Observing RamadanPresented by Nubia

Observing Ramadan

In Muslim nations and regions around the globe, this will be soon the first week of the holy month of Ramadan, a time for followers to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity during the day, breaking their fast each sunset, with traditional meals and sweets.

During this time, Muslims are also encouraged to read the entire Quran, to give freely to those in need, and strengthen their ties to God through prayer.

The goal of the fast is to teach humility, patience and sacrifice, and to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future.

Symbolizing the faith of Islam, the crescent moon is seen at sunset on top of the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

An officer of Brunei's Islamic authority looks through a telescope as he performs "rukyah", the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan, over the skies of Bukit Agok outside Bandar Seri Begawan August 31, 2008. Muslims scan the sky at dusk at the end of their lunar calendar's eighth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the beginning of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Ahim Rani)

A Palestinian man reads from the Koran, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

Indonesian men attend Friday prayer at Istiqlal mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)

Jordanian Muslim girls queue in line outside a humanitarian center for waiting for meals to be donated at the time for the breaking of their fast, or Iftar, on the 13th day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008.

A Palestinian woman is seen on her way to pray for the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Palestinian women lead young girls through the Kalandia checkpoint, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, to cross to Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosques compound on September 19, 2008. Thousands of Muslim faithful have been crossing every week from the West bank to attend Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest shrine, since the start of the holy month of Ramadan three weeks ago.

This picture taken September 5, 2008 shows a stall worker preparing roasted chicken wings to be sold at a Ramadan bazaar in downtown Kuala Lumpur for the breaking of their fast. In Muslim households across Asia, the inflation crisis is casting a shadow over the holy month of Ramadan, and making the nightly ritual of breaking the fast a more meagre affair. From Afghanistan to Malaysia, the high prices of food are forcing the poor to go without, and curtailing the lavish evening buffets which the well-off have flocked to in better economic times. (KAMARUL AKHIR/AFP/Getty Images)

Kashmiri Muslims pray inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, on the first Friday of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Pakistani man prepares sweet drinks for people to break their fast at a mosque during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Lahore on September 3, 2008. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian boy holds a homemade sparkler firework after breaking his fast at the end of the second day of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah,Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A seller of traditional Syrian sweets calls out for customers in the Meidan quarter of Damascus September 2, 2008. Sales of the sweets go up during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri)

A Muslim woman reads a copy of the Koran at the Istiqlal mosque during the second day of ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, on September 2, 2008. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

In a pre-Ramadan tradition, Bosnian Muslim girls wash their face with water from cave as local tradition claims that the water and prayers inside the cave will bring personal beauty and success for the year, near the Bosnian town of Kladanj, 50 kms north of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008. More than 30.000 people gathered to pray inside and outside the cave this year. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bangladeshi vendor sells traditional sweet meats for breaking the Ramadan fast, at the Chalk bazaar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

An Egyptian family looks to buy a "Fanus Ramadan", a traditional lantern popular during Ramadan, at a shop in el-Sayeda Zaynab district of downtown Cairo, late August 28, 2008. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian Muslim girl prays in the men's mosque before the evening prayer called "tarawih", during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Pakistani man offers Friday prayers atop a mosque roof during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

A man has his eyes smeared with traditional Kohl eyeliner before Friday prayers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad September 5, 2008. (REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder)

The Al-Zaim family of Duxbury, Massachusetts sits, gathered together for their dinner after 7pm on September 14th, 2008, to break their Ramadan Fast. (Justine Hunt/Globe Staff Photo)

Workers sew prayer caps in a factory in old Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 18, 2008. Prayer caps have huge demand during the holy month of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Andrew Biraj)

Kashmiri Muslims offer prayers inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, on the first Friday of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A child prepares food for Iftar (evening meal) before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan at Memon Mosque in Karachi, Pakistan on September 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain)

Lebanese "Musaharati" Mohammed Fanas wakes up observant Muslims for their overnight "suhur" meal before the day's fast in Sidon's Old City in south Lebanon just before dawn on September 3, 2008. (MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images)

Visually impaired Palestinian students read verses of the Koran, Islam's holiest book, written in Braille, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Al-Qabas Islamic school in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Kashmiri man rests after performing prayers inside the shrine of Sufi saint, Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, during Ramadan in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir on September 11, 2008. (REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli)

Thai Muslim children pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Narathiwat province in Thailand on September 9, 2008. (MADAREE TOHLALA/AFP/Getty Images)

Afghan men offer prayers on a hill top overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan on September 8, 2008, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images)

A worker prepares traditional sweets at a pastry shop in Tehran, Iran on the fifth day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan September 6, 2008. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)

Muslim women attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia on August 31, 2008. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)

In this picture taken on September 13, 2008 a Pakistani labourer stacks bananas being kept in increased quantities for the holy month of Ramadan in the storeroom of a fruit market in Islamabad, Pakistan. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)

