RAMADAN. Ramadan began on April 2, 2022 this year in France. From rules to dates and times, here are answers to key questions about the month of fasting in France…
The essential
- The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan 2022 started on Saturday April 2 for 4 to 5 million Muslims in France.
- According to astronomical calculations based on the Islamic lunar calendar, the month of Ramadan 1443 should last until Monday May 2.
- A night of doubt at the end of Ramadan, scheduled for May 1, should make it possible to officially set the end date of the month of fasting.
- Here are the answers to some key questions about Ramadan.
Questions answers
Ramadan fasting 2022: what is siwak?
Brushing your teeth during Ramadan is a unique exercise… The siwak should, for this reason, be used by a large number of Muslim believers. It is an Islamic tool traditionally used to successfully brush your teeth without the risk of swallowing water, during the month of holy fasting. The famous tool comes in the form of a “small chewing stick” which serves both as a toothbrush and toothpaste.
What is the date of Ramadan?
Ramadan is actually the name of the ninth month of the year in the Hijri calendar, a month of fasting in the Muslim tradition. And as for each month of this lunar calendar, it begins precisely when the first crescent of the new moon is visible in the sky. According to the Koran, on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim who observes it must perform a great ablution – that is to say, carry out a purification with pure water – and formulate his intention to fast every day. of the holy month. In other words, refrain from eating, drinking, having sex or smoking, from dawn until sunset.
Can processed foods be eaten for breaking the fast in the evening?
If nothing prohibits it, food specialists still tend to advise the opposite. Like Dr. Moulai Masdoua Naima, nutritionist doctor interviewed by TSA Algeria: it is recommended to “Avoid fried foods as well as sweets, especially in the evening (…)” he underlines. “It is important to take advantage of the month of Ramadan to put your digestive tract to rest, by moving away from bad habits and all processed foods that are harmful to your health”.
What is “Imsak”?
“Imsak” can literally be translated as “to abstain”. This term designates the period during which the believer prepares for the fast, before the “suhûr” (dawn meal). The imsak actually consists of a kind of safety margin: during the few minutes that it lasts, you can still eat and drink… before stopping for the whole day.
Fasting month of Ramadan: what does “Tarawih” mean?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are encouraged to read the Quran in its entirety. An additional session of common prayers (Tarawih) is therefore set up. It takes place in the evening, in mosques and only at this time of year.
Is Ramadan a holy month for believers?
The month of Ramadan, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, is not a holy month for Muslims. The period is blessed for believers, but four other months are said to be “sacred”: Muharram (1st), Rajab (7th), Dhul-Qidah (11th) and Dhul-Hijjah (12th). Thus, during these months, observing good behavior is even more important for practitioners. During the month of Muharram, Muslims commemorate the Hegira; Rajab celebrates the night journey of Mohammed from Mecca to Jerusalem; during Dhul-Qidah fighting is forbidden; and during Dhul-Hijjah takes place the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ramadan 2022: is sexual relations prohibited for the whole month?
The answer is no: if they are prohibited throughout the day of fasting, it is possible for Ramadan practitioners to have sexual relations from the moment the said fast is broken, that is after sunset.
Does fasting in Ramadan rhyme with weight loss?
Unfortunately for those who thought they would lose weight before summer, it is generally accepted that the month of Ramadan is a period during which practitioners gain a few pounds. The daily diet is often accompanied by a decrease in activity. Coupled with often copious meals in the evening and at night, just before sleeping, Ramadan is therefore not conducive to weight loss.
How do Muslims do in countries where the sun hardly sets to celebrate Ramadan?
The question may seem trivial, but it is not so much: in some countries, for a whole part of the year, the sun almost stops setting. This is the case in a Nordic country like Finland, where the sun sets approximately one hour per 24-hour cycle at certain times of the year. According to the texts, reports Cnews.fr, “one who lives in a country where the sun does not set in summer and does not rise in winter or lives in a country where the day lasts six months and the night as long, there must perform five prayers every twenty-four hours. They must establish the times of the prayers approximately on the basis of the situation of the nearest country where it is possible to distinguish the times of the prescribed prayers”.
Learn more
The start of Ramadan 2022 (1443) has therefore been set for Saturday, April 2, 2022 in France. The Grand Mosque of Paris announced it on April 1 in a press release. According to a March 13 press release relayed by the group franceinfo, the CFCM (French Council of Muslim Worship), representative body of Islam in France, had previously announced the astronomical date of the beginning of the month of Ramadan in these terms: “In accordance with scientific data, the conjunction of the new moon of Ramadan 1443H will take place on April 1, 2022 at 06:24 hours (UTC). The visibility of the moon will be possible on the same day on the American continent and part of the African continent,” said the office of the instance. As a result, “Saturday April 2, 2022 is the first day of Ramadan in the year 1443H”.
The Paris Mosque approved the astronomical date of Ramadan 2022 (1443) in France, after the lunar observation during the Night of Doubt. You should know that two methods coexist in France to determine the start of the month of Ramadan: traditional lunar observation and astronomical calculations. In its press release of March 15 entitled “Announcement of the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan”, the Coordination of National Muslim Federations (FFAICA, GMP, MF and RMF) meeting at the Great Mosque of Paris, that these two methods are “complementary”. It specified on this point that during the “Night of Doubt”, the “Theological Commission of the Coordination (…) will take into consideration the results of the work on the adoption of scientific calculation and universal astronomical data for the determination of the beginning and end of the blessed month of Ramadan”.
During the month of fasting, Muslims honor five prayers a day: Fejr, Dhuhr, Asser, Maghreb and Icha. The Ramadan calendar allows you to know the times of the prayers in question.
Regarding the representation of Muslims in France, an important change took place in March 2021, with the split between the French Council for Muslim Worship, the institution representing the Muslim faith in France and four of its former Muslim federations (the famous FFAIACA, GMP, MF and RMF). Since that thunderclap in the sky of Islam in France, the CFCM is once again relying on scientific data to formalize the dates of Ramadan, several weeks in advance. It is also the modus operandi followed by the Muslim Theological Council of France (CTMF, a body of imams particularly close to the Muslim Brotherhood, but who do not replace the representative bodies).
Another recent twist, the four dissident federations of the CFCM established their “National Council of Imams” at the end of November 2021. The Elysée had made this request to the CFCM in the fall of 2020, as part of the fight against Islam radical and “separatism”. The four federations which have taken their independence therefore wish to “label” the imams practicing in France by themselves, a role which the CFCM is already contesting as related 20 minutes.