Muslims in Romania - the first day of fasting for the holy month of Ramadan

Members of the Muslim community in Romania will celebrate the first day of the holy month of Ramadan on Friday, April 24, during which month they are forbidden to feed and hydrate themselves from dawn till sunset.

According to a press release sent by the head of the Muslim Cult in Romania, Mufti Muurat Iusuf, considering the coronavirus pandemic, this year's prayers will be said at home.

"The fasting and the daily prayers are followed during nighttime by the Iftar dinner. At the same time, the ritual meal before dawn - Sahur, is served within the family. (...) Given the current context and in order to protect ourselves and the others, this year we are going to pray at home and we are also going to have the Ifrat evening meal with only those members of our family we live with. It won't be easy, but we need to stay away from each other now in order to be able to be together in the future, and much closer!," said Mufti Muurat Iusuf.

According to the same source, in the Muslim religion, the Ramadan month signifies the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Koran to Prophet Muhammad by Archangel Gabriel, which event took place in the holy night of Kadir, the 27th night of the holy month of Ramadan, in the Hira cave in the Nur mountains, near the city of Mecca, in the year 610, revelation that took 23 years to complete.

The Islam says that the fasting in the Ramadan month represents one of the five pillars of the religion, alongside The Profession of Faith - (Shahada), the Daily Prayers (Salat), the Alms-Giving - (Zakat), the Pilgrimage to Mecca - (Hajj) and the annual contributions to the welfare of others (Zakat).

The Islamic Teaching also says that the Muslims need to go through a deep spiritual cycle, different from the daily norms during the rest of the year, for 30 days since the beginning of the Ramadan, which days are spent either meditating or praying for renewal of the body and soul.