Holy month of Ramadan begins today
COTABATO CITY – Local clerics declared today as the first day of Ramadan, after failing to see the crescent moon last Tuesday night that would have signaled its start yesterday.
President Duterte yesterday urged Muslims to contribute to nation-building and do good deeds to the poor as they start observing Ramadan.
Duterte said Ramadan is a time for the Islamic faithful to reflect on the Koran and how this relates to their thoughts and actions.
“By demonstrating the noble teachings of Islam, it is my fervent hope that you continue
to do good deeds for the poor and the marginalized members of society,” the President said in his message for the start of Ramadan.
“I ask that you foster a sense of solidarity among all Filipinos by manifesting faith through action. Let us join hands in the shared task of nation-building as we make the Philippines a more inclusive, peaceful and united country in the years to come,” he added.
Duterte also encouraged Muslims to make sacrifices “not only to overcome personal difficulties but also to create meaningful and lasting strides in our communities.”
“Through fasting and prayer, this significant event reveals to them the will of Allah and reaffirms their resolve to achieve spiritual cleansing and growth,” he said.
Ramadan, a holy month in Islam during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk for one lunar cycle as a religious obligation and reparation for wrongdoing, would have started yesterday had they spotted the moon the night before.
The Darul Iftah (House of Opinions) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) announced before midnight last Tuesday that Ramadan will commence today.
The group, comprised of moderate preachers who had studied Islamic theology in schools in the Middle East and North Africa, urged ARMM residents to get involved in domestic peace initiatives during Ramadan.
Shiek Abu Huraira Udasan, grand mufti (preacher) of the Bangsamoro Darul Iftah identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, also declared today as the start of this year’s Ramadan.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, which include belief in Allah, praying five times daily, giving of zakat (alms) to the poor and performing the hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah, Saudi Arabia at least once in a lifetime for those who can afford the cost of travel.
Ramadan is also a time when Muslims share food with needy neighbors regardless of their religion and race.
The ARMM government began distributing last Tuesday rice and other food rations to hundreds of Maranao families displaced by the May 23 to Oct. 16 siege of Marawi City last year by combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists, as part of its Ramadan outreach missions.
The program is facilitated by ARMM’s Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team.
HEART information officer Myrna Jocelyn Henry said that aside from rice and other provisions, they also supplied Marawi residents with fresh fish brought to relief sites in refrigerated trucks.
“Just by giving even a single Maranao family food for even just a single day, it is as if the HEART group had fed the whole mankind for that day. That’s the Islamic theory on acts of piety and charity,” Tarason said.
He said their group will also embark on various religious activities meant to strengthen the solidarity of ARMM’s Muslim, Christian and lumad residents during Ramadan.
The executive department of ARMM has issued a memorandum directing Muslim employees of different regional agencies to report for work early and perform their duties until 4 p.m. for them to have enough time to prepare for bukah, or first meal at sunset, after a day-long fast.