The Month of Ramadan and the Night of Power (Lailat al-Qadr) (usually 27th Ramadan)

The Small Festival (Eid-ul-Fitr) lst Shawal

All healthy Muslims over the age of twelve spend the daylight hours of Ramadan abstaining from food and drink and other pleasures. Fasting is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam laid down by God in the Qur'an, the others being: 1 -recitation of the Kalimah or Creed (la ilaha illa Allah: Mohammedan rasulu Allah- There is no god but God and Mohammed is His Prophet), 2- the five times daily ritual of prayer, 3- the giving of alms to the poor, and 5- pilgrimage to Mecca. Fasting teaches control of body and mind, it enables well-fed people to appreciate the plight of the poor and is a unifying factor of the Muslim faith. The Night of Power (Lailat al-Qadr) is celebrated on one of the odd -numbered nights during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan and commemorates God' s first revelation through the Archangel Gabriel to Mohammed Part of the night is usually spent in prayer and reading the Qur'an. The end of Ramadan comes when the new moon is sighted (thus the month may last 29 or 30 days) and the Small Festival, prescribed by Mohammed, takes place on lst Shawal. No work is done on this day and prayers are said congregationally at the mosque. Traditional meals of celebration are eaten, presents are given to children, and greetings cards are sent wishing' Eid Mubarak' -Happy Eid. In Muslim countries the holiday lasts for three days, though in the United Kingdom just one day's holiday may be observed. This is the most popularly celebrated Muslim festival.

Mohammed is Given the Holy Qur'an

While he was still a young man, Mohammed's honesty and truthfulness became well known to all in Mecca, including a rich widow who asked Mohammed to look after her business affairs. They got on so well together that soon Mohammed and the widow Khadijah were married. Although they were very rich, they gave away most of their money to the sick and poor and they set free all of Khadijah's slaves.

Mohammed now began to spend more and more time thinking about religion. He would go to a cave in a hillside overlooking the desert. In the darkness of the cave it was cool and quiet, a place where he could sit and think. Mohammed thought about the people of Mecca, worshipping their many different gods, and he began to understand that there is really only one God. Mohammed used the name 'Allah' which is Arabic for 'the God'.

For some years Mohammed meditated in the cave, when one day, during his fortieth year, the angel Gabriel appeared before him. Gabriel called Mohammed the Messenger of God. He then spoke to Mohammed and commanded him to repeat what he had said until he knew it by heart.

The angel vanished and the Prophet rushed home to his wife to tell her what had happened. Khadijah told him that he had received the word of God. Many times after that Mohammed went back to the cave where the Angel Gabriel gave him the messages of God. Mohammed learned what was told him and repeated the words to his wife and to the people of Mecca. This was the beginning of the Muslim holy book. It is known as the Holy Qur'an, a word that means something that has been spoken by heart. In the Qur'an Mohammed repeated the things God said to him through the Angel Gabriel. Mohammed was unable to read or write, and Gabriel ordered him to recite God's messages until he had them by heart. Then the Prophet recited the words of God to friends of his who wrote them down for us.

Muslims believe the Holy Qur'an to be the actual word of God which was first spoken in Arabic and so really cannot be translated into any other language properly. So when you hear the Qur'an read in any language other than Arabic you are only hearing part of the meaning and not all of the true word of God. This is why Muslims always say the Qur'an in Arabic, even though they may not understand the language. Of course, every true Muslim will try to learn Arabic so that he will be able to really understand his holy book and be a better Muslim.

These are the first words revealed to Mohammed by the Angel Gabriel:

Recite,
In the name of the Lord
Who created man from a drop of blood. Recite,
For your Lord is most generous;
He taught man to read and write,
And He taught man what he did not know.
(from Sura 96 of the Qur'an, c.6l0 CE)

And here the Prophet Mohammed describes the Night of Power when the Qur'an was revealed to him.

We have revealed
This message
In the Night of Power ;
And how can you understand
What the Night of Power is ?
The Night of Power
Is better than a thousand months.
Then the Angel Gabriel
Came down
From God
with God's Message.
Peace
Until the rising of the morning.
(From Sura 97 of the Qur'an, c.620 CE)