Ramadan begins as Muslims flock to suburban mosques for nightly prayers and observe daily fasting
Muslims across the suburbs and globe will come together for their yearly rituals of prayer, fasting and charity during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began Wednesday night as determined by lunar calculations or by the moon sighting in North America.
The first day of the monthlong fasting period falls on Thursday.
Muslims abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures from predawn until dusk, engage in spiritual reflection and take part in charitable giving and community service with the goal of self-improvement during the month.
After two years of pandemic-related restrictions, last Ramadan saw a full-scale return to in-person, nightly communal gatherings for prayer and fast-breaking meals, or iftars, at sundown.
Worshippers again will gather for special nightly vigils of congregational prayers, known as taraweeh in Arabic, during which one of 30 parts of the Quran is recited each night until the entire book is completed during the month. They also will break bread together at daily community iftars hosted by most suburban mosques.
"The theme in general for this Ramadan will be 'mindful Ramadan,'" said Shaykh Mahmoud Ali, the imam who leads prayer services at Masjid Al Huda Midwest Islamic Center in Schaumburg.
Similar to last year, there will be a rare convergence that occurs every 33 years or so when the major religious observances of the world's three Abrahamic faiths align.
Ramadan, Passover and Easter generally don't overlap because they are based on different calendars and calculations. But this spring, the Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy days coincide just days apart.
Passover or Pesach begins before sundown on April 5 and ends after nightfall on April 13.
Easter Sunday, which marks the end of Holy Week, falls April 9 for most Christians - or April 16 for the Eastern Orthodox church.
And Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, will be observed either April 21 or 22 based on calculation or moon sighting.