BARMM residents start Ramadhan season March 2

COTABATO CITY — Muslims in the Bangsamoro region started observing the Islamic Ramadhan season on Sunday, March 2.

Members of the Darul Ifta-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, also known as the House of Opinions, declared late Friday, February 28, that residents of BARMM shall begin fasting then from dawn to dusk during the Ramadhan, which lasts for one lunar cycle, or from 28 to 30 days.

Islamic theologians in the Darul-Iftah BARMM tried, but failed to see the crescent moon on Friday night, the sighting of which could have marked the start of the Ramadhan.

The fasting season could have commenced on Saturday if the Darul Ifta-BARMM members had sighted the moon during a moon-sighting activity after dusk on Friday.

The figurehead of the Darul Ifta-BARMM, Sheik Abdulrauf Guialani, and senior members of their group in Cotabato City and in the five southern Bangsamoro provinces separately told reporters that Muslims in the autonomous region begin on Sunday with their abstention from food and drink at daytime for the whole duration of the Ramadhan. 

Fasting during the month of Ramadhan is a religious obligation for Muslims and is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other pillars include belief in Allah, praying five times a day while facing Mecca, and, for those who can afford it, performing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia at least once in a lifetime.

Muslims observing the Ramadhan also do reparations for wrongdoings, like seeking the forgiveness of those they wronged in words and in actions.

Lactating mothers, children, the elderly and sick Muslims are exempted from fasting during the month of Ramadhan.