About Ramadan
Ramadan (رَمَضَان) is the ninth month of the Hijri calendar. Its name means “Scorching heat.” The ninth month, the month of fasting from dawn to sunset. Laylat al-Qadr is sought in its last ten nights.
Like every Hijri month it has 29 or 30 days, determined in the Umm al-Qura calendar by the official tables and in the tabular calendar by a fixed arithmetic rule. Because the lunar month depends on the sighting of the new crescent, the exact first day can differ by a day from the calculated date. Our guide on Umm al-Qura, tabular and moon-sighting calendars sets out how far apart the three methods actually land.
Dates in Ramadan
- First day of Ramadan - 1 Ramadan. The start of the month of fasting from dawn to sunset.
- Laylat al-Qadr (27 Ramadan) - 27 Ramadan. The Night of Decree is sought across the last ten nights of Ramadan; 27 Ramadan is the night most commonly associated with it.