Ramadan 2024: The beginning and end of fasting

• The month of Ramadan begins at sunset on Monday, March 11 – First Evening of Ramadan and first Tarawih prayer
• The month of Ramadan begins on Sunday, March 12 – First fasting day
• Last day of the Tarawih Prayer April 8
• Last day of Lent: April 9 – Last fasting day
• Eid al-Fitr – April 10

Ramadan 2024.
According to astronomical calculations, most Muslims around the world will greet the holy month of Ramadan on Sunday, March 12.
In North America, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) said in a statement that “the first day of Ramadan 1443 falls on Monday, March 12, 2024. The first taraweeh prayer will take place on Monday evening, March 11.”
The FCNA generally follows the European Council on Fatwas and Research (ECFR), which states that observation is not a requirement, but simply a means of establishing the beginning of the new month, and this is now achieved by accurate calculations.
“The astronomical new moon will occur on Monday, March 11, 2024, at 6:24 a.m. Universal Time. On that day, everywhere in the Americas the elongation at sunset is at least 8 degrees and the moon is at least 5 degrees above the sun,” FCNA said in a statement.
In the Middle East, Ibrahim al-Jarwan, a member of the Arab Federation of Space and Astronomical Sciences, said Ramadan in 2024 is expected to fall on Monday, March 11, 2024.
“Based on a study conducted by Arabia Weather, astronomical data shows that the central new moon is expected to fall on Monday, March 11, at 3:24 a.m. Meccan time,” Vogue.me reported .
“Since the moon will remain in Mecca’s sky for 15 minutes, the crescent will be about 15 hours old, allowing a full crescent to form by Sunday, March 12, in all Arab countries.”
In Saudi Arabia, Dr. Khaled Alzaaq, head of the Al Zakkah Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory, said that Ramadan will begin on Sunday, March 12.
To find out when Ramadan begins in the regions of Russia, stay tuned to our website for updates.

In the month of Ramadan it is obligatory for all Muslims to observe the requirements of the Qur’an in full compliance with a number of requirements:

• To be of legal age (for men from the moment of the first intercourse and for women from the moment of the first bleeding).
• To be of sound mind (a person must be aware and control his own actions).
  To be physically fit and ready for fasting.

Fasting for Muslims is the renunciation of food and liquids, as well as sexual relations from the time of saying the dawn prayer until nightfall.

The basic tenets of fasting are:

• Niyat to keep the fast.
• Total abstinence during the fast.

Niyat or intention represents the fundamental position of fasting when it begins:

• The intention is in the heart, but one can say it out loud.
• The niyat should be made on the eve of the beginning of the fast (before the morning dawn or at night when it will be full darkness).
• A person needs to realize clearly that he is observing the obligatory fast for the sake of Allah, and not just fasting.

It is possible to take the intention mentally. This may look something like this: “I intend to observe the obligatory fast from the dawn to the fall of night. I do it sincerely and for the sake of Allah.

If you divide each day in the month of Ramadan into two phases, you can get:

• The period of the day or period of abstinence. During this time, it is completely forbidden to eat food, drink liquids, or have sexual intercourse. This period begins at dawn, after the recitation of the Fajr prayer.
• The period of the night. At this time it is permissible to eat, drink liquids and have sexual intercourse. It does not begin at sunset, but at nightfall, which is the time when the night prayer can be recited.
• Remember that it is important to define exactly the beginning and the end of the Muslim day. After all, the beginning of fasting later than when you began to distinguish the white thread of the horizon from the black thread and before the onset of night darkness, can make the fast invalid.

In order to know the exact time of the beginning and the end of the fast, it is better to use your own observations of the sky. In addition, there are areas where there is no sunrise and sunset (for example, beyond the Arctic Circle, when night and day can last for months). Therefore, in such places it is important to use special adjustments to determine the beginning and end of the fast.

If there is no mosque in a particular city and a person cannot find a local schedule for fasting, then to be more certain, it is better to complete suhur no later than an hour and a half before sunrise. The time of sunrise can be found in any tear-off calendar. The following words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), for example, speak of the importance of eating in the morning: “Eat before sunrise [in the days of fasting]! Verily, it is the grace of God (barakyat) that is in the dryer!”.

Also, a trustworthy hadith says: “There are three practices, the application of which will give a person the strength to keep the fast (he will eventually have the strength and energy to keep the fast): to eat and then to drink [i.e. not to drink much during the meal, not to dilute the gastric juice, but to drink after the feeling of thirst appears, 40-60 minutes after the meal], to eat [not only in the evening, when breaking the fast, but also] in the early morning [before the azan for the morning prayer], to sleep in the afternoon (nap) [about 20-40 or more minutes between 13. 00 and 16.00]”. If a person intending to fast does not eat before sunrise, it has no effect on the validity of his fast, but he will lose some of the savab (reward) because he will not perform one of the actions included in the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.

It is advisable to begin the Iftar (evening meal) immediately after sunset. It is not advisable to postpone it until later in the day. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “My Ummah will abide in abundance as long as he does not begin to postpone the ritual at a later time and perform suhur from the night [rather than in the morning, intentionally getting up before the time of the morning prayer]”. It is desirable to begin the fasting with water and an odd number of fresh or dried dates. If there are no dates, then the iftar may begin with something sweet or drink water. According to an authentic hadith, Prophet Muhammad, before performing the evening prayer, began the fasting with fresh or dried dates, and if they were not available, then with plain water.

After the iftar one may, for example, recite one of the following prayers:

Transcription: “Allaahumma lakya sumtu wa ‘alaya rizkikya aftartu wa ‘alaya tawakkultu wa bikya aamant. Ya waaasi’al-fadli gfir liy. Al-hamdu lil-liyahil-lazii e’aanani fa sumtu wa razakani fa aftart”.

اَللَّهُمَّ لَكَ صُمْتُ وَ عَلَى رِزْقِكَ أَفْطَرْتُ وَ عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَ بِكَ آمَنْتُ. يَا وَاسِعَ الْفَضْلِ اغْفِرْ لِي. اَلْحَمْدُ ِللهِ الَّذِي أَعَانَنِي فَصُمْتُ وَ رَزَقَنِي فَأَفْطَرْتُ

Translation: “O Lord, I have fasted for You (for Your contentment with me) and, using Your benefits, I have been wasted. In You I hope and in You I trust. Forgive me, O One whose mercy is infinite. Praise be to the Most High Who helped me fast and fed me when I was fasting” [7];

Transcription: “Allaahumma lakya sumtu wa bikya aamantu wa aleikya tawakkaltu wa ‘ala rizkikya aftartu. Fagfirli yay gaffaru ma kaddamtu wa ma ahkhartu.”

اَللَّهُمَّ لَكَ صُمْتُ وَ بِكَ آمَنْتُ وَ عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَ عَلَى رِزْقِكَ أَفْطَرْتُ. فَاغْفِرْ لِي يَا غَفَّارُ مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَ مَاَ أَخَّرْتُ

Translation: “O Lord, I have fasted for You (for Your contentment with me), believed in You, relied on You, and performed the breaking of the fast using Your gifts. Forgive me for my past and future transgressions, O All-forgiving One!”

At the time of the fast, it is advisable for the believer to make some prayer or request to God, and he may ask the Creator in any language. An authentic hadith speaks of three prayers-du’a (supplications) which the Lord will accept without fail. One of them is the prayer at the breaking of the fast, when one finishes the day of fasting.

Ramadan in New York: Muslims break fast in front of Trump Tower

Muslim and immigrant groups in New York have joined together for evening prayer and Iftar.