A boy sleeps in a mosque while waiting to break his fast on the first day of Ramadan in Makassar, Indonesia on September 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad)

Officers of Malaysia's Islamic authority use a telescope to perform "rukyah", the sighting of the new moon of Ramadan, in Teluk Kemang, south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 20, 2009. (REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad)

A Musaharati, dawn awakener, lights up a lantern before touring the streets with his drums to wake observant Muslims for their overnight 'sahur', last meal, before the day's fast in Sidon's Old City in south Lebanon just before dawn August 26, 2009. (REUTERS/ Ali Hashisho)

Muslims attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at Al Akbar mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indoneisia on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)

A Muslim woman prays at the Istiqlal mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta on August 22, 2009 or Ramadan 1, 1430 in the Hijriah lunar calendar. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

A Kenyan child reads verses from the Quran on the fifth day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a Madrassa in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

A Palestinian boy plays with a sparkler on the eve of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Gaza City on August 21, 2009. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

An Egyptian man makes a traditional dessert known as "kunava", which is popular during the fasting month of Ramadan, at a shop in Cairo August 25, 2009. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

A Yemeni therapist applies Kohl to the eyes of a youth, in line with local tradition on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan at a Zaidi (Shiite) mosque in Sanaa's Old City on August 23, 2009. (KHALED FAZAA/AFP/Getty Images)

Muslims attend Friday prayers on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Beijing, China on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Grace Liang)

A Muslim man arranges bowls of a traditional dessert called kheer for sale outside a mosque before the evening prayers on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian-administered Kashmir on August 23, 2009. (REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta)

A child stands among worshippers attending prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at Al Maerkaz Al Islami mosque in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad)

A man arrives for the evening prayers of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at Merkez mosque in Duisburg, Germany on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Ina Fassbender)

Muslims shop for Iftar, the sunset dinner that breaks the fast at Chalk Bazaar, the traditional Iftar market in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

Palestinian vendors prepare trays of sweets for Ramadan, in a shop in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A cannon fires as part of the ceremony that ends the second day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside Jerusalem's Old City Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

A Muslim man adjusts his cap in a mirror at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian-administered Kashmir on August 23, 2009. (REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta)

A boy holds candy in his hand as he reads the Quran in a mosque during Ramadan, in Amman, Jordan on August 22, 2009. (REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN RELIGION SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A Palestinian woman walks near the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's old city where traditional festive lights are displayed ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on August 20, 2009. (MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images)

A Muslim boy takes a nap during evening prayers called "Tarawih" at Mosque of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Tripoli, Libya on August 22, 2009. The mosque was converted from the Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus after a 1969 coup by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

An Iraqi baker prepares sweets for the holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A Muslim family eats, breaking their fast in a giant tent on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Osman Orsal)

Kashmiri Muslim offer prayer on a street in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday, Aug.24, 2009. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Pakistani women line up for subsidized sacks of flour provided by the government for the holy month of Ramadan, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A Palestinian potter engraves the expression in Arabic "Ramadan Karim" as he puts the final touches to a clay lantern at his workshop in Gaza City on August 17, 2009, ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan. (MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images)

A man takes a nap in between prayers at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 22, 2009. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)

Jordanian workers make qatayef, a pancake-like shell filled with nuts or sweet cheese, fried in oil or baked, then dipped in sugary syrup in Amman, Jordan on Sunday August 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Mohammad abu Ghosh)

Egyptian women walk past paper lanterns used as decorations during Ramadan, on a street in downtown Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A Pakistani Muslim arranges food stuff for Iftar, a time to break the fast, on the first day of Ramadan, as a child looks on at a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A taxi driver reaches for a glass of apple juice after sunset in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Indonesian Muslim children parade during a ceremony called "Prayer for the Country" to welcome the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 21, 2009. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images)

Muslim men break their fast at a mosque in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on August 23, 2009. (Omar Salem/AFP/Getty Images)

A Muslim man sits before breaking his fast on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Agartala, capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura on August 24, 2009. (REUTERS/Jayanta Dey)

A crescent moon is seen behind the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque in Amman, Jordan on August 23, 2009, during Ramadan. (REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed)

Muslim children pray at a mosque during the month of Ramadan in Manila, in the Philippines on August 23, 2009. (JUNIE DOCTOR/AFP/Getty Images)

A boy sells dates in Amman, Jordan on Saturday August 22 2009. (AP Photo/Mohammad abu Ghosh)

An unidentified woman helps her son to kiss the iron chain at the entrance of the Naqashband Sahib shrine in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian-administered Kashmir on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A vendor of headscarfs waits for customers in the 4th day of Ramadan at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 25, 2009. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images)

A man prays at a Sunni mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

The Dome of the Rock, or Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah, one of the holiest sites in Islam, is seen on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem through festive lights for Ramadan on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

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