before you;
perchance you will guard yourselves....
The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was sent down, a
guidance for the people, and clear verses of guidance and criterion."
[Quran: Chapter 2, 183]
Bab Al-Raiyan
The name of one of the gates of Heavens (Jannah) through which the
people who often observe fasting will enter on the Day of Judgement.
Eid Al-Fitr
Three-day festival markingthe end of Ramadan. It begins on the 1st of
Shawal, the 10th month ofthe Islamic calendar.
Fidya
Compensation for missing or wrongly practicing necessary acts of
worship. Fidya usually takes the form of donating money, foodstuffs,
or sacrificing ananimal. Contrast with Kaffara (making amends).
Iftar or Futoor
Breaking of the fast immediately after sunset. Iftar takes place at
Maghrib as soon as the Callto Prayer (Adhaan) is given.
Imsak
Start of the fasting time. Imsak begins when the first light of dawn
becomes visible, and ends at Fajr when the Adhaan iscalled. Literally
means"holding back."
I'tikaf
I'tikaf refers to the religious practice of spending the last ten days
of Ramadan (either whollyor partly) in a mosque so as to devote
oneself exclusively to worship. In this state one may go out of the
mosque only for theabsolutely necessary requirements of life, but one
must stay away from gratifying one's sexual desire. The minimum period
for i'tikaf is twenty-four hours. I'tikaf is not valid if one is not
keeping the fast or if it is done outside the month of Ramadan.
Kaffarah
Kaffarah means atonement, expiation. In Ramadhan this would refer to
the expiation for breaking the fast.
Lailatul-Qadr
'The Night of Power,' concealed in one of the odd nights in the last
ten days of Ramadan; the night on which the Qur'an was first revealed
by Jibraeel to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and which the Qur'an
itself describes as "better than a thousand months." [Al-Qadr (97:3)]
Ramadhan or Ramadhan
The ninth month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar. The month in which
Muslims fast.
Sawm or Siyam
The Arabic word for fast. Plural: Siyam. Literally in the Arabic
language it means "to abstain."
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