News Archive

Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins 5 May

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins on 5 May. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the revelation of the first verses of the Qur’an to the prophet Muhammed.

We have a number of colleagues and students who are likely to be observing Ramadan, so it may be useful to bear in mind that:

• Ramadan is a time of prayer and self-reflection, where Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur'an. You may find that colleagues may alter their working hours in order to carry out additional prayer or worship.
• During Ramadan, many Muslims will fast each day from sunrise to sunset. This includes not eating food, drinking liquids or smoking.  Fasting may affect people in different ways, for example, some people may feel more fatigued than usual, particularly in the afternoon. Colleagues may want to avoid offering food and drink to those who fast if sharing food with other colleagues, or eating during meetings.
• The days of fasting are particularly long and, in hot weather, dehydration can be a significant risk. If it is possible to avoid strenuous work in the heat of the day this will reduce the likelihood of ill health.

Observing Ramadan is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam. The fasting continues for 29-30 days and ends with the celebration of Eid-Ul-Fitr.

The University of Reading Islamic Society publishes a prayer timetable, which can be found here.

Students sitting exams have been asked earlier in the year to raise any issues with the exams office before the exams were timetabled.