Ramadan and fasting

1The month of the Quran

Allah says: "The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion" Quran 2:185. So before Ramadan is the month of fasting, it is the month of the Quran. That is why Muslims turn to the Quran more than usual in these weeks, listen to it in the night prayers and try to read it through once.

Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of people, and most generous of all in Ramadan when the angel Jibril met him. Jibril came to him every night of Ramadan and went through the Quran with him (reported by al-Bukhari). In the last year of his life he did so twice (al-Bukhari). This shared review of the Quran remains a model to this day: Ramadan is the time in which we renew our relationship with the word of Allah.

2Fasting has been prescribed for you

The verse names the purpose of fasting right away: taqwa, a wakeful awareness of Allah. Whoever gives up what is permitted during the day – food and drink – trains himself all the more to give up what is forbidden.

The fast lasts from dawn until sunset: "And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread. Then complete the fast until the night" Quran 2:187. The same verse expressly permits in the nights of Ramadan what rests during the day – including marital intimacy.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in hope of Allah's reward, his previous sins will be forgiven" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). And he reminded us that fasting is more than hunger: whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up food and drink (al-Bukhari). Fasting also means guarding the tongue, the eyes and the heart.

3Who fasts – and who is exempt?

Fasting in Ramadan is obligatory for every Muslim who is adult (has reached puberty), sane and healthy, and not travelling. Islam is a religion of ease here. Right after the command comes: "But whoever among you is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days" Quran 2:184, and: "Allah intends ease for you and does not intend hardship for you" Quran 2:185.

Exempt in particular are:

• The ill, whom fasting would harm or whose recovery it would delay. They make up the days later.
• Travellers – they may break the fast and make it up, though some prefer to keep fasting when it is easy for them.
• Women during menstruation and postnatal bleeding. They do not fast and make up the days later, as Aisha reports (reported by Muslim).
• Pregnant and nursing women, if they fear for their own health or their child's. Whether they only make up the days or also give fidya is assessed differently by the schools of law.
• The elderly and the chronically ill, who can never fast. Instead they give fidya: for each day they feed a person in need Quran 2:184.

Children are not obliged to fast before puberty. Even so, the Companions gently accustomed their children to it (al-Bukhari).

4What breaks the fast?

The fast is broken by:

• deliberately eating and drinking – in the view of scholars this includes smoking,
• marital intercourse during the day – for which, besides making up the day, a special expiation is prescribed,
• deliberately induced vomiting,
• the onset of menstruation or postnatal bleeding.

But whoever eats or drinks out of forgetfulness keeps a valid fast. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever forgets he is fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allah who fed him and gave him drink" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Showering, cleaning the teeth with a miswak or unintentionally swallowing saliva do not break the fast either. For medical questions – tablets, injections, inhalers – it is best to speak to a scholar and to your doctor; there are details here that should not be answered in general terms.

5Suhur and iftar

The fasting person's day has two special meals. The first is suhur before dawn. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Take suhur, for in suhur there is blessing" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). He took it late: Zayd ibn Thabit reports that between their suhur with the Prophet ﷺ and the prayer there was only as much time as it takes to recite fifty verses (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Even if it is only a few dates and a glass of water – get up for it. It strengthens the body and gives you a quiet hour before the dawn prayer, a good time to pray and ask for forgiveness.

The second is iftar, breaking the fast at sunset. The Prophet ﷺ said: "People will remain in goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). He broke his fast with fresh dates; if there were none, with dried dates; and if there were none of those either, with a few sips of water (reported by Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi). It is reported that he then said: Dhahaba al-zama'u wabtallatil-'uruqu wa thabatal-ajru in sha' Allah – "The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is certain, if Allah wills" (Abu Dawud). Then comes the sunset prayer, and only after that the main meal – often with family, neighbours and guests.

Use the minutes before iftar too: it is reported that the supplication of the fasting person is not turned away until he breaks his fast (at-Tirmidhi). In the Ja'fari school of the Shia, by the way, the fast is broken a few minutes later, when the redness in the eastern sky has disappeared after sunset.

