Ramadan Mubarak! Here is some recommended Islamic reading for Ramadan or anytime.

This new version of Zawaj.com is still in development phase and is actually not “open” to the public yet – that’s why the matrimonial search form on the home page doesn’t function yet. We will formally introduce it within a week or so Insha’Allah. I’m thinking of Friday, August 28th as the likely target date.

But the site has already been indexed by the search engines and some of you are finding your way here, so so I thought I would give you folks something productive to do with your time, ha ha.

Here are some excellent books that I consider essential Islamic reading. Any one of them would be great to read a little from every evening after Iftar, or to give as a gift. All are available through the link below:

IslamicBookstore.com

1. An Interpretation of the Qur’an : English Translation of the Meanings : A Bilingual Edition (Majid Fakhry) – I have this and I read it often. It’s an excellent, modern and scholarly translation. If you’re still reading Yusuf Ali’s poetic but archaic translation, it’s time to check out something different.

2. The Qur’an : A New Translation (Dr. Thomas Cleary) – I would have listed this first except that it’s in English only. The language is modern and clear, yet retains some of the powerful poetry of the Arabic. I highly recommend it.

3. Muhammad : His Life Based on the Earliest Sources : Revised Edition : Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din) – All-time best-selling book on the life of the Prophet (pbuh), now the latest revised edition. You may have read some of the briefer Seerahs (biographies of the Prophet Muhammad) such as The Sealed Nectar of The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, but you have not experienced the breadth and depth of Muhammad’s (pbuh) struggle and indomitable character until you have read this book.

4. Forty Hadith, and Forty Hadith Qudsi – these are brief but fundamental. Read one or two each night and discuss them.

5. Ramadan: Motivating Believers to Action – Ramadan is not just a month of fasting, but a month of spiritual healing. Presented from an interfaith perspective as a means to motivate believers to action, the articles by such famous writers as Muhammad al-Ghazzali, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani, Imam Jawziyya, Ibn Sirin, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Maulana Mawdudi and Laleh Bakhtiar include essays on both the Law and the Way.

6. Purification of the Heart : Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart – Translation and Commentary of Imam al-Mawlud’s Matharat al-Qulub (Shaykh Hamza Yusuf).

7. The Fundamentals of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism) Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips – A Muslim should be familiar with the basics of Tawheed, which is the fundemental principle of Islam. This book presents a detailed explanation of the classical Islamic concept of God’s unity as it relates to faith and acts of religious devotion.

Well, as you can see my preference is for more scholarly works, but you can find all kinds of good stuff at IslamicBookstore.com, including children’s books, movies and CDs, and toys. I have been shopping with them for several years now and I’ve always been satisfied.

Ramadan Mubarak to our readers and all Muslims around the world

First day of Ramadan will be Saturday, August 22, 2009
and Eid ul-Fitr on Sunday, September 20, 2009, inshaAllah.

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint.” Qur’an 2: 183

The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) recognizes astronomical calculation as an acceptable Shar’ia method for determining the beginning of lunar months including the months of Ramadan and Shawwal. FCNA uses Makkah al-Mukarram as a conventional point and takes the position that the conjunction must take place before sunset in Makkah and the moon must set after sunset in Makkah.

On the basis of this method the dates of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr for the year 1430 AH are established as follows:

1st of Ramadan will be on Saturday, August 22, 2009
1st of Shawwal will be on Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ramadan 1430 AH:
The astronomical New Moon is on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:01 Universal Time (1:01 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah on August 20 is at 6:47 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah is at 6:46 pm local time (1 minute before sunset). Therefore the following day Friday, August 21, 2009 is not the 1st day of Ramadan. First day of Ramadan is Saturday, August 22, insha’Allah. First Tarawih prayer will be on Friday night.

Eid ul-Fitr 1430 AH:
The astronomical New Moon is on Friday, September 18, 2009, at 18:44 Universal Time (9:44 pm Makkah time). On Saturday, September 19, 2009, sunset at Makkah is 6:20 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:36 pm local time. Therefore, first day of Shawwal, i.e., Eid ul-Fitr is Sunday, September 20, insha’Allah.

