Ramadan is not just a time of fasting for Muslims. It is also a series of daily rituals governed by a calendar and hours of prayers that are probably even more important during this sacred month…
Ramadan 2023 begins this Thursday, March 23, 2023. A month of fasting that places the Hijri calendar, a lunar calendar essential to the practice of Islam, at the center of Muslim daily life. For the millions of Muslims who will practice Ramadan in France, in addition to fasting, each day will be punctuated by prayer (salât), following a ritual and the most precise schedules. The five daily prayers – Fajr at dawn, Dohr at noon, Asser in the afternoon, Maghreb at sunset and Ichaa at dusk – are indeed among the five main pillars of Islam, along with the fasting of the month of Ramadan itself or the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the Ramadan calendar, the hour of the Maghreb prayer, corresponding to the moment when the sun sets, is particularly important. It rings the hour of “Iftar”, this moment when believers can break the fast each evening. However, the times for the start and end of the fast, like those of the five daily prayers, can differ by almost an hour depending on the geographical location in France. The appearance of dawn and sunset do not occur at the same time in France. Daily schedules and therefore prayer times also change from day to day.
All daytime prayers in Ramadan follow the movement of the sun, since the time of fasting is determined by daybreak and nightfall. Muslims, following the injunctions of Ramadan, must thus have at hand a precise calendar of prayer times, since the times change every day, due to the lengthening of the duration of the day until the summer solstice. Here are the prayer times that prevail in March and April for the month of Ramadan, for the city of Paris (according to the Great Mosque of Paris).
Note in the calendar for those who respected deprivation: Ramadan begins on March 23. The Grand Mosque of Paris must validate the beginning of the holy month this March 21 during the Night of Doubt, but many organizations have adopted this date as the date of the start of the fast.
For those who prefer a PDF version of the Ramadan calendar, know that it is available on the website of the Great Mosque of Paris. A version can also be consulted and printed from this button.
Ramadan calendar in PDF
Prayers are all important during the month of Muslim fasting. Believers of Islam indeed devote themselves to parentheses of introspection, reflection and meditation on their situation as well as their relationships with others. Praying several times a day is part of the moral injunctions of Ramadan. And these prayers truly punctuate the day:
The Shurouk (or Shurouq) prayer is an optional prayer recommended after the appearance of the sun.
Iftar is the time of day when practitioners can eat and drink again during the month of Ramadan. Iftar is a traditional meal governed by ancestral customs.
It is the prayer said, Maghreb, at the end of the day, at the time of sunset, which marks the time of iftar, the hour at which those who practice Ramadan can take their evening meal. The meal must remain light, unlike the meal taken in the morning before starting the fast again. It is a dinner that marks the end of a day of physical and mental asceticism.
