Ramadan guide — fasting, prayers, and Laylatul Qadr

The Quran says: 'Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa' (2:183). *Taqwa* is hard to translate — God-consciousness, mindfulness of Allah, an inner alarm that fires before bad action. Hunger and thirst train the will. They remind you that you can hold a desire and not act on it. They reset the relationship with food, with time, with comfort.

It's also a community ritual. Across the world, Muslims break fast at the same moment in their local time. Iftar tables, taraweeh nights, the late-night reading of the Quran — Ramadan is when the global ummah feels most like one body.

Suhoor — eat before Fajr (the dawn prayer). Even just a date and water with the intention of fasting. Don't skip it; the Prophet ﷺ said there is *barakah* (blessing) in suhoor.

Fajr to Maghrib — no food, no drink, no smoking, no sexual relations. Continue your day. Pray your five prayers. Try to read more Quran. Be kinder than usual — the Prophet ﷺ said if someone insults you, just say 'I am fasting'.

Iftar — break fast at Maghrib, the moment the sun sets. The Sunnah is to break the fast with dates and water. Then pray Maghrib. Then eat properly.

Taraweeh — extra night prayers that follow Isha during Ramadan, usually 8 or 20 rakahs. Many mosques have full Quran recitation across the month — by the 29th of Ramadan, the whole Quran has been heard from cover to cover.

Suhoor — and the cycle repeats.

Must fast: healthy adult Muslims who are not travelling, not menstruating, not seriously ill.

Exempt: children before puberty, the chronically ill, pregnant or nursing women whose health would be affected, the elderly or terminally ill (they pay *fidyah* — feeding a poor person for each missed day), women on their period (they make up the days later), travellers (they make up the days later).

If you're unsure (medication, mental health, work conditions), speak with a doctor and a qualified imam. Islam is not a religion of self-harm — it has accommodations for most situations.

The Quran calls it 'better than a thousand months' (97:3). It is the night the first revelation was sent down. It falls in one of the odd-numbered nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan — most likely the 27th, but not certain. The classical practice is to seek it across all the odd nights — 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th — by staying up in prayer, reciting Quran, making dua.

The Prophet ﷺ taught a specific dua to recite on Laylatul Qadr:

> Allahumma innaka 'Afuwwun, tuhibbul-'afwa, fa'fu 'anni.

'O Allah, You are the Pardoner, You love to pardon, so pardon me.'

If this is your first year fasting, don't aim for everything. Aim for:

1. The fast itself — get through each day. Eat well at suhoor and iftar. Drink lots of water between Maghrib and Fajr. 2. Pray your five — even if shorter than usual. 3. Read what you can of the Quran — even just one juz' across the month, that's roughly one page a day. Open the Quran. 4. Give some sadaqah — even £5 a week. Charity in Ramadan multiplies. 5. Avoid public sin — gossip, rage, arguing in traffic. The fast is broken by these things spiritually even if not technically.

Don't compare yourself to people who've done this for decades. Their Ramadan rhythm took years to build. Yours will too. Just start.