6Staying well through Ramadan

The fast is not meant to harm you – "Allah intends ease for you" Quran 2:185. These general pointers help many people; they do not replace medical advice:

• Drink enough, but spread it out. Drink water regularly between iftar and suhur, glass by glass rather than all at once. In hot months this matters even more.
• Start gently. Break the fast with dates and water, pray Maghrib and then eat calmly. Eating too fast and too much after a long day often leaves people feeling heavy and tired.
• Eat a balanced meal. At suhur, wholegrains, oats, eggs, yoghurt, fruit and vegetables often keep you going for longer. At iftar, soup, salad, vegetables and some protein do you good; keep fried, very sweet and very salty food in moderation.
• Keep to moderation. It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ advised filling the stomach one third with food, one third with drink and one third with breath (at-Tirmidhi).
• Plan your sleep. A short afternoon nap can help make up for the shorter nights.
• Gentle movement. A walk after iftar or after taraweeh suits many people better than exercise in the midday heat.
• Cut down caffeine slowly. If you drink a lot of coffee or tea, it is best to reduce it in the weeks before Ramadan.
• With health conditions, see your doctor first. Anyone who, for example, has diabetes, takes regular medication, is pregnant or breastfeeding should discuss with their doctor before Ramadan whether and how fasting is possible – and with a scholar what follows from that.

7Taraweeh – the night prayers

After the night prayer ('isha) the believers gather for taraweeh. The Prophet ﷺ prayed it with the people on some nights and then stopped, out of concern that it might be made obligatory for them (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Later the caliph Umar gathered the people behind one imam, Ubayy ibn Ka'b (al-Bukhari). In many mosques the whole Quran is recited in taraweeh over the course of the month. How many units of prayer are prayed – for example eight or twenty – varies; both are good practice. In the Shia tradition, the additional night prayers of Ramadan are prayed individually rather than as congregational taraweeh. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in hope of Allah's reward, his previous sins will be forgiven" (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

8The last ten nights

Aisha reports: when the last ten nights began, the Prophet ﷺ would tighten his waist-wrap, spend the night in prayer and wake his family (al-Bukhari and Muslim). These days are the high point of the month – make room for them in your calendar.

Laylat al-Qadr – the Night of Decree

The revelation of the Quran began in a night of Ramadan: "Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night" Quran 44:3. Allah dedicated a whole surah to it: "Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Decree. And what will make you know what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months" Quran 97:1–3. The angels and the Spirit descend in it, and it is peace until the emergence of dawn Quran 97:4–5.

We do not know exactly when it is. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Seek the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan" (al-Bukhari). And: "Whoever spends the Night of Decree in prayer out of faith and in hope of Allah's reward, his previous sins will be forgiven" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Aisha asked him what she should say on that night, and he taught her: Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu 'anni – "O Allah, You are the One who pardons, You love to pardon, so pardon me" (reported by at-Tirmidhi).

Shia Muslims spend the nights before the 19th, 21st and 23rd of Ramadan in particular awake in prayer and supplication. For them these days also bring the memory of Imam Ali, who in the year 40 AH was wounded during the prayer in the mosque of Kufa on the 19th of Ramadan and died on the 21st.

I'tikaf – retreat in the mosque

In the last ten days of Ramadan the Prophet ﷺ retreated to the mosque every year until Allah took him (al-Bukhari and Muslim). This i'tikaf is a time of prayer, Quran and remembrance, away from everyday life. If you cannot take ten days off, perhaps you can spend a few nights or hours in the mosque – that, too, is a step along the same path. In the Emirates, too, many mosques offer i'tikaf in the last ten nights; it is best to ask your mosque beforehand how it is arranged there.

9The month of giving

The Prophet ﷺ was more generous in Ramadan than at any other time – "more generous than the blowing wind", as Ibn Abbas says (al-Bukhari). Allah describes how He multiplies giving: "The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains" Quran 2:261. Ramadan opens many doors to giving:

• Feeding a fasting person: whoever gives a fasting person something to break the fast with receives the same reward as him, without his reward being reduced at all (reported by at-Tirmidhi). That is why Ramadan is a month of open doors for us.
• Sadaqah: small, regular gifts – a little every day – count. Even a good word is sadaqah (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
• Zakat: zakat is due when a lunar year has passed over your wealth. Many set this date in Ramadan, so as to give it in this blessed month. More in the chapter Zakat.
• Zakat al-fitr: at the end of the month every family gives zakat al-fitr for each of its members, before the Eid prayer (al-Bukhari 1503).
• Fidya: whoever can never fast feeds a person in need for each day Quran 2:184.

10Sighting the moon

The Islamic calendar follows the moon. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Fast when you see it and end the fast when you see it. And if it is hidden from you, complete the count of thirty" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). A lunar month therefore has 29 or 30 days. Because countries and communities apply this differently – by local sighting, by a sighting elsewhere or by calculation – Ramadan does not begin everywhere on the same day; more on this in the chapter The important days of the Islamic year. In the Emirates an official moon-sighting committee announces the beginning and end of Ramadan, and many families wait eagerly for the news that evening. Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year, Ramadan moves through all the seasons.

