Thousands of Moslems in Rwanda and the rest of the world are fasting in this holy month which according to the holy book of Islam is the month when Quran- Holy book was revealed.

According to a legend, this happened while Prophet Mohammed was sitting alone in the wilderness, then suddenly angel Gabriel came to him with a golden tablet in his hands.

To a Moslim, this is the period when one is called upon to sacrifice and abstain from all humanly desires and offer most of his time to God.

Unlike some of the Christian holidays, Ramadan doesn’t fall on a particular day of the year. Ramadan also known as a lunar holiday, moves through the year, eventually occurring in different seasons.

"Ramadan is special for Muslims throughout the world. It is a time when one desires for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control” says Muhamadi Mazimpaka who is the president of the Moslem BAYTUL-MAL in Rwanda.

Mazimpaka also says that Muslims think of it as a time when they amend and prepare for their spiritual lives. However there are as many meanings of Ramadan as there are Muslims.

Sheik Ibrahim Kayitare, Commissioner of BAYTUL-Mal says fasting during this month of Ramadan has many special benefits.

"What one has to do during this time of fasting is to put into practice what is required of him through following Gods commandments” says Kayitare.

Sheik Kayitare says the hours of prayer also increase during this holy season. "Normally Moslems have five prayers through out the day but two more prayers are included during the period of Ramadan, these are ‘tarawehe’ which is prayed after 8:00 up to midnight and ‘Kiyamulayili’ that goes from Midnight to early morning” he says.

These two prayers are added to the early Morning Prayer called SUBUHI which is around 4:55, ‘dhuhur’ 12.30 which is the midday prayer, LASIRI an afternoon prayer done around 3:30, ‘magharibu’ the evening prayer at 6:15 and lastly the night prayer at 7:30 called ISHA.

"The two additional prayers are meant to help Moslems to strengthen their relationship with God and to keep a better covenant with him” says Kayitare.

Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Quran, giving charity, purifying one’s behavior, and doing good deeds. As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to be thankful and appreciative for all of God’s rewards.

Sheik Issa Nsabimana, the Imam of Madina Mosque, Kigali says it is a time to be more charitable to the poor, the sick and the unprivileged during this holy month.

"This time also calls for learning self-control and Moslems are called upon to sacrifice most of their bodily appetites during the fasting season. By doing this, one’s spiritual nature is cleansed, which becomes a means of coming closer to God” says the Imam.

Fasting during Ramadan

A male Moslem is required to pray five times a day at the Mosque even when it’s not Ramadan period. "In cases where the man has no access to a mosque, he can pray from anywhere if he can’t hear the ‘adhana’ from where he is.

‘Adhana’ is the call made by the ‘bilal’ at the Mosque that reminds the Moslems about time for prayer. Kayitare says a bilal is some one chosen by the administration of the Mosque to do the calling and there is no special qualification for that.

The words said during this call are; God is great and no other god should be worshiped apart from him. It goes on to say that, leave whatever you are doing for there is a better thing to do which is prayer.

"The morning call is a bit different; because it is early in the morning and many Moslems are still in their beds, some words are added that say, prayer is better than sleep.

Kayitare says that during the period of Ramadan, a true Moslem wakes up in the morning before the Bilal makes the morning call for Subuhi.

During this time one is allowed to do whatever the Koran says, such as eating ‘daku’ until 4:55 in the morning and can not eat or drink until the sun sets.

After sun set, Moslems may eat and drink until the white thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn. "But they should not do so after the morning call goes.

The usual practice in order for some one to spend long hours with out food, is to have a pre-fast meal (suhoor) before dawn and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset.

After the call for Subuhi, Moslems fast until sunset. Before you break fast, sexual intercourse is prohibited and those fasting should totally abstain from food, drinking, and smoking.

Every Moslem is supposed to fast during the period of Ramadan though there may be exceptions. However, fasting in Ramadan is mandatory.

Under exceptional categories, there the sick people, travelers, pregnant and the young children. These may opt to feed the helpless each day of breaking the fast or volunteer to do more righteous works.

During this month of Ramadan, there are things that will undo all the good that comes from fasting like telling a lie, denouncing someone behind his or her back, insulting and making a false oath.

The last ten days of Ramadan are a time of special spiritual fulfillment as everyone tries to come closer to God through devotions and good deeds.

The night on which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet, known as the Night of Power (Lailat ul-Qadr), is generally taken to be the 27th night of the Holy month.

The Quran states that this 27th night is better than a thousand months. Therefore many Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.

During the month, Moslims try to read as much of the Quran as they can. Some spend part of their day listening to the recitation of the Quran in a mosque or meet for Quranic studies or for congregation prayers. Some spend the last ten days of Ramadan in a mosque devoting the whole ten days for worshipping God.

Measurement of time

The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. Mazimpaka says the time is measured not using watches but by using nature to monitor the periodical changes of the day.

"Morning time is measured by the second dawn while the time for midday prayers is when the sun is directly a head and there is no shadow. Lastly the evening prayer is when the sun is setting.

The Islamic day as we can now appreciate is the same day used by the oldest civilization, the same as the Hebrew day. It begins at sunset and ends at the next sunset. In the Story of Creation, in the Bible, it says: "And there was evening and there was morning one day.”

Evening marked the beginning of the new day. In the Quran, God always mentions the night before the day. When God ordered us to fast Ramadan, He ordered us to eat and drink first until dawn then fast to the night.

The Islamic calendar

The Islamic lunar calendar, being 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, migrates throughout the seasons.
Thus, if Ramadan begins on January 20 one year, next year it will begin on January 9.

In this way, the length of the day, and thus the fasting period, varies in length from place to place over the years.
Every Moslim, no matter where he or she lives, will see an average Ramadan day of the approximately 13.5 hours.

The Islamic Calendar began at the day and year (July 16, 622, by the Gregorian calendar) when the Prophet Mohammed emigrated from Mecca to Medina.

There are 12 lunar months of alternate 30 and 29 days, making the year 354 days long. The months are Muharram, Safar, Rabi I, Rabi II, Jumada I, Jumada II, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Zulkadah, and Zulhijjah.

The Islamic calendar divides times into cycles 30 years long. During each cycle, 19 years have the regular 354 days, and 11 years have an extra day each.

It is also interesting to know that the sun, the moon and the earth all align in the same relative position once every 19 years.

Food in Ramadan

Since Ramadan is a special time, Moslims in many parts of the world prepare certain favorite foods and the period is also characterized by invitation of close members to the family or neighbours to share evening meals while breaking fast.

Some Moslims find that they eat less for dinner during Ramadan than at other times due to failure of the stomach to adjust to the changes in the meal schedules.

However, others experience little fatigue during the day since the body becomes used to the altered routine after the first week of Ramadan.

"In the evening, when you can break the fast and eat, it is customary to begin with taking water and some thing soft although every one has his or her preference” says Hajat Zaituni, a trader in Kigali, also fasting.

One can then have a regular dinner of meat, rice and vegetables or anything affordable. Iftar is a happy occasion and food is either prepared at home or purchased at a market.
One Haruna, a Kigali trader says, "The timing of Iftar is usually announced on the radio or television today but in old tradition one had to wait for the call from the bilal at the mosque.

In a nut shell, the Muslim belief states that whoever observes Ramadan faithfully and with pure intentions, will have his or her sins forgiven. Also fasting during Ramadan is said to be 30 times more powerful than fasting any other time of the year.

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