Ramadan رمضان

Overview

Ramadan (رَمَضَان) is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the month in which obligatory fasting was prescribed upon the believers. It is distinguished as the month in which the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet ﷺ through the angel Jibril, and it contains Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree, described as better than a thousand months.

Etymology

The Arabic root ر-م-ض conveys intense heat or scorching, said to allude to how the month burns away sins. Classical lexicographers such as Ibn Manzur record that the month was named when the lunar calendar coincided with the hottest part of the year before the Islamic calendar was fixed.

Quranic references

The defining verse establishing Ramadan as the month of fasting is the only place in the Qur'an where the month is named explicitly:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:185 — 'The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.'

The same passage commands: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183 — 'O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.'

Concerning Laylat al-Qadr within Ramadan: Surah Al-Qadr 97:3 — 'The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.'

And on supplication during this month: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186 — 'And when My servants ask you concerning Me — indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.'

Hadith and tradition

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "When Ramadan enters, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1899

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever stands [in prayer] during Laylat al-Qadr out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins are forgiven." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1901

Aishah reported that the Prophet ﷺ would intensify worship in the last ten nights, awakening his family and tightening his belt — a tradition observed by the Sahaba and preserved as Sunnah.

Significance

Ramadan is the spiritual axis of the believer's year and a public manifestation of Tawhid and Iman. It cultivates God-consciousness, restrains the nafs, and binds the community to Salah, Du'a, and recitation of revelation. The month culminates in Eid al-Fitr and is preceded by the obligation of Zakat al-Fitr.

See also

Five Pillars · Sawm · Shahada · Hajj · Mecca

References

1. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183–185.
2. Al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan fi Ta'wil al-Qur'an, on the revelation of fasting and Laylat al-Qadr.
3. Al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Siyam.
4. Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hadyi Khayr al-Ibad, chapter on the Prophet's guidance in Ramadan.