Ramadan at Kobe Mosque

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a month of fasting, communal prayer, reflection, study of the Quran, charity and community ties. You will learn how the daily fast, the night prayers, the shared evening meal and giving fit together, and how the whole month opens and closes with the sighting of the crescent moon.

If you spend Ramadan in Kobe or elsewhere in Kansai, it helps to know the general pattern described for Muslims worldwide. The observance is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam and it lasts 29 to 30 days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next. The Islamic calendar is lunar, with 12 lunar cycles, and it runs 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, so Ramadan moves through the seasons. The Islamic day starts after sunset, which is why evening observation matters.

What makes the ninth month different?

The name itself carries an old image of heat. The word Ramadan derives from Arabic ramadan, from a root linked to scorching heat and to a verb meaning to become intensely hot or glowing. Other spellings you may meet include Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan and Ramathan, with Ramazan or Ramzan used in countries with historical Persian influence such as Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, India, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some reports say only the phrase "month of Ramadan" should be used, while others call that report fabricated and inauthentic.

Belief gives the month its weight. Muslims hold that the Quran was revealed in Ramadan as guidance with clear proofs and a standard to distinguish right from wrong, and that Muhammad received his first Quranic revelation on Laylat al-Qadr. The same tradition holds that earlier scriptures, including the scrolls of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel, were handed down in that month. Muslims were first commanded to fast in the second year of Hijra, dated to 624 in the common era, while pointing to Quran 2:183 to say that fasting had already been prescribed to earlier biblical communities and was needed to attain taqwa.

Why do you fast from dawn to sunset?

Fasting from dawn to sunset, called sawm, is obligatory for all Muslims who have reached puberty, except those who are acutely or chronically ill, traveling, elderly, breastfeeding, pregnant or menstruating. Those unable to fast are obligated to make up the missed days later. The spiritual rewards of fasting, called thawab, are believed to be multiplied during Ramadan. During the hours of fasting you refrain not only from food and drink but also from sexual relations and from sinful speech and behavior, with the aim of redirecting the heart away from worldly activities, practicing self-discipline and self-control, and feeling empathy for those who are less fortunate.

This is also why guidance for visitors often starts with simple respect for the fast. If you visit a prayer hall during the day, dress and manners expected inside a mosque help you stay discreet around people who are not eating or drinking until sunset. Most Muslims fast 11 to 16 hours, but length varies by place and season. The cited page notes almost 22 hours in Reykjavik, Iceland and Trondheim, Norway in 2014, and about 11 hours in Sydney, Australia. In areas of continuous night or day, some follow Mecca time and others follow the nearest city where night can be distinguished from day.

What do suhur and iftar look like in practice?

Each fasting day has two named meals. Before dawn you eat suhur, then stop a short time before dawn for fajr, the first prayer of the day. At sunset families break the fast with iftar, traditionally opening with dates to commemorate the practice of breaking the fast with three dates, then pausing for Maghrib, the fourth of the five required daily prayers, before the main meal. Water is usually the drink of choice, with juice, milk, soft drinks and caffeinated drinks also common.

Iftar is often social. Buffet-style gatherings are frequent, traditional dishes and desserts appear, and over time the practice has grown in some places into banquets for hundreds or even thousands of diners. The page notes up to 30,000 people fed every night at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. In the Middle East, the iftar described includes water, juices, dates, salads and appetizers, one or more main dishes such as lamb stewed with wheat berries, lamb kebabs with grilled vegetables or roasted chicken with chickpea-studded rice pilaf, plus desserts such as lokma, baklava or knafeh. In mosques you may also hear a large drum, called a bedug in Indonesia, used to announce the evening meal.

How do tarawih and nightly worship fill the evenings?

After iftar, the mosque fills again. Tarawih are extra nightly prayers performed during Ramadan, and contrary to popular belief they are not compulsory. They sit alongside the five daily prayers and, for some, late-night tahajjud, as part of heightened devotion. A hadith quoted on the subject says that when Ramadan arrives the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of hell are locked and devils are put in chains, which is why many Muslims devote more time to prayer and try to improve self-discipline. You can read a clear account of the month as the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and follow its sections on fasting, charity and prayer for fuller detail.

For you as a visitor, the practical point is rhythm. Evenings move in stages from sunset meal to prayer to conversation, and late nights may run toward suhur again. Broadcast habits in some Arab countries even shift prime time to match iftar and extend into the late-night hours toward suhur. If you plan to attend, arrive before Maghrib, keep your phone silent, leave space for worshippers, and let the congregation set the pace.

Where do Quran reading and Laylat al-Qadr fit in?

Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement and heightened worship, with more effort put into following the teachings of Islam. Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Quran, which comprises thirty juz, or sections, over the thirty days of the month. Study circles, recitation after prayers and quiet reading at home all belong to the same effort. Charity and prayer support it, but recitation gives each night a clear focus.

Inside the last ten days comes Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, described as the holiest night of the year, when Muslims believe the Quran was first sent down and Muhammad received his first revelation. It is generally believed to have occurred on an odd-numbered night during the last ten days. The Dawoodi Bohra believe it was the 23rd night of Ramadan. Many Muslims therefore seek those odd nights with extra prayer and supplication, and in Shia Islam the 19th and 21st days also carry mourning and prayer linked to the striking of Ali during morning prayer on the 19th and his death on the 21st.

How does charity shape the month?

Zakat, often translated as the poor rate, is the fixed percentage of income a believer is required to give to the poor, and the practice is obligatory as one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims believe good deeds are rewarded more handsomely during Ramadan than at any other time, so many donate more, or all, of their yearly zakat during this month. Sadaqah, voluntary giving, food sharing for those in need, volunteer help and large iftar gatherings organized by mosques extend the same idea into daily contact.

Figures cited for recent years show how widely this is felt. A 2012 Pew Research Centre study found a median of 93 percent Ramadan observance across 39 countries and territories, with high proportions in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and lower proportions in parts of Central Asia and Southeast Europe. A 2023 global report cited 97 percent of Muslims expected to fast, with 97 percent agreeing Ramadan was a period for generosity, 73 percent having donated money during Ramadan or Eid the previous year, and 70 percent intending to increase worship and charity. Customs vary, from fanous lights strung across streets, a tradition linked to the Fatimid Caliphate, to the mesaharati drummer in the Middle East and the kentongan slit drum in Southeast Asia to wake people for suhur.

When does Ramadan close and Eid begin?

Ramadan ends with the next crescent. The holiday of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal, the next lunar month, declared after a crescent new moon has been sighted or after 30 days of fasting if no sighting is possible. Eid celebrates the return to a more natural disposition, called fitra, of eating, drinking and marital intimacy. Because the new moon is not in the same state at the same time globally, beginnings and endings can vary by country, usually by only a day.

Estimated dates based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia are listed as 11 March 2024 to 9 April 2024, 1 March 2025 to 29 March 2025, 18 February 2026 to 19 March 2026, 8 February 2027 to 8 March 2027, and 28 January 2028 to 25 February 2028. Many Muslims insist on local physical sighting of the moon, while others use the calculated time of the new moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration. The Wikipedia page does not publish prayer times for Kobe. To connect the end of the fast with local life, look up Eid prayers and family gatherings in Kobe, confirm the moon announcement followed near you, and plan to arrive early for prayer and the shared meal that follows.