Having been on the coast of Kenya since childhood, where Islam is predominantly practiced – I have all the reasons to look forward to this season. More so, my friends Said Masud, Robley Muktar, Hussein Gure, Faisel Ibrahim and many others – in their teen years, fasted with so much passion in our dormitory – to my great admiration at a very early age.
Believe it all not, during Ramadhan, if you are attentive, you cannot fail to feel a great air charged with divinity. You feel it everywhere. Every soul is converted. Not even politics or business comes first. Everything is kept aside and what takes a center stage is prayers, the faithful are literary brought closer to God. They donate to charities and feed the hungry according to own means. They use their time to recite the Koran. They exercise self-restraint. The positive energy vibrates and affects even the non-Muslims. The feeling of the thirty days for a keenly observing non-Muslim is amazingly ecstatic. Unfortunately, I will miss Mombasa during this year fasting season. How I have wished every day was a Ramadhan.
By now you must have figured out, Ramadan isn't like Christmas as in you know exactly when it'll fall. It bounces around because the Islamic calendar is lunar. When it begins depends on when the new moon is seen. That's why the precise dates change from year to year. It contains 12 months that are based on the motion of the moon, and because 12 synodic months is only 12 x 29.53=354.36 days, the Islamic calendar is consistently shorter than a tropical year, and therefore it shifts with respect to the Christian calendar. Interestingly and unknown to many people, The Muslim calendar has a 30-year cycle with 11 leap years of 355 days and 19 years of 354 days. In the long term, it is accurate to one day in about 2,500 years. It also deviates up to about one or two days in the short term.
Ramadhan in 2016 started on June 6th and ended on Tuesday, July 2016. This year, it will begin on the evening of Friday, May 26 and ends on the evening of Saturday, June 24. Dates may vary.
What is Ramadhan? In summary – It is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset. This is in keeping with a divine commandment documented in Chapter 2, Verse 185 of the Holy Qur'an.
Why Ramadhan? - Muslims often donate to charities and feed the hungry during Ramadan. ... Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity, and performing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Typically, the start of the month is welcomed with the greeting of "Ramadan kareem!" Another hallmark of Ramadan is nightly prayer at the mosque called "taraweeh."
As nonmuslims, –
· * If you are invited for Iftar, join in gladness. they love to share even if you never fasted.
· * Don’t talk about losing weight – Ramadhan has nothing to do with it. If anything, care is taken not to add weight because one may tend to eat a little bit more than the body can handle in the evening.
· * If you can, join them for a fast – you will probably have a little glimpse of what your friends and colleague to through.
· * They are committed to being in a meditative mood of divine reflection. Be sensitive to the topic you bring up.
* You can say, Ramadhan Mubarak. It means blessed Ramadhan. You can also say, Ramadhan Kareem. Which wish the recipient a blessed or generous Ramadan. It’s a good thing to say. It’s a good thing to say.
Next, I hope I will give you a brief summary of who is a Muslimun (Moslem), which literally means “Those submitting their souls to God.”
wishing all my Swahibas , Muslim brothers and sister, a blessed Ramadhan.
Paul Kihiu Njuguna
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