Ramazan: Fasting for good of self and others

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Today is the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan or Ramazan or Ramzan. Observed by the Muslims around the world. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.</p>
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The month is considered as holy by the faithful and observed by Muslims as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. They also engage in humanitarian activities and doing good deeds.</p>
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Commemorating Prophet Muhammad's first revelation, this annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and it usually lasts from 29 to 30 days, that is from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next. Prophet Muhammed is believed to have received his first Quranic revelation on ‘Laylat al-Qadr‘ — one of five odd-numbered nights that fall during the last ten days of Ramadan.</p>
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This year, Ramadan begins on today, that is April 14, a Wednesday, and ends on May 12, which also is a Wednesday.</p>
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Fasting from sunrise to sunset is fard or obligatory for all adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travelling, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating. While the predawn meal is referred to as suhur, the nightly feast that breaks the fast is called iftar.</p>
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Ramadan period is a month of exercise in self-restraint and self-discipline. It is observed as a way of coming closer to Allah, to physically and spiritually detoxify by getting rid of impulses and vices.</p>
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Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal, the next lunar month. It is declared after a crescent new moon has been sighted or after completion of thirty days of fasting if no sighting of the moon is possible. Eid celebrates the return to a more natural disposition (fitra) of eating, drinking, and marital intimacy.</p>