The meal before fasting is called Suhur or Sehri and one must finish and make the intention above before the start of Fajr which would be at dawn. The meal to break fast is called Iftar where one makes the dua above and breaks the fast after the sun has set at the time of Maghrib. So in the month of Ramadan, a person fasts from dawn to sunset or Fajr ot Magrib prayer. Suhur or Sehri means meal before dawn and Iftar means meal to break fasting.

You must fast during the entire 9th islamic month of Ramadan. This is the month that the Quran was first revealed to prophet Muhammad (SAW) on the day of Lailat Al-Qadr or the night of decree / power. Lailat Al-Qadr is widely accepted to occur on the 27th day of Ramadan but the prophet (SAW) did not himself specify on what day but instead said it is on an odd number day in the last 10 day of Ramadan. See the seperate Lailat Al-Qadr section to learn more.

In the month of Ramadan there is also a special prayer performed at the time of I’sha prayer called Taraweeh. See the separate Taraweeh section to learn more. In addition, the Ramadan month is concluded by Eid Al-Fitr which also has its own section.

Lastly, the month of Ramadan is referred to as Ramadan Mubarak meaning blessed Ramadan or Ramadan Kareem meaning generous Ramadan. It is highly recommended to complete reciting the Quran from cover to cover in the month of Ramadan. At the very least, one should frequently and regularly be reciting the Quran during this month.