May Allah (swt) keep us on the right path, and accept our fasting and prayers. Ameen. For more detailed information, please visit: www.fiqhcouncil.org or www.moonsighting.com

Sincerely,
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi
Chairman, Fiqh Council of North America

Northern lands experience a phenomenon called "perpetual twilight", in which the summer sky retains some light all night long. This is Alaska's Kuskokwim River, taken from 40,000 feet up, from a 747 commercial flight from New York to Tokyo.

Reprinted from Islam Questions and Answer

With Shaykh Muhammad S. Al-Munajjid

Question:

Due to the inclination of the earth’s axis of rotation, regions nearest to one pole experience continuous day for some months, for example, the trading city of Tromso (about 50000 inhabitants) in northern Norway (in which 0.4% of its population comes from Islamic countries) where the sun is visible continuously from late May to late July, while regions nearest to the other pole experience continuous night during that same period. How do Muslims living in Tromso do for Maghrib and Eshaa salaat as night never falls during these few months and also given that the month of Ramadhan falls during this period, how can they fast?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Fatwa no. 2769 was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars and the Standing Committee concerning an issue similar to the one you are asking about. This is the text of the question and answer:

Praise be to Allaah alone and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there will be no Prophet.

The Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas has read the question that has been sent to the General Secretary by the Secretary the Union of Muslim Students in Holland, and which has been passed to them by the Secretary of the Council of Senior Scholars. The text of the question is as follows:

We hope that you can provide us with a fatwa concerning the way of determining the times of Maghrib, Isha’ and Fajr prayer, and also the first day of Ramadaan and the first day of Eid al-Fitr. That is because the way the sun rises and sets in the countries of Northern Europe that are close to the North Pole is different from the way it rises and sets in the eastern Muslim countries. The reason for that has to do with the timing of the end of the red and white twilight. It may be noted that in summer the white twilight lasts almost the whole night, so it is difficult to determine the time of ‘Isha’ and the onset of the dawn.

They replied:

The Council of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a statement on the determining of the times of prayer, determining the start of dawn each day, and the end of the dawn in Ramadan, in countries such as yours. This is what it said:

After studying, researching and discussing the matter, the Council decided the following:

Whoever resides in a country where the night can be distinguished from the day by the onset of dawn and the setting of the sun, but the day is extremely long in the summer and extremely short in the winter, is obliged to perform the five daily prayers at the times known in sharee’ah. That is because of the general meaning of the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Perform As‑Salaat (Iqamaat‑as‑Salaat) from mid‑day till the darkness of the night (i.e. the Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishaa’ prayers), and recite the Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e. the — Fajr morning prayer). Verily, the recitation of the Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e. the morning — Fajr prayer) is ever witnessed (attended by the angels in charge of mankind of the day and the night)”

[al-Isra’ 17:78]

“Verily, As‑Salaah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”

[al-Nisa’ 4:103]

And because it was proven from Buraydah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the times of the prayers, and he said to him: “Pray with us for these two” meaning two days. When the sun passed its zenith, he told Bilaal to give the adhaan, then he told him to give the iqaamah for Zuhr. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for ‘Asr when the sun was still high and clear white. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for Maghrib when the sun had set. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for ‘Isha’ when the red afterglow (twilight) had disappeared. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for Fajr when the dawn had appeared. Then on the second day, he told him to delay Zuhr until the extreme heat had passed and he did so. He prayed ‘Asr when the sun was high, delaying it beyond the time he had previously performed it. He prayed Maghrib before the twilight had vanished; he prayed ‘Isha’ when a third of the night had passed; and he prayed Fajr when there was clear daylight. Then he said: “Where is the man who was asking about the time of prayer?” The man said, “Here I am, O Messenger of Allaah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The time for your prayer is within the limits of what you have seen.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim)

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The time for Zuhr is from when the sun has passed its zenith and a man’s shadow is equal in length to his height, until the time for ‘Asr comes. The time for ‘Asr lasts until the sun turns yellow. The time for Maghrib lasts until the twilight has faded. The time for ‘Isha’ lasts until midnight. The time for Subh (Fajr) prayer lasts from the beginning of the pre-dawn so long as the sun has not yet started to rise. When the sun starts to rise then stop praying, for it rises between the two horns of the Shaytaan.”

Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh.

And there are other ahaadeeth which have been narrated concerning the definition of the times of the five daily prayers through the words and actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It makes no difference whether the night and day are long or short, so long as the times of the prayers can be distinguished by the signs which were identified by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

This is with regard to the timings of the prayers. With regard to the timings of their fast in Ramadaan, those who are accountable should refrain from food, drink and everything else that invalidates the fast each day of Ramadaan, from the time of dawn until sunset in their countries, so long as the night can be distinguished from the day, and when day and night together add up to twenty-four hours. It is permissible for them to eat, drink, have intercourse, etc during the night only, even if it is short. The sharee’ah of Islam is universal and applies to all people in all countries. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall”

[al-Baqarah 2:187]

Whoever is unable to complete the fast because the day is so long, or who knows from experience or from the advice of a competent. trustworthy doctor, or thinks it most likely that fasting will lead to his death or make him severely ill, or will make his sickness worse or impede his recovery, may break his fast and make up the days that he misses in a month when he can make them up. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

“Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope”

[al-Baqarah 2:286]

“Allaah does not want to place you in difficulty”

[al-Maa'idah 5:6]

Secondly:

Whoever lives in a land in which the sun does not set during the summer and does not rise during the winter, or who lives in a land in which the day lasts for six months and the night lasts for six months, for example, has to perform the five daily prayers in each twenty-four hour period. They should estimate their times based on the nearest country in which the times of the five daily prayers can be distinguished from one another, because it was proven in the hadeeth of the Isra’ and Mi’raaj (Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascent into Heaven) that Allaah enjoined on this ummah fifty prayers each day and night, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept asking his Lord to reduce it until He said, “O Muhammad, they are five prayers each day and night, and for each prayer will be the reward of ten, that is fifty prayers…”

And it was proven in the hadeeth of Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “(You have to offer) five prayers each day and night.” The man asked, “Do I have to do anything else?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “No, unless you want to offer voluntary (naafil) prayers”…

And it was proven in the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: We were forbidden to ask the Messenger of Allaah (S) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about anything, so we used to like it when an intelligent man from among the desert people came and asked him a question in our hearing. A man from among the desert people came and said, “O Muhammad, your messenger came to us and said that you claim that Allaah sent you.” He said, “He spoke the truth.” … The man said, “And your messenger claimed that we have to offer five prayers each day and night.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He spoke the truth.” The man said, “By the One Who sent you, has Allaah enjoined that upon you?” He said, “Yes.” …

It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told his companions about the Dajjaal (antichrist). He was asked how long he would stay on earth, and he said, “Forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week and the rest like your days.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the day which is like a year, will the prayers of one day be sufficient for us then?” He said, “No, estimate them.”

So the day which will be like a year is not regarded as one day in which only five prayers will be sufficient, rather we are obliged to offer five prayers in each twenty-four hour period. He commanded them to offer the prayers at intervals as on a regular day.

So the Muslims in the country mentioned in the question have to define the times of prayer in that land, basing those times on the closest country in which the night and day can be distinguished from one another and the times of the five daily prayers are known according to the signs described in sharee’ah, within each twenty-four hour period.

Similarly they also have to fast Ramadaan. They can set the time for their fast and determine the beginning and end of Ramadaan and the times of starting and breaking the fast each day by the dawn and sunset each day in the closest country in which night can be distinguished from day. The total period must add up to twenty-four hours, because of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the Dajjaal mentioned above, in which he told his companions how to determine the times of the five daily prayers. There is no difference in this regard between fasting and prayer.

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta’.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 6/130-136

Mattar Iman prays before the breaking of fast for Ramadan in Michigan.

On Ramadan, students hold fast together

During holiday, Muslim students build ties at dinner table

Reprinted from the Michigan Daily
BY CHARLES GREGG-GEIST
DAILY STAFF REPORTER ON SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2008

LSA freshman Seher Chowhan wakes up at 5 each morning, while most of campus sleeps, to eat a large breakfast and pray.

