Preparing for Ramadan 2009

As Muslims around the world prepare for Ramadan 2009, we thought it a great idea to take a look at Ramadan 2008 - in the form of beautiful pictures of Muslims around the world preparing, praying, contemplating and celebrating during the holy month of Ramadan.


Allah's Messenger said, "Many a one who fasts obtains
nothing from his fasting but thirst, and many a one who
prays during the night obtains nothing from his night prayers
but wakefulness."

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #1989, Narrated AbuHurayrah

First say to yourself what you would be;
and then do what you have to do.
Epictetus

We are What we Repeatedly Do
May the Month of Ramadan Instill in Us Habits for Our Lifetime


An officer of Brunei's Islamic authority looks through a telescope as he performs "rukyah", the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan, over the skies of Bukit Agok outside Bandar Seri Begawan August 31, 2008. Muslims scan the sky at dusk at the end of their lunar calendar's eighth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the beginning of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Ahim Rani)

A Palestinian man reads from the Koran, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

Indonesian men attend Friday prayer at Istiqlal mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)

Jordanian Muslim girls queue in line outside a humanitarian center for waiting for meals to be donated at the time for the breaking of their fast, or Iftar, on the 13th day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Nader Daoud)

Israeli border police hold back Palestinians on their way to pray for the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, at Kalandia checkpoint, between the West Bank town of Ramallah and Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

This picture taken September 5, 2008 shows a stall worker preparing roasted chicken wings to be sold at a Ramadan bazaar in downtown Kuala Lumpur for the breaking of their fast. In Muslim households across Asia, the inflation crisis is casting a shadow over the holy month of Ramadan, and making the nightly ritual of breaking the fast a more meagre affair. From Afghanistan to Malaysia, the high prices of food are forcing the poor to go without, and curtailing the lavish evening buffets which the well-off have flocked to in better economic times. (KAMARUL AKHIR/AFP/Getty Images)

A Pakistani man prepares sweet drinks for people to break their fast at a mosque during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Lahore on September 3, 2008. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

A seller of traditional Syrian sweets calls out for customers in the Meidan quarter of Damascus September 2, 2008. Sales of the sweets go up during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri)

A Bangladeshi vendor sells traditional sweet meats for breaking the Ramadan fast, at the Chalk bazaar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

A Pakistani man offers Friday prayers atop a mosque roof during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

A child prepares food for Iftar (evening meal) before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan at Memon Mosque in Karachi, Pakistan on September 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain)

A worker prepares traditional sweets at a pastry shop in Tehran, Iran on the fifth day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan September 6, 2008. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)

A boy sleeps in a mosque while waiting to break his fast on the first day of Ramadan in Makassar, Indonesia on September 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad)

Lebanese "Musaharati" Mohammed Fanas wakes up observant Muslims for their overnight "suhur" meal before the day's fast in Sidon's Old City in south Lebanon just before dawn on September 3, 2008. (MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images)


Original Source of Photos:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/observing_ramadan.html


NOTE: The editors of this blog are seeking input from readers. If you wish to share with us your Ramadan experience, or write us an article on a topic about Ramadan, for instance, how Ramadan is celebrated in your country, your Ramadan reflections and good deeds, or even your favorite iftar recipes, please send us an email at ramadanblog (at) gmail (DOT) com.