleanliness. (and habit and culture: in some places they won't pray bare foot and in others they won't pray with even socks on.)

Muslims are in the majority in many parts of China, Central Asia, parts of Eastern Europe and many parts of Africa, as well as many parts of the Pacific rim, and there are even towns in the USA where there are major Muslim minorities and even majorities.

There is nothing even remotely typical about Muslim dress. Whatever Muslim country I have lived in, the word for fasting, praying, breaking fast and so on are the ordinary words o that culture and language.

One of the most interesting things about having lived in such a wide variety of Muslim societies is the realization that people are just people everywhere, and every people, every community, every family has its own special way of observing the festivals and prayers and practices of their faiths. No two villages are the same. no two families are the same.

Humans everywhere are normal and make their religion and their faith their own in their own way. With their own flavors, and colors, and music, and style, and in Turkey ever family has its own recipe for rose pudding for iftar and in Oman nobody serves rose pudding, but they all serve Indian style spicy curried dumplings and curried rice, and New York we have pot luck meals for break fast, with jello and potato salad and cheese casseroles, spaghetti with meat balls, pizza or even Kentucky take out. Every where however, olives and dates are pretty traditional and local fruit almost universal.

love and peace,
Ramazan Kareem

Isa Kocher, September 2007

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In Turkey:

During Ramazan, about two hours before the fast begins before Morning Prayer, drummers walk through all the side streets banging drums with a rythm you only hear during the Fast. On the 15th of Ramazan, the drummers come through in the daytime, and everyone either throws them their stipend wrapped in paper, or they ring the door bell and you give them something.
They come around again on the day of the Break Fast, the holiday at the end of Ramazan. The drummers naturally are poor, and come usually from families of poor people who live from scavenging. Wedding musicians also usually come from the same families.

The 'iftar' an Arabic word which literally means breakfast is at sunset. Part of the requirement of Ramazan is that you eat a second meal before morning, about two hours before sunrise. "Imsak" which literally means "shut your mouth" is the official time to start the fast, as well as time for Morning Prayer, which can take place anytime from first light up until sunrise. Morning Prayer at dawn is strictly forbidden.

Before the "suhr" the meal before you start your fast, there is a tradition of "karagoz" "black eye" which are plays performed behind screens with shadow show figures, comic but not quite slap judy in style, with all the very traditional folk characters you would hear in traditional folk tales, and it is not just for children.


iftar
the Internet cafe empties out
breakfast in plastic trays


Restaurants prepare iftar meals which can be easily packaged for takeout to all the shops and shopkeepers, and store and office workers where they don't close early and go home. Restauranst all have iftar specials, set menues for the rush and people come in 5 minutes before the call to prayer, eat and run, or some break fast at the mosque with a cup of water and asome dates, and then go and eat before going back to work. Most families though eat iftar at home and there are karagoz primarily on all the TV stations.

In Gulf Arab countries the TV programs are very different than in Turkey, comedy, but TV comedy, and the more absurd the better.

During Ramazan, sports and shopping are traditional, and every family has to go out together and see what is for sale.

no bleaks
here in istanbul's streets
a lotta little kids after iftar

Isa Kocher, September 2008


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Worldwide use

Kenya

The End of Ramadan (Idd ul Fitr) (the spelling used in Kenya) is a public holiday for the Muslim population. Click on the given link for more.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Turkey

Berat Kandil (Leylatul Berat, Laylatul Barat)
is the 14th/15th of the month of Shaban, night of the full moon before the beginning of Ramazan. The Muslim calendar is lunar. Berat Kandil is dedicated to forgiveness. It is a time to examine one's conscience and to redirect one's attention to renewing dedication to living. "kandil" means 'candle' in Turkish and there are certain nights where the lights are kept on all night in places of worship so people can pray and visit holy places. Leylatul Berat in Arabic. "Berat Eve."

Isa Kocher

Read the haiku by Isa HERE ! 　　　


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

earthquake in
Ramadan ~ "La illaha il Allaha"
in every mouth

silent earth, after
the absurd quake ~ Ramadan
twilight Nimaz

from the debris
a child still alive ~ Allaha's
grace in Ramadan

Zakat is Allaha's ~
all receive their share
of divine Grace

Narayanan Raghunathan, Autumn 2005
Remembering the huge earthquake in Pakistan and Indian Himalaya

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black and white threads
amongst the rubble and dust
Ramadan earthquake


Iftar -
("iftar" means "breakfast" and the community meal by which Muslims break their fast during Ramadan)

from the classroom dead
placed in his father's arms
iftar is very sweet

camping in the park
they make an iftar picknick
with foreign flour

Siyam (or "sawm") -
"Siyam" is the pillar of faith to keep the fast of Ramadan

one small boy
in an eighteen inch void
observes Siyam


Zakat -
"Zakat" means "almsgiving", the duty to distribute alms and to help the needy.

this year
the Christians also
share in Zakat

so many in need
giving Zakat to cousins
in a childless village

white threads
amongst the rubble
Ramadan earthquake

camping in the park
they make an iftar picnic
with foreign flour

Eryu

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Zakat (with an accent on the second syllable) means "sunset" in Russian.

Zakat solntsa -
nebo sine-lilovo-
oranjevoe

Sunset:
the sky is blue-purple-
orange

Zhanna P. Rader

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Ramadan--
a glass of water
untouched

Roh Mih, Philippines 2005
Haiku from the Philippines

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Ramadan
the muezzin rouses
the lazy rooster



Djenné, Mali, West Africa

© Haiga by Norman Darlington
http://eirmode.com/mm/pic.cgi?a=m&p=2

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muezzin's call
a kite's silhouette
beneath orange clouds

muezzin's call
a one-horned cow pushes
at the hotel gate

-- Johannes Manjrekar, India

http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/nobo/20060927/18352.html


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Ramadan -
power off
at school


after fresh dates
the face meets dust --
Allahull-Akbar


the date bowl
a hot spot for ants too ...
Al-Fatoor

[Al-Fatoor = Iftar]

Heike Gewi, Yemen, September 2008


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Related words

***** Ramadan ends (Idd ul Fitr)


***** ..... Ramazan, Berat Kandil Turkey 　
Leylatul Berat, Laylatul Barat　　

***** Sambosa, samosa
Food during the Ramadan. Yemen


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