55 Fun Facts About Ramadan

Ramadan is which month of the Islamic calendar?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the twelve-month Islamic lunar calendar, following Sha'ban, and is held to be the month in which the Quran's revelation began.

Each Islamic month, including Ramadan, traditionally begins with the sighting of what?

A new crescent moon starts each month, so Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days, and no one knows which until the next crescent is spotted.

What is the pre-dawn meal eaten before each day of fasting called?

Suhur is the pre-dawn meal, called sehri in South Asia; eating must stop before the dawn call to prayer, the fajr adhan, which begins the fast.

What is the sunset meal that breaks the day's fast called?

Iftar is the sunset meal that ends the day's fast at the maghrib call to prayer, often eaten communally, with mosques worldwide laying on free meals.

Which food is traditionally eaten first to break the fast, in emulation of Muhammad?

Dates are eaten first because hadith record Muhammad breaking his fast with fresh or dried dates before water; eating an odd number, often three, is customary but not obligatory.

Which Arabic term names the fast of Ramadan among the five pillars of Islam?

Sawm, fasting from dawn to sunset, is the pillar observed throughout Ramadan, alongside the shahada (faith), salat (prayer), zakat (alms) and the hajj pilgrimage.

The Quran says Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, is better than what?

Surah al-Qadr (97:3) declares the Night of Power better than a thousand months, about 83 years, so worship on it is held to outweigh a lifetime's devotion.

When is Laylat al-Qadr believed to fall?

Hadith urge believers to seek the Night of Power on the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, so many treat all ten nights as blessed.

What is the Islamic practice of secluding oneself inside a mosque for days of worship called?

I'tikaf means staying inside a mosque devoted to worship, and Muhammad is reported to have withdrawn into the mosque this way every Ramadan.

Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad through which angel?

The angel Gabriel, Jibril in Arabic, is held to have brought the first revelation to Muhammad in the cave of Hira near Mecca, an event Laylat al-Qadr commemorates.

The first five verses ever revealed are said to open which surah of the Quran?

Surah Al-Alaq, the 96th chapter, opens with 'Read in the name of your Lord,' the five verses held to be the first revealed; Al-Fatiha only heads the written order.

Which battle was fought in the first Ramadan of obligatory fasting?

Badr was fought on 17 Ramadan 2 AH, the year fasting became obligatory, and about 313 Muslims defeated a far larger Meccan force there.

Because the Islamic calendar has no intercalation, what does Ramadan do relative to the solar year?

Ramadan moves through the seasons because the 354-day Islamic year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, so the month begins about eleven days earlier each Gregorian year.

Which festival marks the end of Ramadan?

Eid al-Fitr, the 'festival of breaking the fast,' opens the month after Ramadan with a congregational prayer and charity; Eid al-Adha follows about seventy days later at the Hajj.

The festival that ends the fast falls on the first day of which Islamic month?

The fast-ending festival falls on 1 Shawwal; a hadith promises that the customary extra days of fasting in Shawwal equal fasting the whole year.

Thanks to the sweets served, the festival ending Ramadan has which nickname?

In Turkey the holiday is officially Ramazan Bayramı but popularly Şeker Bayramı, the Sugar Feast, because sweets are served and children go door to door collecting candy.

Which rice cake, boiled in a woven palm-leaf pouch, is the classic Indonesian dish for the festival ending Ramadan?

Ketupat is boiled in a pouch woven from young palm leaves, and at Lebaran it is made in large batches to share with family, neighbours and guests.

Besides the sick, the Quran lets which group postpone Ramadan fasts and make up the days later?

Travellers, like the sick, may fast an equal number of other days instead, and verse 2:185 says God intends ease, not hardship.

When is the Eid sermon given?

After the prayer: Eid's two rak'ahs, with extra takbirs and no call to prayer, come first, the reverse of Friday prayers, where the sermon leads.

The special Tarawih night prayers of Ramadan are performed after which daily prayer?

