Foreword Significance of Ramadan

SIGNIFICANCE OF RAMADAN x According to Islamic teachings, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Hijra calendar, is the month of fasting. The Quran mentions that fasting was a common practice in all the religions: “Believers, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil.” (The Quran, 2:183). This shows the universality of the practice of fasting. Saum begins at dawn (Sehri) during which people consume food and water and after which they are not to partake of any of this for the rest of the day till the roza breaks at dusk (Iftaar). This practice is continued for a month. The Arabic equivalent of fasting is saum. Saum means abstinence, which is the spirit of Islamic fasting. In the month of Ramadan, believers abstain from food and drink for a limited period each day, that is, from dawn till sunset.