Ramadan (,
also ,
[6][7][8] ;
[9]) or
Ramazan (
Arabic:
رَمَضَان,
romanized: Ramaḍān [ra.ma.dˤaːn];
[note 1] also spelled
Ramzan,
Ramadhan, or
Ramathan) is the
ninth month of the
Islamic calendar,
[10] observed by
Muslims worldwide as a month of
fasting (
sawm), prayer, reflection and community.
[11] A commemoration of
Muhammad's first revelation,
[12] the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the
Five Pillars of Islam[13] and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the
crescent moon to the next.
[14][15]