57 Fun Facts About Ramadan

Ramadan is which month of the Islamic calendar?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the twelve-month Islamic lunar calendar, following Sha'ban, and is held to be the month in which the Quran's revelation began.

Measured from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next, how long does Ramadan last?

A lunar month runs 29 or 30 days, so Ramadan's exact length is only known when the new crescent marking the next month is sighted.

What is the pre-dawn meal eaten before each day of fasting called?

Suhur is the pre-dawn meal, called sehri in South Asia; eating must stop before the dawn call to prayer, the fajr adhan, which begins the fast.

What is the sunset meal that breaks the day's fast called?

Iftar is the sunset meal that ends the day's fast at the maghrib call to prayer, often eaten communally, with mosques worldwide laying on free meals.

Which food is traditionally eaten first to break the fast, in emulation of Muhammad?

Dates are eaten first because hadith record Muhammad breaking his fast with fresh or dried dates before water; eating an odd number, often three, is customary but not obligatory.

Which Arabic term names the fast of Ramadan among the five pillars of Islam?

Sawm, fasting from dawn to sunset, is the pillar observed throughout Ramadan, alongside the shahada (faith), salat (prayer), zakat (alms) and the hajj pilgrimage.

The Quran says Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, is better than what?

Surah al-Qadr (97:3) declares the Night of Power better than a thousand months, about 83 years, so worship on it is held to outweigh a lifetime's devotion.

When is Laylat al-Qadr believed to fall?

Hadith urge believers to seek the Night of Power on the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, so many treat all ten as blessed and some observe i'tikaf, seclusion in a mosque.

Which single night do many Sunni scholars regard as the most likely date of Laylat al-Qadr?

The 27th night is the most widely cited candidate, resting on a report in Sahih Muslim in which the companion Ubayy ibn Ka'b swore it was that night.

Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad through which angel?

The angel Gabriel, Jibril in Arabic, is held to have brought the first revelation to Muhammad in the cave of Hira near Mecca, an event Laylat al-Qadr commemorates.

The first five verses ever revealed are said to open which surah of the Quran?

Surah Al-Alaq, the 96th chapter, opens with 'Read in the name of your Lord,' the five verses held to be the first revealed; Al-Fatiha only heads the written order.

In which year CE were Muslims first commanded to fast during Ramadan?

The fast was ordained in 624 CE, the second year after the Hijra, shortly before the Battle of Badr was fought in that Ramadan.

Because the Islamic calendar has no intercalation, what does Ramadan do relative to the solar year?

Ramadan moves through the seasons because the 354-day Islamic year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, so the month begins about eleven days earlier each Gregorian year.

Which festival marks the end of Ramadan?

Eid al-Fitr, the 'festival of breaking the fast,' opens the month after Ramadan with a congregational prayer and charity; Eid al-Adha follows about seventy days later at the Hajj.

The festival that ends the fast falls on the first day of which Islamic month?

The fast-ending festival falls on 1 Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar; a hadith promises that the customary extra days of fasting in Shawwal equal fasting the whole year.

Thanks to the sweets served, the festival ending the fast has which nickname?

In Turkey the holiday is officially Ramazan Bayramı but popularly Şeker Bayramı, the Sugar Feast, because sweets are served and children go door to door collecting candy.

How is the sa' of food due per person as Zakat al-Fitr traditionally measured?

A sa' is four mudd, and a mudd is the fill of both hands cupped together, so the measure is four double handfuls, about 2.5 to 3 kilograms of grain.

Which Sunni school of law permits paying Zakat al-Fitr in cash rather than food?

The Hanafi school allows Zakat al-Fitr to be paid as the cash value of the food, a position many official fatwa councils have since adopted worldwide.

The congregational Eid prayer consists of how many rakaʿāt?

The Eid prayer is two rak'ahs with extra takbirs, prayed without an adhan or iqama, and unlike Friday prayer its sermon follows rather than precedes the prayer.

The special Tarawih night prayers of Ramadan are performed after which daily prayer?

Tarawih follows the Isha night prayer during Ramadan; it is a recommended rather than obligatory prayer, performed in pairs of rak'ahs and usually rounded off with Witr.

According to the four Sunni schools, the standard number of rak'ah in Tarawih is what?

All four Sunni schools treat twenty rak'ahs as the standard Tarawih, citing reports in al-Muwatta of twenty being prayed in early Medina, though eight is also widely prayed.

