Ramadan

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.

Bouncing babies in India-Horrific Ritual!!!!

Check the Video
Local officials in western India have come under fire from child rights experts over a 700-year-old ritual that sees infants dropped from the roof of a mosque.


Resident in the region believe the fall – which ends when the babies are caught in a bedsheet – will ensure good health and prosperity for their families.

Each year hundreds of people, both Hindus and Muslims, take part in the ritual at the Baba Umer Durga, a Muslim shrine in Sholapur, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Mumbai.

This year though, India’s National Commission for Protection of Child’s Rights took umbrage with the tradition and issued a notice to the local administration and are investigating the ceremony.

Local reports say hundreds of infants, mostly under two years old, were dangled from the roof of the shrine, before being dropped about 50 feet (15 meters) onto a bedsheet held aloft by parents and other believers.

High child mortality rates, especially in India’s rural areas, see many people resort to rituals which they believe will ensure their children’s health.

Despite there being no reports of injuries, child rights activists expressed outrage claiming the event showed, “a complete failure of the local administration to prevent this practice and to create awareness about children’s health”.

This article was provided from The Indian News at  http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/sholapur-officials-under-fire-for-baby-dropping-ritual_100227178.html