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t  Muslim children read the Quran at a mosque before Ramadan night prayer, which marks the start of the Muslim fasting month.

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was the final prophet to whom God spoke. Through the angel Gabriel God gave Muhammad spiritual guidance in the form of scriptures known

as the Quran, which became the main religious book of Islam. It took Gabriel 23 years to finish revealing these scriptures to Muhammad, but the process of transmitting the text began

The Five Pillars of Islam

during the month of Ramadan. n The Importance of Ramadan

All Muslims are required to perform five duties, known as the Five Pillars of Islam. They must • testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet • pray five times a day • give alms, or charitable contributions, to the poor • fast during Ramadan • make a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca once in their lives

Muslims believe that the gates to heaven are open during Ramadan: Good deeds are richly rewarded and it is easier to enter heaven than other times of the year. Simultaneously the gates of hell are said to be closed and all devils chained up behind them. The devils are not loose to lure people into trouble, so it is especially easy to do good deeds instead of bad ones.

Ramadan

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