Arshad Daud, Assistant Secretary of the Balham Mosque and Tooting Islamic Centre, tells us all how Sunni Muslims will be celebrating Ramadan in Tooting.

Ramadan, being the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, is upon us once again and Muslims across the world expect to commence a month of fasting tonight (subject to sighting the new moon).

The calendar is based on lunar cycles – each of the 12 months can be either 29 or 30 days long, hence why there is a slight uncertainty of precisely when the 1st day of any one of the 12 months would fall.

Nonetheless, Ramadan is one of the most enriching months in the calendar and for Muslims, abstaining from food and drink between the hours of sunrise and sunset gives the opportunity to focus and devote themselves wholly to their faith. Abstinence during Ramadan isn’t just restricted to food and water, though. It extends to refraining from sexual activity, smoking, and even to jealousy, anger or other negative thoughts. Muslims believe that following these practices during Ramadan will lead to self-purification, self-control and ultimately bring them closer to Allah (God).

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, and this is the month where spiritual reflection, congregational prayers and donating to charitable causes for the needy reach a peak. It is also a time to intensify reading and learning the Quran, since this is the month when God revealed the first chapters of the Quran, Islam’s sacred text, to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Muslims also believe that during this month, the gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell are closed.

During this holy month, you will see an increase in the number of worshippers attending mosques during each of the five prayer times to join congregational prayers, which includes the desire to complete the recitation of the Quran from start to finish over the next few weeks, as part of a congregation every night during the final prayer of the day.

The Quran is made up of 114 chapters of varying lengths and there are a total of 6,236 verses. Each night the congregation is led by an Imam who will recite up to one and a half chapters, to ensure that the completion of the Quran recitation occurs on or around one of the last 10 nights – which are deemed to be the most virtuous nights of the month of Ramadan – but mostly on or around the 27th night of Ramadan.
 

Does everyone need to fast?

Not everyone must fast. Islam prescribes that all able-bodied Muslims should fast during Ramadan but exempts young children, expecting and breast-feeding mothers, women who are menstruating, the elderly, and those with health conditions, as well as those who have the need to travel long distances.
 

During what times will Muslims fast in Tooting & Balham?

Balham Mosque & Tooting Islamic Centre have issued a timetable that is followed by a large number of Muslims in and around our two centres.

During the course of the month of Ramadan the time of commencing and concluding the fast will change based on the time of dawn and dusk. You can get more familiar with the timings by visiting the Balham Mosque & Tooting Islamic Centre website.
 

What does a typical day look like during Ramadan?

During Ramadan, Muslims wake up (if they’re not already awake given British Summer Time!) well before dawn to eat the first meal of the day (referred to as “Suhoor”), which has to last until sunset. This means eating lots of high-protein foods and drinking as much water as possible right up until dawn, after which nothing can be consumed. At dawn, we perform the morning prayer. Since it's usually still pretty early, many go back to sleep for a bit before waking up again to get ready for the day. Remember that dawn currently starts at 3am and by the end of Ramadan, it will be around 2:30am.

Muslims are not supposed to avoid work or school or any other normal duties during the day due to fasting. In many Muslim countries however, businesses and schools may reduce their hours during the day or close entirely. For the most part, though, Muslims will go about their daily business as usual, despite not being able to eat or drink anything the whole day.

Then they will perform the midday and late afternoon prayers, before they are able to conclude their fast at sunset. Breaking the fast is called “Iftar”, which literally translates to “breakfast” before performing the evening prayer. Iftar is a light meal which would usually consist of dates and water. After the prayer, many will have a larger meal, consisting of pretty much anything that an individual may desire, that may often be shared with family and friends, before heading off to the Mosque for the final prayer of the night.
 

Anything else?

You can exchange Ramadan greetings by saying “Ramadan Kareem,” which translates into “Have a generous Ramadan,” or “Ramadan Mubarak,” which roughly translates into “Happy Ramadan.”

This year, due to the ongoing refurbishment work at Tooting Islamic Centre, we are still working on the feasibility of whether we are able to invite our local community to break fast with us, as we have done in previous years. We’ll keep you posted and look forward to seeing you very soon. In the meantime, let us know if you have any questions about Ramadan or anything more general by contacting us via our website.