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Introduction

Ramadan — the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar — is the holiest month in Islam, observed by approximately 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide with a daily fast from dawn to sunset, intensified prayer, Quranic recitation, and charitable giving. The month concludes with the joyful feast of [[eid-al-fitr]] ('Festival of Breaking the Fast'). Unlike many religious holidays whose origins are mythological or debated, Ramadan's founding moment is fixed in Islamic history with unusual precision: the night of the first Quranic revelation in 610 CE.

The First Revelation: Laylat al-Qadr

According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad — at the time a 40-year-old merchant in Mecca — was engaged in a practice of spiritual retreat (tahannuth) in a cave on Mount Hira outside Mecca. During one of these retreats, in the month of Ramadan of approximately 610 CE, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) appeared to him and commanded him: 'Iqra!' ('Read!' or 'Recite!'). The first revealed verses — the opening lines of what became Surah Al-Alaq — mark the beginning of the Quranic revelation that continued for the next twenty-three years until Muhammad's death in 632 CE. The night of the first revelation is believed to fall within the last ten days of Ramadan, on an odd-numbered night. Known as Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power or Destiny), it is described in the Quran (97:3) as 'better than a thousand months.' Muslims mark it with all-night prayer, Quran recitation, and supplication.

The Institution of Fasting

The obligation of fasting (sawm) during Ramadan was formally revealed in 624 CE, in the second year of the Muslim community's residence in Medina after the Hijra (migration from Mecca). The relevant Quranic verse (2:183–185) states: 'O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.' The reference to fasting 'as it was decreed upon those before you' acknowledges the pre-Islamic traditions of fasting in Judaism (Yom Kippur, among others) and Christianity (Lent). Fasting was not a new religious concept; the Quranic institution was its specific form, duration, and theological grounding. The fast (sawm) involves abstention from all food, drink (including water), smoking, and sexual relations from the pre-dawn meal (suhoor) until the sunset breaking of the fast (iftar). The call to prayer at sunset (Maghrib) signals iftar, traditionally broken with dates and water in emulation of the Prophet's practice.

The Battle of Badr

The same year that fasting was instituted, the Battle of Badr — the first major military engagement of the Muslim community — was fought on 17 Ramadan 624 CE. A force of approximately 313 Muslims defeated a Meccan army of roughly 1,000. In Islamic tradition, Badr confirmed divine favour for the nascent Muslim community and is remembered as evidence that Ramadan is a month of particular spiritual power and blessing (baraka).

Tarawih: The Night Prayers

In addition to the five daily obligatory prayers, Ramadan is marked by tarawih — extended night prayers performed after the night prayer (Isha). The Prophet Muhammad led tarawih prayers in congregation for several nights but discontinued the practice, concerned it might become an obligatory burden. The caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab revived congregational tarawih during his caliphate (634–644 CE), and it has been a standard Ramadan practice ever since, with the entire Quran typically completed in recitation over the thirty nights.

Ramadan Across Islamic History

As Islam spread from Arabia across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, Ramadan observance absorbed local cultural practices:

The Ottoman Tradition

At the height of the Ottoman Empire, Ramadan was marked by elaborate public festivities at night after iftar — storytellers, acrobats, shadow puppet shows, and coffee houses staying open until suhoor. The Ottoman musaharati (dawn drummer) who walks through streets before suhoor waking the faithful survives today in Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon.

South and Southeast Asia

In the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, iftar tables typically include local preparations: haleem (a slow-cooked meat and lentil porridge) in South Asia; kolak (a coconut-milk dessert) in Indonesia; bubur lambuk (rice porridge) in Malaysia — regional foods that have become inseparable from Ramadan's identity in their contexts.

The Crescent Moon: Determining Ramadan's Start

Because the Islamic calendar is purely lunar (twelve lunar months totalling 354 days), Ramadan begins approximately eleven days earlier each Gregorian year, cycling through all seasons over a 33-year period. The month begins with the sighting of the new crescent moon. Different Muslim communities and countries use different methods — local moon sighting, astronomical calculation, or following Saudi Arabia's announcement — leading to occasional one-day differences in the start and end of Ramadan between countries.

Ramadan in the Modern World

Today, Ramadan is observed from Riyadh to London to Jakarta, affecting global commerce, media schedules, and public life. In Muslim-majority countries, working hours are typically shortened; television viewership surges after iftar; and charitable giving (zakat and sadaqah) spikes dramatically. In Western countries with significant Muslim minorities, Ramadan has become increasingly publicly visible, with iftar events hosted by governments, corporations, and interfaith organisations.

Conclusion

Ramadan is unique among major world holidays in that its founding moment is not mythological but historical, not symbolic but specific — a night in a cave in the 7th century CE that changed the course of world history. Its annual observance connects 1.8 billion people across every continent to that moment of revelation and to each other.

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