Reference: 1. The Big Picture: News Stories in Photographs (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/) 2. Ramadan, The Blessed Month of Fasting

1. Ramadan: Month of Fasting
‫ﺭﻣﺿﺎﻥ : ﺷﻬﺭ ﺍﻟﺻﻳﺎﻡ‬
ラマダン：断食月
Nur Ahmadi
Tokyo Institute of Technology

2. Outline
• Introduction
• Term & Activity
• Across the World
• Summary

3. What?
• Ramadan is an Arabic word; its root “Ar-Ramad” means “dryness/heat”
• Ninth month of the Hijri calendar (Lunar calendar)
• Fasting means abstinence

4. Who?
• Every adult Muslim is obliged to fast during Ramadan
• But, there are people who are exempted from fasting:
• Minor
• Aged*
• Sick**
• Traveler**
• Pregnant Women**
• Suckling Women**
• Menstruating Women**
• Mentally Retarded
* Should donate a meal to the needy
** Should fast an equivalent number of days afterwards

5. When?
• Islamic Calendar or the Hijri Calendar is based on the lunar year.
• Ramadan – sacred month in the Islamic calendar
• The Lunar calendar is 11-12 shorter than Gregorian calendar, therefore, Ramadan is
11-12 days earlier every year
• The start of Ramadan is decided by Hisab (calculation) & Ru’yat (observation)
Muharram Safar Rabi al Awwal
Rabi at Thani Jumadi al Awwal Jumadi at Thani
Rajab Shaban Ramadan
Shawwal Dhu al Qaidah Dhu al Hijjah

6. Where?
• Muslim population in 2012: 2.1 billion (mostly in South & South East Asia)
• Indonesia is the largest Muslim country (12.7% of world’s Muslims)
• The duration for fasting in a day could be different among Muslim countries

7. Why?
• The goal of fasting is to develop self-restraint.
• Developing ethics through fasting: Social responsibility and Individual morality
• Fasting is good for health

8. How?
• Stop eating, drinking, sexual activity from dawn until dusk

9. Term & Activity
• Iftar
• Sahoor
• Taraweeh
• Zakah
• Qiraat
• Celebration

10. Across the World
Casey Station, Antartica Perth, West Australia
6:30 - 15:48 (9 hours 18 minutes) 5:42 - 17:41 (11 hours 59 minutes)
Jakarta, Indonesia Mecca, Saudi Arabia
4:52 - 17:55 (13 hours 3 minutes) 4:31 - 19:01 (14 hours 30 minutes)

11. Across the World
Tokyo, Japan New York, United States
3:11 - 18:47 (15 hours 36 minutes) 4:25 - 20:12 (15 hours 47 minutes)
London, England Provideniya, Russia
2:45 - 20:50 (18 hours 5 minutes) 1:46 - 21:43 (19 hours 57 minutes)

12. Across the World
Muslims shop for Iftar, the sunset dinner that breaks the fast at Chalk Bazaar, the
traditional Iftar market in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP
Photo/Pavel Rahman)

13. Across the World
Muslim community break their Ramadan fast in School of Indonesian Republic in
Tokyo (left) and Tokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama Campus (right)

14. Across the World
A boy sells dates in Amman, Jordan on Saturday August 22 2009. (AP
Photo/Mohammad abu Ghosh)

15. Across the World
The Al-Zaim family of Duxbury, Massachusetts sits, gathered together for their
dinner after 7pm on September 14th, 2008, to break their Ramadan Fast. (Justine
Hunt/Globe Staff Photo)

16. Summary
• Ramadan is a month of fasting, used to
discipline/prepare Muslim to be self-restraint
• Fasting is stop from eating, drinking, and
sexual activity
• The duration for fasting in a day could be
different in many countries
• The type of activities during Ramadan are
similiar across the world, but it could be
different in the way they do.

17. Thank You
ありがとう
‫ﺷﻜﺮا‬