Hey lovelies!

As promised, today I will be talking about the holy month of Ramadan. I will try to give you a very brief overview of what it is and what Muslims all over the world do in this month.

Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims — the Prophet Mohammed reportedly said, "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained."

Muslims also believe that it was in this month of Ramadan that the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

During Ramadan, Muslims (myself included) fast from dawn to dusk. During these daylight hours, Muslims do not eat or drink anything; not even water. A single puff of a cigarette or a sip of water can invalidate the fast. Not only food and drink, we are supposed to abstain from engaging in fights, swearing, gossiping etc.

These lines clearly show why Ramadan is celebrated: "The practice of fasting serves several spiritual and social purposes: to remind you of your human frailty and your dependence on God for sustenance, to show you what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty so you feel compassion for (and a duty to help) the poor and needy, and to reduce the distractions in life so you can more clearly focus on your relationship with God." [Taken from an outside source]

At the end of Ramadan comes Eid-ul-Fitr, which is one of the two festivals celebrated by Muslims annually.

-ER