This article forms part of the series Islam

Vocabulary of Islam

Five Pillars

Profession of faith

Prayer · Alms · Fasting

Pilgrimage to Mecca

People

Muhammad

Prophets of Islam

Caliphs · Shia Imams

Companions of Muhammad

Holy Cities

Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem

Najaf · Karbala · Kufa

Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra

Events

Hijra · Islamic calendar · Eid ul-Fitr

Eid ul-Adha · Aashura · Arba'in

Buildings

Mosque · Minaret · Mihrab · Kaaba

Islamic architecture

Functional Religious Roles

Muezzin · Imam · Mullah

Ayatollah · Mufti

Interpretive Texts & Practices

Qur'an · Hadith · Sunnah

Fiqh · Fatwa · Sharia

Sects

Sunni: Hanafi · Hanbali · Maliki · Shafi'i

Shi'a: Ithna Asharia · Ismailiyah · Zaiddiyah

Others: Ibadi · Kharijite · Murjite · Mu'tazili

Movements

Sufism · Wahhabism · Salafism

Non-Mainstream Sects / Movements

Ahmadiyyah · Nation of Islam

Zikri · Druze

Related Faiths

Babism · Bahá'í Faith · Yazidi

Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. Siyam or Saum ("fasting" in English) is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam and involves fasting during Ramadan.

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Because the Islamic calendar has no correction for the fact that the lunar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons.

• 2004 – First day: October 15, 2004; last day: November 13, 2004
• 2005 – First day: October 4, 2005; last day: November 2, 2005
• 2006 – First day: September 23, 2006; last day October 22, 2006

What is prohibited?

The prohibitions only extend during daylight hours. Traditionally this begins at dawn from the moment a white line can be seen at the horizon and ends at sunset, when the sun's disk sinks below the local horizon. These times are known as Fajr and Maghrib, respectively.

The Siyam are intended to teach the believers patience and self-control, and to remind them of the less fortunate in the world. The fast is also seen as a debt owed by the believer to God. Faithful observance of the Siyam is believed to atone for personal faults and misdeeds, at least in part, and to help earn a place in paradise. It is also believed to be beneficial for personal conduct, that is, to help control passions and temper. The fast is also meant to provide time for meditation and to strengthen one's faith.

Fasting in other religions

The Christian Lent and the Jewish Yom Kippur are also times of fasting. These relate to that be mentioned in Quran 2:183, ".. Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you..", fasting is prescribed to Muslims as it was prescribed to those before you, e.g. Christian and Jewish, although the fasting's practice of each religion might be different one another.