Which caliph reinstated praying Tarawih in congregation after Muhammad had discontinued it?

The second caliph, Umar, gathered worshippers behind a single imam for Tarawih; Muhammad had stopped leading it publicly, fearing the prayer would be made compulsory.

Shia Muslims mourn on 19 Ramadan, when Ali was struck while praying in the Great Mosque of which city?

Ali was struck by Ibn Muljam's poisoned sword during dawn prayer in the Great Mosque of Kufa on 19 Ramadan 40 AH and died on the 21st.

The fanous, the decorative Ramadan lantern, originated in which country?

The fanous is an Egyptian tradition dating to Fatimid Cairo, where lanterns lit Ramadan nights; from Egypt the custom spread across the Arab world.

Lantern-bearing crowds are said to have welcomed which Fatimid caliph to his new capital?

That welcome in Cairo is the traditional origin story of the fanous, though lighting the streets was already an old Egyptian custom.

The word 'fanous' comes from a Greek word meaning what?

'Fanous' derives from the Greek phanos, meaning light or lantern, and the word came to carry the sense of 'light of the world,' a symbol of hope in darkness.

In the Middle East, what does the mesaharati traditionally do during Ramadan?

The mesaharati beats a drum to wake people for the pre-dawn meal, calling out names and prayers through the streets, a role fading as alarms and phone apps take over.

Who is traditionally named as the first person to roam the streets waking people for the pre-dawn meal?

Bilal ibn Rabah, the first muezzin chosen by Muhammad, is traditionally credited as the first to walk Medina's streets at night calling people to the pre-dawn meal.

In Southeast Asia, which slit drum is used to wake households for the pre-dawn meal?

The kentongan, a hollowed wooden or bamboo slit drum, is beaten in Javanese villages before dawn to rouse households for the pre-dawn meal; mosques use the larger bedug drum similarly.

In Jakarta, what is widely used to celebrate Ramadan even though it is officially illegal?

Firecrackers, petasan, are set off across Jakarta during Ramadan nights despite a police ban, a Betawi custom tracing to the capital's Chinese community.

Which folded, stuffed pancake is a classic Ramadan sweet in the Levant?

Qatayef are small yeasted pancakes cooked on one side only, folded around nuts or sweet cheese, then fried or baked and soaked in syrup, a sweet that fills bakeries during Ramadan.

What are the roughly 30-episode serial dramas Arab broadcasters premiere in Ramadan called?

A musalsal (plural musalsalat) is an Arabic television serial; Ramadan editions run about thirty nightly episodes, one per day of the month, much like Latin American telenovelas.

Advertisers in the Arab world have compared Ramadan television to which American event?

Ramadan is often called the Super Bowl of Arab advertising: prime time shifts to the sunset meal, audiences peak, and slots in hit serials can sell for more than double the usual rate.

In Nigeria, the celebration at the end of Ramadan is popularly known as what?

Nigerians call the festival ending Ramadan 'Small Sallah' and the later festival of sacrifice 'Big Sallah'; Hausa speakers greet one another with 'Barka da Sallah' over the holiday.

Persian speakers render the Arabic letter ḍād as which sound, altering the month's name?

Persian renders the emphatic Arabic letter ḍād as a Z sound, giving 'Ramazan' in Iran and, through Persian influence, in Turkey and Urdu-speaking Pakistan; Bengali goes further with 'Romzan'.

In 2014, Muslims in Reykjavik and Trondheim fasted for almost how many hours a day?

Ramadan 2014 fell in late June and July, so Muslims in Reykjavik and Trondheim fasted for close to 22 hours a day, while Sydney's midwinter fast lasted only about eleven hours.

Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor timed his fasts in orbit by the sunrise and sunset of which location?

Shukor, launched on Soyuz TMA-11 on October 10, 2007, during Ramadan, followed Malaysian fatwa guidelines that let him keep the time of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, his point of departure from Earth.

Which drink made from dried apricot paste is a Ramadan staple in the Levant?

Qamar al-Din, 'moon of the faith,' is made by dissolving sheets of dried apricot paste in water and is poured at sunset across Syria, Lebanon and Jordan throughout Ramadan.

In 1805, which president postponed a White House dinner until sunset to accommodate an envoy from Tunis?

