Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan officially starts June 18

The more than seven million Muslims in the Philippines and in other countries will start fasting Thursday in observance of one of the five pillars of Islam.

The 30-day Ramadhan fasting season begins before dawn of June 18 where Muslims are allowed only to eat and drink water at night and fast from dawn to dusk.

Only physically-fit Muslims are required by faith to fast as a religious obligation. It will last for 28 to 29 days.

Ramadhan is the holiest month in Islam where fasting, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith, must be performed by able-bodied individuals except pregnant and lactating mothers, children below 12 years old and elderly who cannot abstain from food at day time.

Aside from fasting, the other pillars of Islam are absolute submission to Allah, praying five times a day facing the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, giving of “zakat” (alms) to the poor, and performing the Hajj (pilgrimage) at least once in a lifetime.

This is only required for Muslims who who can afford the cost of travel to Mecca.

During the fasting month, Muslims are to do things to correct the wrong they have done, rebuild community, promote peace and love among other faithfuls and seal broken family relationships, and family ties severed by misunderstandings.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu called on the people of Maguindanao to pray for peace, work for peace and be an instrument of peace that remained elusive in the province since time immemorial.

“Let’s keep praying for peace and for the success of the peace efforts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front during this holy month,” Mangudadatu said in his Ramadhan message.

Earlier, Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said Muslim employees are allowed to leave office and workplace at 3 p.m. to allow them to prepare for the breaking of the fasting at 6 p.m.

They are required to report for work at 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. without noon break.

"Let us take this opportunity to spread the message of love, compassion, and peace among us and to our non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao, the Philippines, and across the world," Hataman said in his Ramadhan message to about five million Muslims in the five provinces of ARMM.

Part of the Ramadhan celebration is the creation of mock tribal villages inside the ARMM compound where tribal groups from the five provinces of ARMM will show what their respective communities can offer to people within and outside the ARMM. (PNA)