Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is regarded as the holiest month of the year as it was the month in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad PBUH on the night of Laylat Al Qadar, one of the last ten nights of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the month of piety, charity and blessings. During Ramadan, capable Muslims are required to abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. Such fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Like other months, Ramadan too begins at the first sighting of the new crescent moon and lasts 29 or 30 days depending on the sighting of the next crescent. The Islamic calendar has 354 days. Hence, Ramadan arrives 11 days earlier in every subsequent year of the Gregorian calendar. The UAE follows an official announcement in this regard from the moon-sighting committee under the UAE Council for Fatwa, in coordination with national institutions and monitoring centers in the country.

People greet each other by saying 'Ramadan Kareem' or ‘Ramadan Mubarak’, which means ‘Blessed Ramadan'.