God Squad: Ramadan comes during spring this year

Our Passover and Easter meditations of the past two weeks may have diverted our spiritual gaze. The glorious and unifying truth is that all three of the great Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are celebrating their formative holidays this spring, namely Passover, Easter and Ramadan. Passover and Easter always fall close together because both are calculated on the lunar calendar corrected for the seasons and linked together. Ramadan, however, is calculated on the lunar calendar uncorrected for the solar cycle. This means Ramadan floats throughout the year, occurring roughly 10 days earlier each year. This gives rise to the wonderful Muslim greeting, "May you celebrate Ramadan in every season of the year."

This year, Ramadan begins on the evening April 12 when the moon is seen over Mecca and concludes one month later, on May 12, with the feast of Eid al-Fitr, which lasts three days. Ramadan celebrates the first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, from the angel Gabriel. Ramadan rituals involve eating a predawn meal, called suhoor, and then fasting from sunrise to sundown of all food and drink, unless one is medically unable. The 30 days of Ramadan conclude with a post-sundown meal, called iftar, that begins by eating dates and is usually eaten with friends and family. Gifts to children and family are also given during Ramadan.

Islam is built upon five pillars of belief and practice, and fasting, called sawm, is one of the five. Another pillar is zakat, giving charity. The month of Ramadan is an especially auspicious time for Muslims to give charitable contributions.

The third pillar of Islam is the confession of faith, called the shahada, the single most important declaration of Islamic piety.

Another pillar of Islam is prayer, called salah. Muslims pray five times a day — dawn, noon, afternoon, evening and night — after washing face, hands and feet, and while facing Mecca. Special congregational prayers are recited in the mosque (masjid) on Friday afternoon.

The fifth pillar of Islam is the hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. After a Muslim completes the hajj once in their life in the 12th month of the lunar year, the word al-hajj is always used before their name.

Ramadan functions for Muslims as Lent does for Christians and as the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur do for Jews. These periods are set apart from ordinary time, dedicated to personal spiritual reflection, atonement for sins, and acts of kindness and charity that make us fit to live with one another. Such times remind us that all we own is a gift from God and that the primary religious posture after fully comprehending God's immense blessings is grateful and humble thankfulness. Everything is a gift from God, including our burdens, and understanding this is the essential difference between people of true piety and people who believe we are out here all alone.

Ramadan, Passover and Easter give us different but similar understandings of the nature of sacred time. In ordinary time, every second, minute, day, month and year are identical. Sacred times are different; yhey are intense and engaging and, hopefully, transformative. We cannot live our lives solely in sacred time because that would distract us from the tasks and obligations of daily life. However, we cannot live all our days in secular time because such a life deprives us of humility and hope. The solution to this problem is the Sabbath.

The Sabbath gives us a dose of sacred time every week. It is enough to spiritually sustain us until we come to the great holiday feasts and prayers, but it does not excessively consume us and distract us from our daily lives. Although Muslims gather on Friday for prayers in the mosque, there is no specific Sabbath in Islam. Still, there are holy days of rest and prayer for all the three Abrahamic faiths. On Friday night to Saturday night for Jews; on Sunday for Christians; and on Friday afternoon for Muslims. All three of the great faiths birthed by God's revelation and intervention into history, nature and our lives celebrate the great and holy belief that God is with us in and beyond time.