The Arabic word Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year from which the festival name Ramzan or Ramadan is got. It literally means burnt earth or lack of food. The festival of Ramzan is celebrated for one whole month. The Night of Power or Laylat-al-Qadr is celebrated on the 27th evening, for it is believed on this day in 610 AD, the Holy Quran was revealed by Prophet Mohammed.
It is during this period the Muslim worship and involves and engross themselves in spiritual matters. During the month of Ramadan fasting is a must for the Muslims have a strong belief by fasting their souls get purified and become close to God. Thousands of Muslims devotees throng at Jama Masjid to kneel in prayer, and then rejoices the retreat.
History
There are two events associated with the history of Ramzan where one is the reveal of the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad. Once when Prophet Muhammad was sitting in an uncultivated land he suddenly heard a voice and looked upon. It was the angel Gabriel who came to him and handed over the holy Quran. There is also another associated story with Ramadan which is the battle between Mecca and Medina residents, the Battle of Badr. The people of Mecca were idol worshippers and the people of Medina were Muslims, in which the Muslims had a glorious victory. The Battle of Badr is mentioned in the Holy Quran.
Customs and traditions
During the month of Ramzan every Muslim is supposed to do some donation either in the form of money or eatables to anyone of the mosques. Only after this the Eid prayer is started. This is popularly referred as Zakat al Fitr. During Ramzan the Muslims have their breakfast much early which only consists of dates and sweets. The men visit the mosque on this day and worship Allah. It is a customary tradition among the Muslims to recite Takbir which is nothing but poems in praise of Allah. They start reading the Takbir as soon as they see the moon. It is a must for every true Muslim to pray at least five times a day. Apart from this during Ramadan the Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer.Fasting is one of the most important custom followed by every Muslim, for they strongly believe by fasting, your body and mind is purified and get more close to God. Also they believe that by fasting we get to know about the suffering the poor people undergo. They strictly follow the various customs during fasting where they have to get up very early in the morning to finish their prayer known as fajr and eat the Sahur meal before sunrise. At the time of sunset they do the fourth prayer which is known as Maghrib and then break their fast by eating. No alcoholic drinks are allowed during Ramzan.
Celebration
Ramadan mainly involves worshipping where everyone prays to forgive their sins. On the day of Ramzan it is custom for every Muslim to embrace and greet each other by saying 'Eid Mubarak' or 'Happy Eid'. The end of the fasting is celebrated as Id-al-Fitr for nearly three days.
Generally friends and family members meet up and worship in congregation. After the prayer session they also sit together for a large meal. But however the Muslim women stay back at home and prepare lavish dinner or lunch with Eid special items like (vermicelli cooked in milk and sugar), dry fruits, sweetmeats, biryani (meat cooked in spicy rice) and other things.
Though it is not a custom most of the Muslims makes it a custom to send scrumptious food made for Eid ul to their neighbours and friends. At times there are also mega fairs arranged during Ramadan. Celebration also includes exchange of gifts for the loved ones.
Gifts
Gifts are part of all the festivals for apart from exchanging gifts it is also a means of exchanging our love for each other. Daughters and married sisters are, especially, given gifts. In fact, brothers pay a visit to their married sisters and take sivai and other eatables, along with clothes, bangles and money. Children also receive money from elders, known as eiddi.