Holy Ramadan begins tomorrow

The holy month of Ramadan will begin in the country tomorrow (Saturday) as the new moon was sighted in the sky of Bangladesh this evening.

Bangladesh's highest government body to monitor religious issues, the Islamic Foundation (IF), took the decision at a meeting at its conference room at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on Friday evening.

Religious Affairs Secretary Md Nurul Islam presided over the meeting while high officials of IF were also present.

As per the decision, the holy Shab-e-Qadr or Lailatul Qadr, the night when the first verses of the holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and has been declared by Allah as better than thousand months, will be observed at the night of May 20 (Wednesday night).

Muslims are meant to fast from dawn to dusk during the lunar month, a time of restraint and austerity. Ramadan, also known as Ramzan, is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar.

It is a time when Muslims around the world focus on prayers, fasting, giving to charity and religious devotion.

Fasting not only entails the elimination of food during the hours of sunlight, but also drinking (all beverages, including water), smoking, sex and “impure thoughts”, which can include violence, sexual thoughts and curse words.

Kamruzzaman