The Bawku Chief Imam has confirmed that the moon has been sighted in the Upper East regional capital hence the need to start this year’s Ramadan fasting on Thursday, March 23, 2023.[ads2]
With this, the national Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu has called on all Muslims to fully participate in the 30-day obligatory fast.
“By the report we received from Bawku and the source coming from the Bawku Chief Imam, the moon has been sighted in Bawku,” Chief Imam’s Spokesperson Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu said on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts either 29 or 30 days, depending on when the new crescent moon is, or should be, visible.
The Arabic term Ramadan connotes intense heat. It seems that in pre-Islamic Arabia, Ramadan was the name of a scorching hot summer month. In the Islamic calendar, however, the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year.[ads3]
This year Ramadan will begin at sunset on March 23, give or take a day depending on when the new moon is sighted. An Islamic year is roughly 11 days shorter than a Gregorian year.
The Ramadan is a period of fasting and spiritual growth and is one of the five “pillars of Islam” – the others being the declaration of faith, daily prayer, alms-giving and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Able-bodied Muslims are expected to abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from dawn to sunset each day of the month.[ads4]
Many practicing Muslims also perform additional prayers, especially at night, and attempt to recite the entire Quran.
The prevailing belief among Muslims is that it was in the final 10 nights of Ramadan that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
The Ramadan will be crowned with Eid al-Fitr on Saturday, April 22, 2023.[ads5]