Tarawih follows the Isha night prayer during Ramadan; it is a recommended rather than obligatory prayer, performed in pairs of rak'ahs and usually rounded off with Witr.

A hadith says which gate of Paradise is reserved for those who fast?

Ar-Rayyan: the hadith says those who fasted will be called to enter by it on the Day of Resurrection, and once they are inside the gate is closed.

Which caliph reinstated praying Tarawih in congregation after Muhammad had discontinued it?

The second caliph, Umar, gathered worshippers behind a single imam for Tarawih; Muhammad had stopped leading it publicly, fearing the prayer would be made compulsory.

Shia Muslims mourn on 19 Ramadan, when Ali was struck while praying in the Great Mosque of which city?

Ali was struck by Ibn Muljam's poisoned sword during dawn prayer in the Great Mosque of Kufa on 19 Ramadan 40 AH and died on the 21st.

The fanous, the decorative Ramadan lantern, originated in which country?

The fanous is an Egyptian tradition believed to date to Fatimid Cairo, where lanterns lit Ramadan nights; from Egypt the custom spread across the Arab world.

During Ramadan, Mamluk forces won the Battle of Ain Jalut against which invading empire?

The Mongol Empire's army was routed there on 3 September 1260, the first major halt to Mongol advances into the Islamic world.

The word 'fanous' comes from a Greek word meaning what?

'Fanous' comes from the Greek phanos, meaning light or lantern, and in Arabic the word names any lantern, not only the Ramadan kind.

In the Middle East, what does the mesaharati traditionally do during Ramadan?

Beats a drum to wake people for the pre-dawn meal, a custom once found all over the Middle East but now rarely practised in countries such as Qatar.

After his first revelation during Ramadan, Muhammad hurried home in terror to which wife?

Khadija wrapped him in a blanket and reassured him, and tradition counts her as the first person to accept Islam.

Which Indian city's haleem, a meat-and-wheat stew eaten after Ramadan fasts, won protected Geographical Indication status?

Hyderabad's haleem won Geographical Indication status in 2010, and the slow-cooked dish is eaten above all during Ramadan to break the day's fast.

In Jakarta, what is widely used to celebrate Ramadan even though it is officially illegal?

Firecrackers, called petasan, are widely set off in Jakarta during Ramadan even though they are officially illegal in the Chinese-influenced capital.

Which folded, stuffed pancake is a classic Ramadan sweet in the Levant?

Qatayef are small yeasted pancakes cooked on one side only, folded around nuts or sweet cheese, then fried or baked and soaked in syrup, a sweet that fills bakeries during Ramadan.

Which shadow-puppet show traditionally drew big coffeehouse crowds on Ramadan nights?

Karagöz, pitting the plain-spoken Karagöz against the educated Hacivat, filled coffeehouses after the day's fast, and UNESCO now lists the shadow play as intangible heritage.

Advertisers in the Arab world have compared Ramadan television to which American event?

Ramadan is often called the Super Bowl of Arab advertising: prime time shifts to the sunset meal, audiences peak, and slots in hit serials can sell for more than double the usual rate.

In Nigeria, the celebration at the end of Ramadan is popularly known as what?

Nigerians call the festival ending Ramadan 'Small Sallah' and the later festival of sacrifice 'Big Sallah'; Hausa speakers greet one another with 'Barka da Sallah' over the holiday.

Which NBA centre was named Player of the Month in February 1995 while fasting for Ramadan?

Hakeem Olajuwon kept the dawn-to-sunset fast through games that month, and later that season he led the Rockets to a second straight NBA title.

Which British fruit cordial is a Ramadan staple in Saudi Arabia, drunk to break the fast?

Vimto was invented in Manchester in 1908, yet for over 80 years it has been the Arabian Peninsula's favourite drink for breaking the fast.

Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor timed his fasts in orbit by the sunrise and sunset of which location?

Muslim astronauts follow the time zone where they last touched Earth, and Shukor's Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in October 2007, during Ramadan.

