What is Ramadan? Why Muslims fast, iftar and joining in

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the holiest month for Muslims. They believe it is the month in which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. For the whole month, Muslims who are able fast from dawn to sunset.

The Islamic calendar follows the moon, not the sun, so Ramadan begins when the new moon is seen and lasts 29 or 30 days. Because a lunar year is shorter than ours, the month falls a little earlier in the Gregorian calendar every year.

The word itself comes from a root for scorching heat. It is read as a picture too: like clay under heat, a person is meant to be reshaped by the month, through more prayer, more time with the Quran and giving to those in need.

Why do Muslims fast?

Fasting (sawm) is one of the five pillars of Islam and is prescribed in the Quran, in the second chapter. The first reason Muslims give is obedience to that command: the Quran (2:183) says fasting was prescribed so that believers grow in taqwa, a constant awareness of God.

The second reason is what hunger teaches: self-discipline, patience, gratitude and a feel for what it is to be hungry every day. That is why Ramadan is also the month of giving. Zakat, the obligatory alms, is another pillar, and many Muslims give theirs in this month.

Not everyone fasts. Muslims start at puberty, so young children do not take part. Exempt, among others, are the sick, pregnant women, women who are menstruating or breastfeeding, and travellers going further than 80 kilometres. Missed days are made up later; anyone who cannot make them up feeds a person in need for each day missed.

A day in Ramadan

The day starts before dawn with suhoor, an early meal that works like a breakfast. Then come the morning prayer and the fast, which lasts until sunset. In that time Muslims do not eat, drink or smoke, and they avoid sex. They also avoid gossip, lying and swearing: the fast is about behaviour as much as food.

Muslims pray more in this month and read the Quran, many with the aim of finishing it by the end. In the evening many go to the mosque for taraweeh, extra night prayers with recitation from the Quran.

The last ten days are especially significant. They hold Laylat al-Qadr, the night of power, remembered as the night the Quran's revelation began. Muslims believe the night brings extra blessing and forgiveness, and many give more time to prayer and Quran reading.

What is an iftar?

Iftar is the meal that ends the fast, right after sunset. The first bite is customarily a date, taken with water, in the way the Prophet is said to have done, and then comes the meal itself. For many Muslims it is the meal of the day to share, at home with family and with guests.

What is on the table depends on the family. In Morocco the evening meal is called ftour. Many Moroccan families open it with a date and a few sips of water, then harira, a soup with lentils, chickpeas and tomato. Chebakia, a fried sesame pastry glazed with honey, and sellou, a sweet made from flour and almonds, are served at most iftars.

In Egypt the streets light up in Ramadan with fanous lanterns, and children hope for a new one each year. In countries where most people fast, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, shops can be closed in the daytime and daily life moves to the evening.

How to join an iftar as a guest

You do not have to be Muslim to share an iftar, and nobody expects a guest to fast. Dutch organisers have invited neighbours, students and the curious for years.

Neighbourhood centres: the Westwijk community centre in Vlaardingen has held its neighbourhood iftar nine times. You register, and the hall holds up to 100 guests.

Schools and universities: Hogeschool Rotterdam held an open iftar in February 2026, open to everyone.

Cultural venues: Studio de Bakkerij in Rotterdam held a family iftar in March 2026, with tickets on a pay-what-you-can basis from €5.

Town halls: some municipalities host one, but it can be by invitation. Rotterdam's iftar in the town hall in 2026 had about 130 invited guests.

Check the organiser's page: some iftars are free, some ask you to book. The meal starts at sunset, so be there in time. Iftars in the Ramadan weeks of 2027 are listed below as organisers announce them, and the Ramadan 2027 page has the sunset times for the big cities.

If a Muslim friend invites you home, no gift is expected, though a small pot of dates is a good thing to bring. Arrive at the agreed time rather than early, because the host is still cooking, and dress modestly. The meal may pause for prayer; take your cue from the host.

Ramadan in the Netherlands

Not every Muslim in the Netherlands starts on the same day. Dutch Muslims follow three different lunar calendars. Turkish mosques follow the calculated calendar of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. Part of the Moroccan-Dutch community waits for the moon to be seen from Morocco, so the day is known only the evening before, and many other Moroccan-Dutch Muslims follow Saudi Arabia's Umm al-Qura calendar. Neighbours can therefore begin and end a day apart, and each mosque announces its own days. The expected days for 2027 are on the Ramadan 2027 page.

The end of the month is celebrated as Eid al-Fitr, known in the Netherlands as Suikerfeest. Some Muslims would rather say Eid, because the Dutch name is only about the sweets and says nothing of what the festival means to them.

The Turkish community's Ramazan Bayramı, the feast at the end of the month, has its own page among Evenitto's Turkish events.

What non-Muslims can do

Non-Muslims do not have to fast, though some choose to join in. Muslims generally like questions asked with respect. Colleagues and friends may have less energy in the first days, and it is a courtesy to ask before eating at your desk in front of someone who is fasting, though some will not mind. If you want to talk about the month, wait until after they have broken the fast.

A greeting is welcome. "Ramadan Mubarak" means blessed Ramadan and "Ramadan Kareem" generous Ramadan; either is fine, and Muslims greet each other with both. At the end of the month the greeting is "Eid Mubarak".