The Pagan Origins of Ramadan Fasting

The Islamic observance of Ramadan, a month-long fast, garners significant attention in contemporary media each year. During this period, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn until dusk, breaking their fast with communal meals known as iftar after sunset. Western dignitaries occasionally participate in these nightly feasts, highlighting Ramadan’s cultural prominence. In contrast to diurnal eating patterns, the fasting Muslim shifts sustenance to the nocturnal hours, consuming substantial meals throughout the night until the pre-dawn meal, suhoor. The Qur’an further mandates abstinence from food, drink, sexual relations, and idle speech during this period, framing fasting as a holistic act of devotion (Qur’an 2:183–187). Ramadan commences with the sighting of the new crescent moon and concludes when the subsequent crescent appears, culminating in the celebratory feast of Eid al-Fitr. This prompts a critical question: what are the historical origins of this fasting practice?

The Ramadan fast derives from pre-Islamic lunar cults, notably the moon-worshipping Sabians of Harran. Situated in northern Mesopotamia (modern-day southeastern Turkey near Iraq), the Harranian Sabians venerated Sin, a lunar deity central to their cosmology. Annually, during the lunar phase when the moon was obscured—specifically the new moon’s invisibility—they interpreted this as divine displeasure. To appease Sin and hasten its return, they undertook a month-long fast, refraining from food, drink, speech, and sexual activity throughout the day, only partaking in sustenance after nightfall. Upon the moon’s reappearance, signaling divine favor, they celebrated with a grand feast termed al-Fitr. Strikingly, their fasting period bore the name Ramadan, a lexical and ritual correspondence that underscores its transmission to Islam.

How, then, did this pagan practice become integrated into Islam by Muhammad, the prophet of Islam? Addressing this requires examining two interrelated dimensions: the mechanisms of cultural diffusion from northern Mesopotamia to Arabia, and the motivations for adopting such rituals within a purportedly monotheistic framework.

First, the conduit of knowledge transfer lies in the interactions between Arabian tribes and Sabian communities. Muhammad emerged within the Al-Ahnaf, a Meccan group historically known as a hedonistic collective blending paganism with the pursuit of pleasure and religious experimentation. Key figures among the Al-Ahnaf, notably Waraqa ibn Nawfal, Muhammad’s mentor, traveled to northern Mesopotamia, forging connections with Sabian traditions. Waraqa reportedly embraced Sabianism for a time, importing its practices and theology to Arabia (Ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah). This influence permeated Mecca, where detractors branded Muhammad a “Sabian” (sabi’), accusing him of appropriating their rituals (Qur’an 6:25; Ibn Ishaq). The Sabians’ five daily prayers, mirrored precisely in Islam, further substantiate this link. Moreover, following the Hijra to Medina, Muhammad’s alliances with the Aws and Khazraj tribes—steeped in pre-Islamic paganism—have prompted the assimilation of such rituals as a conciliatory measure. Ramadan’s establishment as an Islamic obligation thus reflects a deliberate incorporation imposed upon the nascent Muslim community.

The second dimension probes why Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, embraced rituals tied to pagan deities. Historical evidence suggests that Muhammad’s theological framework was of pagan foundations, despite his monotheistic rhetoric. The deity articulated in the Qur’an, though presented as singular, incorporates elements of pre-Islamic cosmological concepts. Contemporary Muslims assert worship of a non-pagan, monotheistic God; however, this represents a later theological evolution distinct from Muhammad’s original context. Rituals such as Ramadan, with their structural and nominal parallels to Sabian practices, unequivocally reveal Islam’s pagan origins.

This historical analysis, substantiated by extensive scholarly publications, challenges orthodox narratives of Ramadan’s inception tied to Abraham. Far from a spontaneous revelation, Ramadan emerges as a product of pre-Islamic Arabia, reflecting the enduring imprint of paganism on Islamic orthopraxy.

© 2025 Daniel Amari, All Rights Reserved.