ShareKUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received a cable from His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, congratulating him on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. In the cable, His Highness the Crown Prince prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow good health and wellness on His Highness the Amir, and goodness and blessings on the dear nation and both Muslim and Arab worlds.
His Highness the Crown Prince also wished everlasting security, peace, development and prosperity for Kuwait under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir. In reply, His Highness the Amir sent His Highness the Crown Prince a cable, thanking him for sincere fraternal sentiments, wishing him well and security and prosperity for the dear nation.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received messages of congratulations from senior state officials, expressing their sincere congratulations to His Highness on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. Furthermore, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah shared congratulatory cables with Arab and Muslim leaders on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. His Highness the Amir prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow goodness and blessings on both Arab and Muslim nations.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites started the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Saturday. "Saturday, will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan," the kingdom said Friday, in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. Traditionally, many Muslim-majority countries have followed dates set by Saudi religious authorities, but in recent years many have used their own astronomic calculations.
Four other Arab countries of the Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE also announced Saturday as the start of Ramadan, while Oman said it is expected to begin a day later. The starting date of the dawn-dusk fasting month of Ramadan is determined by both lunar calculations and physical sightings of a new moon. Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening. It is also a time of prayers, during which Muslims converge in large numbers on mosques, especially at night.
Ramadan is a holy month for the world's more than 1.5 billion Muslims. According to tradition, Ramadan marks the time that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) started receiving revelations of the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Ramadan is one of the five "pillars" of Islam. The others are the profession of faith ("there is no God but God and Mohammed is His messenger"), the obligation to pray five times a day, charity, and the pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in a believer's lifetime. - Agencies