Which drink made from dried apricot paste is a Ramadan staple in the Levant?

Qamar al-Din, 'moon of the faith,' is made by dissolving sheets of dried apricot paste in water and is poured at sunset across Syria, Lebanon and Jordan throughout Ramadan.

In 1805, which president postponed a White House dinner until sunset to accommodate an envoy from Tunis?

Thomas Jefferson moved a December 9, 1805 dinner for Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli to 'precisely at sunset' because the envoy was fasting, an event often called the first White House Ramadan dinner.

In Turkish cities, what is traditionally fired from the highest hill at sunset to end the fast?

A cannon, the 'Ramazan topu', is fired at sunset from the highest hill in Turkish cities as the signal that the day's fast may end.

Ramazan pidesi, served on Turkish tables at sunset during the month, is what?

Ramazan pidesi is a special bread: a round flatbread with a weave-patterned crust, brushed with egg and topped with sesame and nigella seeds for Ramadan's meals.

Which soup is a Moroccan staple for breaking the fast?

Harira, a tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thickened with flour and scented with coriander and ginger, is the Moroccan dish that opens the sunset meal, often alongside chebakia pastries.

The Imam Reza shrine, host of one of the world's biggest fast-breaking meals, is in which city?

The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, holds the tomb of the eighth Shia imam and lays on a vast nightly sunset meal for pilgrims during Ramadan.

The Ottoman sultan-caliphs broke their fast under a gilded bower at which palace?

Topkapi Palace housed the Ottoman sultans until 1856, when the court moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, and its gilded bower was where they broke the fast.

The greeting 'Ramadan kareem' wishes someone a Ramadan that is what?

Kareem means generous or noble, so 'Ramadan kareem' wishes someone a generous month, while the other common greeting, 'Ramadan mubarak', means blessed.

In Bangladesh, what is celebrated on 'Chand Raat'?

Chand Raat, 'night of the moon', is the night the festival moon is sighted, and markets stay open late for clothes, bangles and henna.

In Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, the festival ending Ramadan is commonly called what?

Hari Raya Puasa, literally the 'great day of fasting,' is the Malay name for the festival ending Ramadan, celebrated with open houses where families welcome neighbours of every faith.

The 1973 war that Arab countries call the Ramadan War is better known in the West by which name?

The Yom Kippur War opened with a surprise attack on Israel on 6 October 1973, the Jewish holy day, which fell on the 10th of Ramadan that year.

Muslims who can fast only with great hardship, such as the very old, may instead do what each day?

Feed a poor person for each missed day: this compensation, called fidya, comes from Quran 2:184 for those who can fast only with hardship.

The Arabic root of the word 'Ramadan' relates to what?

Ramadan derives from the Arabic root r-m-ḍ, meaning scorching heat or dryness; one account says the pre-Islamic month was named when it fell in the hottest part of the year.

What is each of the Quran's thirty parts, often recited one a night during Ramadan, called?

Juz: Sunni custom aims to complete the Quran in Ramadan by reciting at least one juz a night in the extra night prayers.

The Quran says fasting was prescribed for believers, as for communities before them, so that they gain what?

Mindfulness of God, or taqwa, is the aim verse 2:183 gives, and some translators render it as righteousness or self-restraint.

How many times do sunrise and sunset occur each day for a Muslim astronaut in low-Earth orbit?

Sixteen: the space station circles Earth about every 90 minutes, roughly 15.5 times a day, so its crew sees about sixteen sunrises and sunsets daily.

The 'Greater Eid', which follows the festival ending Ramadan, honours which prophet's willingness to sacrifice his son?

Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son Ishmael before God provided a sheep instead, and the Greater Eid commemorates that obedience.

What slow-cooked lamb dish do Omanis typically eat at the festival ending Ramadan, with coffee?

Shuwa is meat marinated in spices, wrapped in sacks of dry leaves and roasted in a pit dug in the ground, usually as a whole village's job.