This year, Persian New Year (March 21st) collides with Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. Ramadan will begin at sunset on March 22nd and end with sunset on April 21st.
I should say probably starts, as these days are subject to change, and might be a day earlier. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and as part of the lunar calendar, it moves forward in our fixed Western calendar by about 10 days each year. Next year Ramadan will start around March 12th. The month is special to Muslims because they believe that the Quran was revealed to Mohammed during this month.
The way Muslims fast is different from the way Christians fast. Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink, or have intimate relations from sunrise to sunset. Extremely strict Muslims won’t even swallow their own saliva, but those folks are rare, as the average Muslim would not take it that far. All Muslims do believe that the month of fasting will help purify them and that they will earn extra credit by praying in the mosque during this month.
Unfortunately for them, many Muslims will not make it through the whole month. It is similar to many people making a New Year’s resolution; they start off great, but a couple weeks (or even days) into it they fall away from their ideals and give in to the temptations of eating and drinking. I say unfortunate, because fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and something that a Muslim believes they do to earn favor with God. And so, if they fail to perfectly keep the fast, then they also believe that they fail to earn God’s blessings. This can be unsettling for them.
While it is unfortunate in one sense, in that it shows their failure to earn God’s blessing, it can be something that literally saves their life. If they come to realize that they cannot earn God’s favor on their own, they can begin to see the immensity and beauty of God’s gift of grace.
This actually is something that I would encourage you to remember during this time. Pray for your Muslim friends and neighbors through these coming weeks and during their month of fasting. Ask the Lord to give them dreams and visions of the only one who can give them perfect peace and rest. Pray that God will speak to their heart and show them that they can do nothing to earn God’s favor. Pray they recognize that his gift of mercy and grace is a free gift that he offers to all who will put their trust in him.
There are several points of contact that you can use this month to connect with your Muslim neighbors and friends. You can ask them about fasting and mention that fasting is also talked about in the Bible. Passages such as Isaiah 58, Matthew 6.16-18, and Luke 18:10-14 all provide a launching pad into interesting discussions about fasting!