It’s an unconventional schedule for most college students, but for Chowhan it’s a key part of the observance of Ramadan, a 30-day-long holiday during which observant Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. It began Sept. 1, the day before classes started.

“It’s tough for me,” Chowhan said. “Living in the dorms, you have to explain to your roommate why you’re waking up at five in the morning to eat and pray.”

Fasting Muslims usually eat a meal before sunrise and then gather for a large meal to break their fast and pray when the sun sets, but those traditions can be lost amid the bustle of college campuses.

To maintain the community element of the holiday, the Muslim Student Association organizes group meals to break the fast from Monday through Thursday.

On Wednesday night, LSA senior and MSA’s social co-chair Malik Mossa-Basha gathered with about 50 male students in the basement of South Quad to break their fast with 200 tacos and burritos from Taco Bell.

“Back home, it’s like a huge event,” Mossa-Basha said in between bites of a burrito. “When we’re here, we try to make Ann Arbor our community. It’s like a home-away-from-home thing.”

Because Ramadan is determined by the lunar calendar, it starts ten days earlier every year. And as the start date moves further into the summer, the days lengthen and get hotter.

“I remember seven years ago, fasting from 7 to 4:30,” LSA senior and MSA Outreach Chair Salim Al Churbaji said. “Now it’s, what, 13 hours?”
LSA senior and MSA President Yamaan Saadeh said that while the long days make it harder to fast, having Ramadan at the beginning of the school year helps build bonds between Muslim students on campus.

“It’s more of a challenge because it’s harder to manage your time, but it’s also a blessing, too,” he said. “All of the students have a reason to come together as a group and have dinner together and spend time with each other.”

Thursday night, MSA invited incoming freshmen to break their fast with current members. It was again held in South Quad’s basement, but this time, the burritos were replaced by an Egyptian buffet.

“They’re going away from their families, they’re going away from what they’re used to,” Saadeh said about the freshmen. “So it’s kind of an opportunity for them to join our organization, and find a new family here.”

Chowhan said the MSA’s group meals have helped her make the adjustment to college life.

“Of course I miss my family and my mom’s cooking,” she said. “But it’s really great having this community.”

University Housing also offers accommodations for Muslims fasting Ramadan through a meal plan suspension program. Students can elect to forgo their meals for the month, and get the equivalent value in Blue Bucks.

University Housing spokesman Peter Logan said about 70 students suspended their meal plans for the month, while five exchanged their meals for packaged dinners to eat later.

A Muslim family breaks their fast in Falluja Iraq

Ready for Ramadan

Reprinted from the GulfWeekly (Bahrain)
August 31, 2008

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar. It begins with the sighting of the new moon after which all physically mature and healthy Muslims are obliged to abstain from all food, drink, gum chewing, any kind of tobacco use as well as sexual contact between dawn and sunset.

The month of Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds and spending time with family and friends.

The fasting is intended to help teach Muslims self-discipline, self-restraint and generousity.

It also reminds them of the suffering of the poor, who may rarely get to eat well. It is common to have one meal (known as the Suhoor), just before sunrise and another (known as Iftar), directly after sunset.

Because Ramadan is a time to spend with friends and family, the fast will often be broken by different Muslim families coming together to share in an evening meal.

Kenyan worshipers gather at the Sir Ali Muslim mosque for Eid prayer

Bahraini Wesal Mohammed Al A`amer started fasting at the age of 10. “I began to understand the concept of Ramadan at the age of nine and I was very interested in the whole fasting process, so my parents allowed me to fast everyday but for half-a-day only,” said the 30-year-old shop assistant.

“By the time I was 10, I was able to fast for the whole day, it was tiring at the beginning but when your body gets use to the new system it gets easier by time.”

Fasting Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

“I fast because I believe in my religion and have faith in God. Ramadan is a very holy month where Muslims from all over the world get closer to their Creator,” she said.

