Guestling Bradshaw CE Primary School

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and a time when Muslims across the world will fast during the hours of daylight. Ramadan is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam.

The Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during this month. The actual night that the Qur'an was revealed is a night known as Lailut ul-Qadr (the Night of Power).

Most Muslims try to give up bad habits during Ramadan, and some will try to become better Muslims by praying more or reading the Qur'an. Many Muslims will attempt to read the whole of the Qur'an at least once during the Ramadan period. Many will also attend special services in Mosques during which the Qur'an is read.

Fasting is intended to help teach Muslims self-discipline, self-restraint and generosity. It also reminds them of the suffering of the poor, who may rarely get to eat well. It is common to have one meal (known as the suhoor), just before sunrise and another (known as the iftar), directly after sunset. Because Ramadan is a time to spend with friends and family, the fast will often be broken by different Muslim families coming together to share in an evening meal.

The end of Ramadan is marked by a big celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. Muslims are not only celebrating the end of fasting, but thanking Allah for the help and strength that he gave them throughout the previous month to help them practise self-control. The festival begins when the first sight of the new moon is seen in the sky.

There are special services out of doors and in Mosques, processions through the streets, and of course, a special celebratory meal - eaten during daytime, the first daytime meal Muslims will have had in a month. During Eid-ul-Fitr Muslims dress in their finest clothes, give gifts to children and spend time with their friends and family.

Eid is also a time of forgiveness, and making amends. At Eid it is obligatory to give a set amount of money to charity to be used to help poor people buy new clothes and food so they too can celebrate.

Certain people are exempt from taking part in the Ramadan fast. Children, the sick, the elderly, the mentally handicapped, and anyone who would be putting their health at serious risk by fasting are not obliged to do so during Ramadan.

There are also certain circumstances where people normally able to fast are unable to, such as when people are on a tiring journey or if a woman is pregnant, and in these instances the person must make up the fast at a later date, or provide meals to the needy in order to make up for breaking the fast.

Muslims can eat and drink as long as the sun has set. It it sometimes said that the way to tell whether it is dark enough to break the fast is to hold up a white thread with a black thread outdoors and see if you can tell the difference between the two.

It's only OK to eat when you can no longer tell the difference. However, British Muslims all receive a timetable each year which they follow, containing precise calculations for the time of dawn and dusk.

The exact dates of Ramadan change every year because Islam uses a lunar calendar, which means that each month begins with the sighting of a new moon. Because lunar months are shorter than the solar months used elsewhere, Islamic holidays begin on different days each year.

The start of Ramadan comes 11-12 days earlier each year according to our calendar, and consequently is not associated with any particular month. For Muslims living in Britain, the fast may therefore be comparatively short if Ramadan falls during the winter months, or much longer if it occurs during the summer, as it does this year.