Sacred Month for Muslims, Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. It starts this year on April 2nd.
by Louise Gamichon and Virginie Larousse
Ramadan, sacred month for Muslims, commemorates the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad (Surah 2, 185). It is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam. Fasting is therefore part of the prescriptions incumbent on the Muslim believers, with Shahâda (Profession of Faith attesting that there is God only God and that Muhammad is his messenger), Salat (prayer), the Zakât (alms ) and the hajj (pilgrimage to the holy places of Mecca). This year, Ramadan begins on April 2nd.
What are the origins of Ramadan?
The word Ramadan means, in French, “great heat” and refers to the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. In the pre-state Arab society, it was a month of truce that had, perhaps, a distant kinship with the sacred periods of Christianity (Lent) or Judaism (Yom Kippur). It could also correspond to a necessary civilian and military inactivity in the heat wave.
The 27 e day of Ramadan commemorates the “night of destiny” where the Angel Gabriel (Djibril) appeared for the first time at the Prophet Muhammad to reveal the Koran. This month of fasting is therefore closely linked to the sacred Muslim text, whose first verse revealed is “Lis!” (Surah 96, 1).
Also the Muslims are invited to reread the entirety of the Qur’an during this month of Ramadan, hence the institution of an additional session of common prayers (Tarawih), in the evening, in the mosques, only during This period of year – tradition that some traveled to the second Caliph Omar (579-644).
So this month has a muslim meaning strictly speaking, while also probably have pagan origins, like some Christian festivals from Judaism and the Canaanish religion, or even Roman (Easter, for example, corresponds to At an old spring party, and Christmas at a celebration of the winter solstice).
During his installation in Medina, the Prophet had ordered a fast day (Achoura), set on the tenth day of the year, on the model of the mandatory Jewish fasting of Yom Kippur (day of great sorry). However, a few years later, Muhammad chooses another time of abstinence, more extensive and more restrictive, after the revelation of a new series of verses. From now on, the faithful fasten throughout the month of the Muslim lunar calendar called Ramadan.
What the Koran says
“The Qur’an was revealed during the month of Ramadan. It is a direction for men; a clear manifestation of management and law. Anyone of you, will see the new moon, fast the whole month . He who is sick or the one who travels will then fast the same number of days. God wants the ease for you, he does not want, for you, the constraint. Finish this period of fasting; Exalle the greatness of God who has directed you (…). “
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