“My daily routine during the month is waking up in the morning, going to work, coming back home, preparing a meal for the Iftar time, praying, breaking my fast, spending time with my husband and my two girls, Latifa, aged eight and 10-year-old Najla, reading the Holy Quran, watching the television and going to bed.

“I wake up again for Suhoor, prepare a light meal, pray and go back to sleep again.”

Ms Al A`amer said her little girls try to copy their parents by fasting most of the day.

“They are two young to not eat or drink anything during the time of fasting so what they do is drink water if they are really thirsty but restrain themselves from eating as much as possible,” she said.

“They join us on the table at the time of Iftar and after that we all pray together.”

Ms Al A`amer said Ramadan was a month she looks forward to every year.

“In addition to its religious and spiritual aspects, Ramadan is the month of forgiveness, taking care of the poor and the needy as well as trying to have a closer bond with your family members and friends … simply, Ramadan makes you a better human being.”

Her husband, 38-year-old Bahraini Yasser Mohammed Abdulrahman says he fasts because he chooses to. He said: “Nobody can force anyone to fast, Muslims fast because they choose to.

“We wait the whole year for this one month because it means a lot to us, religiously, socially and spiritually,” said the Bahrain Airport employee.

“I started fasting when I was in elementary school. Once you grow to understand the meaning of this month and practice it in the right way; you will find yourself in a whole different level.

“I believe that Ramdan purifies your heart, soul and mind,” he said.

Mr Abdulrahman said fasting doesn`t affect his job because he works in an indoor environment. “I am sure it would be very difficult for the people working on the streets especially during the summer time,” he said.

Dr. Tariq Ramadan

Dr. Tariq Ramadan is a well-respected professor of philosophy at the College of Geneva and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg. He is a leading Islamic thinker and was Named by Time magazine one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century.

Ramadan has written more than twenty books including Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2003), Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity (The Islamic Foundation, 2000), To Be a European Muslim (The Islamic Foundation, 1998), and Jihad, Violence, War and Peace in Islam (in French only, Tawhid, 2002).

ABOUT RAMADAN:

A Profound Faith Married to a Profound Critical Intelligence

by Tariq Ramadan

An officer of Brunei`s Islamic authority leads a call for prayer or Athaan during the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan over the sky of Bukit Agok outside Bandar Seri Begawan August 31, 2008.

Most of the classical religious teachings regarding the month of Ramadan insist on the rules being respected as well as the deep spiritual dimension of this month of fast, privations, worship and meditation.

While thinking about it more closely, one realizes that this month marries apparently contradictory requirements which, nevertheless, together constitute the universe of faith. To ponder over these different dimensions is the responsibility of each conscience, each woman, each man and each community of faith, wherever they are.

We can never emphasise enough the importance of this “return to oneself” required during this period of fast. Ramadan is a month of abrupt changes; this is true here more than anywhere else. At the heart of our consumer society, where we are used to easy access to goods and possessions and where we are driven by the marked individualism of our daily lives, this month requires from everyone that we come back to the centre and the meaning of our life.

At the Centre there is God and one’s heart, as the Qur’an reminds us: “…and know that [the knowledge of] God lies between the human being and his heart.” At the Centre, everyone is asked to take up again a dialogue with The Most-High and The Most-Close.. a dialogue of intimacy, of sincerity, of love. To fast is to seek.. with lucidity, patience and confidence.. justice and peace with oneself. The month of Ramadan is the “month of the Meaning”.. why this life? What about God in my life? What about my mother and my father.. still alive or already gone? What about my children? My family? My spiritual community? Why this universe and this humanity? What meaning have I given to my daily life? What meaning am I able to be consistent with?

The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) had warned “Some people only gain from their fast the fact that they are hungry and thirsty.” He was speaking of those who fast as mechanically as they eat. They deprive themselves from eating with the same unawareness and the same thoughtlessness as they are used to eating and drinking. In fact, they transform it into a cultural tradition, a fashionable celebration, even a month of banquets and “Ramadan nights”. A fast of extreme alienation.. a fast of counter-Meaning.

