Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, May 16: Ramadan, the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar, will begin in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts from Thursday, May 17.

The crescent moon was not sighted on Tuesday May 15, hence it was decided to commence the fasting from Thursday, as Wednesday May 16 was the 30th day of Shaaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

Special night prayers called Taraveeh are offered in mosques during Ramadan.

In UAE and Saudi Arabia too, the Ramadan will begin on May 17. Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan also declared May 17 as the first day of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, Muslims eat Sehri, which is an Islamic term refering to the meal consumed early in the morning before fasting, and break their fast at Iftar, the evening meal consumed to break the fast at sunset.

Fasting or Roza in the holiest month of Islamic lunar calendar is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims skip food and water from dawn (Fajr) to dusk (Maghrib) during this month. Ramadan is not about fasting that includes abstaining from food or drink, the real purpose is to attain purity and piousness in order to be closer to Allah.

Ramadan begins around 11 days earlier each year. Its start is calculated based on the sightings of the new moon, which marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar month that varies between 29 to 30 days. Ramadan culminates with the celebration of Id-ul-Fitr festival.