By Zain Awan

Pope Francis, at Wednesday’s general audience on May 17, greeted the Muslim community a day before they began their fasting month of Ramadan.

The pontiff wished that this “privileged time of prayer and fasting help in walking the path of God which is of peace.”

These words of the Pope capture the essence and spirit of the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.

The Practice

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, during which the Muslims fast from dawn to dusk every day.

Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam – the other four being faith, prayer, charity and making the pilgrimage, called Hajj, to the holy city of Mecca.

A typical Ramadan day starts with a pre-dawn meal called Suhur, following which the worshippers refrain from eating or drinking, even water, until sunset.

This lets the devout understand and ‘feel’ the conditions of those living in poverty.

The day’s fast ends with the sunset meal called Iftar, which includes sweet dates — the food Prophet Muhammad ate when he broke his fasts.

However, there are some exemptions. Children, the elderly, the sick and nursing, menstruating and pregnant women are not expected to fast.

And fasting does not mean abstinence from food and drink. It also means purification of soul, where the worshippers turn towards deeper spiritual values and refrain from arguments, quarrels, smoking and sexual activities.

The Origin

The month marks the days in which the holy book of Muslims, The Quran, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel.

When the Prophet was forty, he would retreat to a mountain cave for a month at a time.

During one such retreat, around 610 CE, Gabriel visited him in the cave, commanding him to “read.” Muhammad was so terrified that he refused twice before actually asking what it was he was supposed to read.

Gabriel proclaimed that “Thou art the messenger of God and I am Gabriel.”

Muhammad rushed out of the cave in fear. As he did, Gabriel appeared in the sky over him.

Muhammad then sought the wisdom of a Christian relative, who told him that he had been chosen as a prophet of God.

Soon he began to receive further revelations from the angel. That sacred knowledge was revealed to him during the month of Ramadan.

Ramadan and Lent

Ramadan and Lent are quite similar, if not identical, in several aspects.

Lent reflects the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness; Ramadan marks the revelation of Holy Quran to Muhammad in a mountainous cave.

Christians honor the Lent by abstaining from certain things, so do the Muslims.

Self discipline, charity, reflections, worship, and celebrations form the bedrock of both Ramadan and Lent.

Ramadan or Ramzan?

Of late, more and more people have started pronouncing it as Ramadan, instead of Ramzan.

Both are one and the same thing.

South Asian Muslims always referred to the holy month as Ramzan, whereas Ramadan is more Arabic.

Critics say, the drift towards calling the holy month Ramadan instead of Ramzan, is impacting the centuries-old Persian culture of the region at the cost of modernization of the newer generation.

End of Ramadan

The 29 or 30 days of fasting culminates in the celebrations, which begin with the sighting of new moon in the sky.

The three-day festival is called Eid-ul-Fitr, which means the festival of the end of the fast. The celebrations are considered as a reward from God to the devout for fasting and worshipping during Ramadan.

Muslims also thank Allah for having given them days to worship and repent. It is an occasion for showing gratitude to God as well as helping the poor.

Rich and well-off Muslims are supposed to give away a part of their wealth in charity to the poor during Ramadan, which let even the marginalized to celebrate the festival of Eid.

Delicious foods, especially sweets, are prepared in every Muslim household and are exchanged with neighbors, friends and the needy.

For children, it’s the time to receive Eidi- either in cash or in the form of some gifts, which add to the joys of the celebrations, epitomizing hope and optimism.

(Zain Awan is a journalist, who lives and works in New Delhi. His areas of interest are politics, international affairs and social issues.)