A Message for Ramadan
By Kienan Taweil
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,
I greet you all with the Islamic greeting of peace: As-Salaamu Alaykum! Peace be upon you!
On behalf of the Office of Muslim Student Life, I would like to wish our Muslim students, faculty, and staff, Ramadan Mubarak! May you all have a blessed Ramadan!
Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting and the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when all able adult Muslims are required to fast during daylight hours. The fast means refraining from eating or drinking (not even water) every day of the month from dawn to sunset. During Ramadan, Muslims wake up before the dawn and eat a small meal. They then declare their intention to fast and begin their fast. At sunset, they break their fast with a meal often shared with family and friends. This month is also a time marked by spiritual reflection and many hours spent in worship and prayer with community.
This year, Ramadan will begin on Thursday March 23rd, 2023 and end on Thursday April 20th, 2023 followed by the Eid Al-Fitr holiday on Friday April 21st, 2023. We look forward to celebrating the Holy Month of Ramadan once again in community together on campus this year.
We invite the LMU community to join us for our Annual Ramadan Interfaith Iftar Dinner on Wednesday March 29th, 2023 at 7:00pm in Roski Dining Hall (First Floor of University Hall) as we celebrate the beginning of Ramadan – all are welcome! Click Here to RSVP.
Muslim Student Life will be hosting several programs and worship services throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan. Click Here to View our Ramadan 2023 Schedule.
Ramadan is a time of spiritual renewal. The purpose of fasting is explained to us in the Quran as follows: You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be mindful of God (Quran 2:183). During this holiest of months, let us strive to cultivate greater awareness of God as we increase in our acts of worship. Through the practice of self-restraint by withholding food and drink, let us recognize and be grateful for our many blessings from God that too often are taken for granted.
This month is a month of deep prayer and it is a time to give to charity and to grow in faith. Ramadan is also the month of the Quran and we are encouraged to increase our reading and recitation of the holy scripture. We learn in the second chapter of the Quran: It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong (Quran 2:185). Through greater reflection on the Quran, may we be inspired to transform our world and tackle humanity’s greatest challenges to forge a better tomorrow for us all, God willing.
I invite you to also reach out to the Office of Muslim Student Life in Campus Ministry as a resource for the LMU community. We provide pastoral care to our Muslim students at LMU and will be supporting our Muslim students through a variety of spiritual programs this Ramadan. You can email me with any questions at kienan.taweil@lmu.edu
I pray for everyone’s wellbeing. I pray that God accepts our fasting and our worship this Ramadan. May God bless us all and bless LMU this holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan Mubarak!
Kienan Taweil
Coordinator for Muslim Student Life