Today is Ramadan. Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic Calendar -traditionally begins and ends based on the sighting of the first crescent of the new moon.
The month of Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Qur'an (divine scripture & Islam's holy book).
During the month, Muslims fast from pre-dawn until sunset, foregoing eating and drinking and avoiding all wrongdoing.
The purpose of the fast is to grow in God-consciousness and moral excellence. In commemoration of the Qur'an's revelation, many Muslims gather at their mosque to hold special prayers in which the entire Qur'an is recited by month's end.
Why this Month is important ?
Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. Around 610 A.D., a caravan trader named Muhammad took to wandering the desert near Mecca (in today's Saudi Arabia) while thinking about his faith.
One night a voice called to him from the night sky. It was the angel Gabriel, who told Muhammad he had been chosen to receive the word of Allah. In the days that followed, Muhammad found himself speaking the verses that would be transcribed as the Qur'an.
