What is Ramadan?

disambiguation).
Ramadan
رَمَضَان
Ramadan montage.jpg
From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. Community Iftar meal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tarawah prayers in a mosque in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Foods served at a traditional Iftar meal. Ramadan decorations in Jerusalem. Zakat donation boxes in Taipei, Taiwan.
Also called	
Albanian: Ramazani
Azerbaijani: Ramazan
Bosnian: Ramazan
Bengali: রমজান, romanized: Rômzan / Rômjan
Hindi: रमज़ान, romanized: Ramzān
Kurdish: ڕەمەزان, romanized: Remezan
Persian: رمضان, romanized: Ramazān
Malay: Puasa
Pashto: روژه, romanized: Rozha
Punjabi: رمضان / ਰਮਜ਼ਾਨ, romanized: Ramzān
Somali: Rabadaan or Rabmadaan
Thai: เราะมะฎอน, romanized: Romadon
Turkish: Ramazan
Sindhi: روزو
Urdu: رمضان, romanized: Ramzān
Zazaki: Remezan
Observed by	Muslims
Type	Religious
Celebrations	Community iftars and Community prayers
Observances	
Sawm (fasting)
Zakat and sadaqah (alms giving)
Commemorating Qadr Night
Reading the Quran
Abstaining from all bad deeds and staying humble
Taraweeh prayer (Sunni Muslims)
Begins	At the last night of the month of Sha'ban[1]
Ends	At the last night of the month of Ramadan[1]
Date	Variable (follows the Islamic lunar calendar)[2][3]
2023 date	22 March – 21 April[4]
Frequency	Annual (lunar calendar)
Related to	Eid al-Fitr, Qadr Night
Ramadan (Arabic: رَمَضَان, romanized: Ramaḍān [ra.ma.dˤaːn];[a] also spelled Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan or Ramathan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar,[9] observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community.[10] A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation,[11] the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam[12] and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.[13][14]

Fasting from dawn to sunset is fard (obligatory) for all adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travelling, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating.[15] The predawn meal is referred to as suhur, and the nightly feast that breaks the fast is called iftar.[16][17] Although fatwas have been issued declaring that Muslims who live in regions with a midnight sun or polar night should follow the timetable of Mecca,[18] it is common practice to follow the timetable of the closest country in which night can be distinguished from day.[19][20][21]

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting observed by Muslims yearly all over the world.During this month Muslims abstain from food from dawn till dusk for 29 days. Ramadan is also one of the key pillars of Islam.