Fasting (Ramadan)

1. Introduction to Fasting / Ramadan
2. Full details of Fasting from Quran: Chapter 2:183-187
3. Religious Duties: A Gift From God: Fasting (Ramadan)
4. Spiritual Benefits of Fasting: Ramadan, A Gift of Rememberance
5. Misunderstandings and Violations in Ramadan
6. The Night of Destiny
7. Medical Benefits of Ramadan
8. Ramadan and Thanksgiving

Ramadan This Year: August 11 - September 8 (most places)

God willing this year Ramadan begins on August 11, 2010 and ends on September 8, 2010 for America and parts of Europe.
To be sure, you may wish to check the new moon timings and compare them to the sunset times at your location. For example, if the new moon is before sunset of August 9 at your location, you would fast on the 10th (as is the case for some places in the far Western & Northwestern regions of North America).
Similarly, please check the sunset time at your location and compare it with the new moon time. For example, the last day of fasting is, God willing, September 9 for Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, etc. as the new moon will likely be after sunset in these locations.
The Night of Destiny (Night of Power) will be on September 5th 2010, God willing.

The new moon times to be used for determining the beginning and ending of Ramadan are given below for UT (Universal time) – also called GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

To calculate the Ramadan start date - compare the time of the New Moon with the Sunset in your location. If the new moon is born before sunset, you should fast the next day God willing. Similarly to determine the last day of fasting - compare the time of the next New Moon with the sunset in your location. If the new moon is born before sunset, the month of Ramadan is complete on that day.

Phases of the moon data (including the new moon) for 2010 (and beyond) are available at the US Naval Observatory. All times are in UTC (also known as GMT). To convert to your time zone you can use the Time Zone Converter.

* For the year 2010 and your specific location you can visit the USNO Sun/Moon daily data page. Calculate the information for the date you are interested. Compare the time of sunset with the time for the new moon (in local time).