As this month invites us towards the deep horizons of introspection and meaning, it reminds us of the importance of detail, precision and discipline in our practice. The precise starting day of Ramadan that must be rigorously found; the precise hour before dawn on which one must stop eating; the prayers to be performed “at determined moments”; the exact time of the break of fast. At the very time of our profound meditation with God and in our own self, one could have thought that it was possible to immerse oneself into one’s feelings because this quest for meaning is so deep that it should be allowed to bypass the details of rules and schedules. But the actual experience of Ramadan teaches us the opposite: no profound spirituality, no true quest of meaning without discipline and rigor as to the management of rules to be respected and time to be mastered.

The month of Ramadan marries the depth of the meaning and the precision of the form. There exists an “intelligence of the fast” that arises from the very reality of this marriage between the content and the form: to fast with one.s body is a school for the exercise of the mind. The abrupt changes implied by the fast is an invitation to a transformation and a profound reform of oneself and one.s life that can only occur through a rigorous intellectual introspection (muraqaba). To achieve the ultimate goal of the fast our faith requires a demanding, lucid, sincere, and honest mind capable of sane self-criticism. Everyone should be able to do that for oneself, before God, within one.s solitude as well as within one.s commitment among one.s fellow human beings. It is a question of mastering one’s emotions, to face up to oneself and to take the right decisions as to the transformation of one.s life in order to come closer to the Centre and the Meaning.

Muslims of today need more than ever to reconcile themselves with the school of profound spirituality along with the exercise of rigorous and critical intelligence. Particularly in the West. At a time where fear is all around, where suspicion is widespread, where the Muslims are tempted by the obsession to have to defend themselves and to prove constantly their innocence, the month of Ramadan calls them to their dignity as well as to their responsibilities. It is urgent that they learn to master their emotions, to go beyond their fears and doubts and come back to the essential with confidence and assurance. It is imperative too that they make it a rule for themselves to be rigorous and upright in the assessment of their conduct, individually and collectively: self-criticism and collective introspection are of the essence at every step, to achieve a true transformation within Muslim communities and societies.

Instead of blaming “those who dominate”, “the Other”, “the West”, etc. it is necessary to make ours the teaching of the month of Ramadan: you are, indeed, what you do of yourself. What are we doing of ourselves today? What are our contributions within the fields of education, social justice and liberty? What are we doing to promote the dignity of women, children or to protect the rights of the poor and the marginalised people in our societies?

What kind of models of profound, intelligent and active spirituality do we offer today to the people around us? What have we done with our universal message of justice and peace? What have we done with our message of individual responsibility, of human brotherhood and love? All these questions are in our hearts and minds.. and there is only one response inspired by the Qur.an and nurtured by the month of Ramadan: God will change nothing for the good if you change nothing.

Dr. Tariq Ramadan

Dr. Tariq Ramadan is a well-respected professor of philosophy at the College of Geneva and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg. He is a leading Islamic thinker and was Named by Time magazine one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century.

Ramadan has written more than twenty books including Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2003), Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity (The Islamic Foundation, 2000), To Be a European Muslim (The Islamic Foundation, 1998), and Jihad, Violence, War and Peace in Islam (in French only, Tawhid, 2002).

Welcome to this Month of Ramadan

by Tariq Ramadan

A Palestinian girl prays during Ramadan 2008

Once again we welcome it, once again it welcomes us. This month will be, for each of us, what we shall make of it. A month of return, introspection, meditation, brotherhood and love. The month of the Qur’an. Or a month of mechanical fast, almost unaware, that hurries to turn upside down nights and days ending up living the nights to forget the fast of the day…

This month is a feast… not of noise, but silence; not of banquets but restraint; not of forgetfulness but remembrance. This month is a feast for the faith.

We wish everyone a beautiful month of Ramadan. May it be a month of teaching where gift wins over avarice, generosity over selfishness, love over hatred. Be it a month where everyone tries to master one’s anger: the Prophet advised once to respond to adversity during these days of meditation : “I am fasting”…. and to pass over. Be it a month where everyone of us cares more than usual for the needy people in her/his nearest environment.

Happy Ramadan to all of you! May your fast be accepted and blessed. May the Most-High and His Light go along with you, protect you and love you.