The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine Ummah in communion with the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, according to the decision of the European Council on fatwas and research, announces the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan after sunset on June 27; respectively, June 28, 2014 will be the first day of fast.
The festivities will begin on June 27 at the Islamic Cultural Center of Kyiv (St. Degtyarivska 25a). They will be attended by Sheikh Rasim Dervishev, an imam of the mosque and a representative of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea in Kyiv. The collective prayer of Muslims of Kyiv will be held followed by the sermon dedicated to the month of Ramadan.
The next new moon will mark the completion of fasting and the coming of Fitr holidays Eid al-Fitr (Eid al-Adha in Turkish). According to preliminary calculations, it will be held on July 28.
According to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah", this year's fasting in Ramadan will be a serious test for the Muslims of Ukraine: not so much because of the great length of daylight, but because of the difficult situation in which our country found itself. The Crimean peninsula is occupied by the Russian Federation; Crimean Muslims are subjected to interrogation, arrest, search. In Donbass, the second largest region of compact settlement of Muslims, there are full-scale hostilities. Moreover, the Muslims in Ukraine are among the soldiers who rebuff military aggression of visiting terrorists and armed local separatists that pose a threat not only to the territorial integrity of the state, but also the lives and safety of the civilian population. Many Muslims take part in voluntary movements.
That is why this fasting for Muslims is not only a time of spiritual purification, getting closer to God and rethinking of their past life, but sometimes is an active step to protect their homeland from the military invasion.
Ramadan is one of the four forbidden months, during which it is impossible to carry out military operations. However, as Ummah stressed, this prohibition does not apply to the case of resistance to military aggression: the defense of one’s homeland in any feasible form, however, is the duty of every Muslim.
Throughout the month the faithful abstain from eating, drinking and marital sexual relations from dawn until sunset.
Ramadan for Muslims is a month not only of spiritual but also of physical purification. However, it may be transferred to another period, for the sick, travelers and pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding upon completion of the above circumstances. The persons unable to fast, should feed the poor or give alms to the poor.
Only in Ramadan, in addition to the mandatory five-time prayer, an extra prayer Tarawa shall be performed individually or collectively. There is also the practice of the Prophet Muhammad of the daily reading of the Qur'an throughout the month.
Especially valuable are the last ten days of Ramadan, stresses the Ummah, as in one of those nights the Prophet received the first revelation of the Qur'an, and one of these nights is the night of Greatness (Granting) which “is better than a thousand months” (Qur'an, 97:3). Whoever spends the night in prayer with faith and hope of reward from the Almighty, will be forgiven his previous sins.