11Ramadan in the Emirates

Here in the Emirates, Ramadan changes the whole country. Days before it begins, lanterns and strings of lights glow in the streets and malls. Working hours are shortened – by law by two hours a day in the private sector, and government offices and schools also have shorter days. The streets fall quiet shortly before sunset, and after iftar the cities come alive.

• Iftar tents and shared iftars: everywhere there are tents in which mosques, families and charities host workers, travellers and neighbours every evening – without asking where anyone comes from. At the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi thousands break their fast together every evening. Many families put water and dates out by the roadside, and at iftar time volunteers hand out small meals to drivers who are still on the road.
• Charity campaigns: every year in Ramadan large national campaigns are launched, for example to provide meals for people in need around the world. The Emirates Red Crescent and many charities collect zakat, iftar donations and zakat al-fitr.
• The Ramadan cannon: at set places in the cities a shot is fired at sunset to announce the breaking of the fast – a custom from a time when not every house had a clock, and still a moment children look forward to.
• Majlis and ghabga: after taraweeh, families open their majlis. The ghabga, a late gathering with food between iftar and suhur, is an old Gulf tradition. On the table there are often luqaimat, small fried dough balls with date syrup, and harees.
• The Quran at the centre: every year in Ramadan, Dubai hosts the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, an international competition in memorising the Quran to which young huffaz travel from many countries. Anyone who hears the recitations understands why Ramadan is called the month of the Quran.

12Your Quran goals for Ramadan

In the common Madinah edition the Quran has 604 pages. Not everyone has to read all of it in Ramadan – what matters more is a goal that suits you and that you can honestly keep:

• A whole Quran (khatm): about 20 pages a day, one juz'. Easiest with four pages after each of the five prayers.
• Half the Quran: about 10 pages a day – two pages after each prayer.
• Understanding over quantity: a short passage every day with translation and tafsir. Better less with heart than much without understanding.
• Memorising: one short surah a week, for example from the last part of the Quran, step by step with the Shams Method.
• Listening: on the way to work or while cooking you can listen to the recitation and follow it verse by verse.

Ideally start a few days before Ramadan or read a little more on quiet days, so that you have room for prayer and supplication in the last ten nights. With our Khatm planner you spread the whole Quran over 30 days and track your progress; if you want to memorise in the long term, our memorisation plan takes you month by month. The Quran itself, with recitation, translation and tafsir, is on our Quran page.

13A gentle 30-day plan

Not a programme that puts you under pressure, but a handrail to hold on to. Take what suits you.

Before, in Sha'ban: make up missed fasts, write down your goals, cut down caffeine slowly and set your daily portion in the Khatm planner.

Days 1–10 – settling in:

• pray the five prayers on time, in congregation where possible,
• read your Quran portion every day, even if it is small,
• learn a short supplication every day – you will find ideas on our Duas page,
• do not skip suhur, and keep iftar moderate.

Days 11–20 – going deeper:

• read a few verses of your daily portion with tafsir,
• invite someone to iftar or donate a meal every week,
• gather your personal concerns: with the Dua generator you can put together a supplication in your own words,
• consciously drop one habit – for example, putting the phone away at iftar.

Days 21–30 – the last ten nights:

• pray a little longer every night, especially in the odd nights,
• often say the supplication the Prophet ﷺ taught Aisha: Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu 'anni,
• spend a few hours or nights in i'tikaf if you can,
• give a small donation every evening, so that the Night of Decree, whenever it is, does not pass without sadaqah,
• give zakat al-fitr in good time before the Eid prayer.

Afterwards: keep at least one habit from Ramadan – and perhaps the six days of fasting in Shawwal.

14Tips for families and working people

For children: let them start in stages – first until midday, then until the afternoon, later a whole day at the weekend. Let them help with iftar, set the table, take dates to the neighbours. A Ramadan calendar in which they tick off a short surah, a good deed or a supplication each day makes the month tangible. And praise them a lot – love for Ramadan grows from joy, not from pressure.

For working people:

• Eat something nourishing at suhur and drink enough water between iftar and suhur.
• Where possible, schedule demanding tasks in the morning hours.
• Use your lunch break for a short nap or a few pages of Quran.
• Be patient with yourself and others. The Prophet ﷺ taught: if someone insults you, say "I am fasting" (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

And however full your day is: a Ramadan in which you read a little Quran every day, are good to your family and keep your fast sincerely is a blessed Ramadan. At the end of the month comes the festival of breaking the fast – more on that in the chapter The important days of the Islamic year.