Thomas Jefferson moved a December 9, 1805 dinner for Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli to 'precisely at sunset' because the envoy was fasting, an event often called the first White House Ramadan dinner.

In Turkish cities, what is traditionally fired from the highest hill at sunset to end the fast?

A cannon, the 'Ramazan topu', has been fired at sunset in Turkish cities since Ottoman times to signal the end of the day's fast, while minarets were strung with lamps through the month.

Ramazan pidesi, served on Turkish tables at sunset during the month, is what?

Ramazan pidesi is a special bread, a soft round leavened loaf brushed with egg and topped with nigella or sesame seeds, baked only during Ramadan and eaten at the sunset meal.

Which soup is a Moroccan staple for breaking the fast?

Harira, a tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thickened with flour and scented with coriander and ginger, is the Moroccan dish that opens the sunset meal, often alongside chebakia pastries.

The Imam Reza shrine's nightly fast-breaking meal for some 12,000 people is in which city?

The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, holds the tomb of the eighth Shia imam and lays on a vast nightly sunset meal for pilgrims during Ramadan.

The Ottoman sultan-caliphs broke their fast under a gilded bower at which palace?

The gilded bronze bower on a terrace of Topkapi Palace, built in 1640 for Sultan Ibrahim overlooking the Golden Horn, is where the Ottoman sultans took the sunset meal.

The greeting 'Ramadan kareem' wishes someone a Ramadan that is what?

Kareem means generous, so 'Ramadan kareem' wishes someone a generous month; the alternative greeting 'Ramadan mubarak' means blessed.

In Bangladesh, what is celebrated on 'Chand Raat'?

Chand Raat, 'night of the moon,' is the night the festival moon is sighted: once the new crescent ends Ramadan, markets stay open late for clothes, bangles and henna.

In Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, the festival ending Ramadan is commonly called what?

Hari Raya Puasa, literally the 'great day of fasting,' is the Malay name for the festival ending Ramadan, celebrated with open houses where families welcome neighbours of every faith.

In Senegal and much of West Africa, the end-of-Ramadan festival is called what?

Korité is the Wolof-derived name for the festival ending Ramadan in Senegal, Mali and neighbouring countries; Tabaski, the feast of sacrifice, follows roughly seventy days later.

In Brunei, the sunset fast-breaking meal is locally called what?

Sungkai is the Brunei Malay word for the sunset meal that breaks the fast; Ramadan stalls across the sultanate's districts sell dishes rarely seen the rest of the year.

Deliberately breaking the fast by intercourse can be expiated by feeding how many needy people?

The kaffara for intercourse during a Ramadan fast is freeing a slave, fasting sixty consecutive days or feeding sixty needy people, in that order of preference; accidental eating needs no expiation.

The Arabic root of the word 'Ramadan' relates to what?

Ramadan derives from the Arabic root r-m-ḍ, meaning scorching heat or dryness; one account says the pre-Islamic month was named when it fell in the hottest part of the year.

On the island of Java, the pre-Ramadan ritual of bathing in holy springs is known as what?

Padusan, from the Javanese for bathing, is the ritual cleansing in springs or rivers on the eve of Ramadan; Semarang instead opens the month with its Dugderan carnival.

In Gulf states such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the working day during Ramadan is capped at how many hours?

Labour laws in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar cap the Ramadan working day at six hours, 36 a week, for Muslim employees; the UAE instead shortens the normal working day for all employees.

How many hours do most Muslims fast each day during Ramadan, depending on location and season?

Most Muslims fast 11 to 16 hours a day; the span depends on latitude and on where the lunar month lands in the solar year, which differs from one year to the next.

How many times do sunrise and sunset occur each day for a Muslim astronaut in low-Earth orbit?

Sixteen: the ISS circles Earth roughly every 90 minutes, so a crew member sees about sixteen sunrises and sunsets a day, which is why fasting follows a terrestrial time zone.

Which companion of Muhammad narrated that the Prophet found Medina's people celebrating two days of recreation?

Anas ibn Malik, who served Muhammad for ten years, reported that the Prophet found Medina keeping a pair of pre-Islamic play days and said God had replaced them with the Eid festivals.

What slow-cooked lamb dish do Omanis typically eat at the festival ending Ramadan, with coffee?

Shuwa is lamb marinated in spices, wrapped in palm or banana leaves and slow-cooked for a day or more in an underground sand oven, the Omani centrepiece of Eid feasts.