Ramadan is the most sacred holiday of the Muslim year and is
mandated by the Qur'an (2:183). It occurs in the ninth month of
the Islamic calendar and is the holy month of fasting. Fasting
is considered to be the third pillar or religious obligation of
Islam and provides many benefits including learning self-
control. This results from a lack of preoccupation with
satisfying bodily appetites during the daylight hours. Ramadan
is a time of worship, reading the Qur'an, charitable acts, and
the purification of individual behavior. This is also the time
in which the Qur'an was revealed to Mohammed as guidance for the
people. Ramadan begins when a trusted witness testifies that the
new moon has been sighted. Consequently, the fasting may be
delayed if the moon is not visible. During this period, Muslims
must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn
until dusk each day. Ramadan is a time of atonement somewhat
similar to Yom Kippur and Lent. Ramadan ends with Eid-al-Fitr or
the Festival of Fast-Break