Fasting (Ramadan)

1. Introduction to Fasting / Ramadan
2. Ramadan: Overview
3. Full details of Fasting from Quran: Chapter 2:183-187
4. Ramadan : Reflections on Fasting
5. Religious Duties: A Gift From God: Fasting (Ramadan)
6. Spiritual Benefits of Fasting: Ramadan, A Gift of Rememberance
7. Misunderstandings and Violations in Ramadan
8. The Night of Destiny
9. Medical Benefits of Ramadan
10. Ramadan and Thanksgiving
11. Blessings of Ramadan
12. Night of Destiny
13. Ramadan: The Month the Quran was Revealed
14. Ramadan: Fasting to Enrich our souls
15. Blessed is the Month of Ramadan
16. Other Ramadan Links (including e-cards)

Ramadan 2009

August 21– September 18 (western parts); Ends September 19, in eastern parts

God willing Ramadan begins on August 21, 2009 and ends on September 18, 2009 for America and parts of Europe. However if the new moon is after sunset of September 18 in your country, you should fast on the 19th. The Night of Destiny (Night of Power) will be on September 15, 2009, God willing.

The new moon times to be used for determining the beginning and ending of Ramadan are given below for UT (Universal time) – also called GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

10:02 a.m. on August 20, 2009 (UT/GMT)

6:44 p.m. on September 18, 2009 (UT/GMT)

The information reported is based on data from the U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department.

The actual time for each time zone is relative to UT.

To calculate the Ramadan start date, compare the time of the New Moon with the Sunset in your location. If the new moon is born before sunset, you should fast the next day God willing. *

Similarly to determine the last day of fasting, compare the time of the next New Moon with the sunset in your location. If the new moon is born before sunset, the month of Ramadan is complete on that day.

More details on Ramadan including information about why the calculation is done as above (i.e., the beginning of the day is at sunset) is available in an article on Ramadan. Other Ramadan articles are linked at the top of this page.

Phases of the moon data (including the new moon) for the current year and beyond and up are available at the US Naval Observatory. All times are in UT. To convert to your time zone you can use the Time Zone Converter.

* For the year 2009 or other years and for your specific location you can visit theUSNO Sun/Moon daily data page. Calculate the information for the date you are interested. Compare the time of sunset with the time for the new moon (in local time).