About Ramadan

Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, will begin after sundown on Sunday, March 10th and continue until Tuesday, April 9th.  Ramadan is a time for introspection, devotion, and service, as well as time for communal worship and cooperation. The significance of Ramadan is highlighted in the Qur’an in Chapter 2, Verse 183: “Oh you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those who came before you, so that you may become conscious of God.” Those observing Ramadan abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset each day. After sunset, the fast is traditionally broken with a light meal (iftar) consisting of dates, fruits, soup and regional delicacies, after which the evening prayer is performed, followed by dinner. In the late evening, Muslims often gather for congregational night prayers at the mosque or in homes, sometimes offering prayers deep into the night. A pre-dawn meal (suhoor) is eaten before sunrise as nourishment for the fast the following day. The end of Ramadan is marked by the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, which will most likely be celebrated on Wednesday, April 10th. It is common to have some variation in the start and end dates of Ramadan across Muslim communities, depending on how the lunar calendar is interpreted.

Tufts Dining Hall Accommodations for 2024

Tufts Dining will be providing access to ALL students (undergraduate and graduate) to the dining halls for the iftar meal, regardless of whether you are currently on a meal plan. The costs for the iftar meal will be covered by the President’s Office. Suhoor boxes will also be available for pre-order to all students, regardless of whether or not they are on a meal plan. Tufts Dining will provide to-go containers for students to take an extra hot meal home at dinner time OR the option to choose a pre-packed Suhoor box which can be ordered via the Transact Mobile app.  To sign up for access to these programs, please fill out this form. Once registered, you will see the option for Suhoor boxes on the app under Carm2GO or Dewick2GO. Choose “Meal Swipe” as the option to pay for your Suhoor box (the cost of your meal will be covered if you do not have a meal plan). The deadline for ordering is 4pm daily. Boxes will available near the front entrance to the dining centers. Please scan the app to pick up your order.  

Tufts Dining has also created a separate space in both Dewick and Carmichael for students to break fast together. In Dewick, the space is located on the 2^nd floor in a private room which will be labeled “Reserved for Ramadan,” and in Carmichael the space will be on the main floor designated by a curtained-off area which will also be labeled. A small prayer space will be made available in these areas for students who wish to pray there at maghrib time.

Ramadan Food Pantry

The Muslim chaplain will be organizing a Ramadan Food Pantry at the Interfaith Center. This option is for all Tufts students (undergraduate and graduate) to access light food and snacks for suhoor as needed. To request an item for the pantry, enter it here. Items can be picked up during IFC Hours only (see request link for details).  The dry food pantry is located in a large cabinet in the IFC lounge on the right side of the room, and perishable items will be stored in the fridge and freezer and labeled for Ramadan.

Community Iftars on Campus

Join us for our community iftars! See image below for exact dates and locations (marked in red on the calendar). Most iftars will be held at the Interfaith Center at 58 Winthrop Street, with the exception of 3/12, which will be our annual interfaith iftar held at Breed Hall (across from IFC). RSVP here for Interfaith Iftar! Share this link with friends to invite them to attend.

Prayer space for maghrib and Isha/Tarawih will be available at each iftar.  We will not be distributing single-use water bottles so if possible please bring your own reusable water bottle to iftar. This will help us eliminate waste during Ramadan.

Tarawih Prayers

Tufts MSA organizes group Ishaa and Tarawih prayers several nights a week during Ramadan. Generally, on nights when we have a community iftar, Isha and possibly Tarawih Prayers (if scheduled for that evening) will be held at the Interfaith Center. For other nights, Tarawih will likely be held in Curtis Musallah. For updates on Tarawih prayers visit the MSA Instagram page or email msatufts@gmail.com.

Academic Accommodations

OEO sent out a university-wide communication (see Ramadan OEO Letter) about Ramadan this year on 2/29/24 to raise awareness about student and staff practices and possible accommodation needs during this time. Students who wish to request academic accommodations while observing Ramadan may do so by working with the Tufts’ Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO). The Tufts Religious Accommodations policy specifies what an accommodation is. Accommodations related to the observance of Ramadan are included in this policy, though all requests must be approved. Students should email the OEO Accommodations Team at Accommodations.OEO@tufts.edu, with the option of cc-ing their professors. Here is a sample of an accommodations request. Once OEO receives a request from a student, they will connect with the faculty member for an interactive discussion.  They will assess the reasonableness of the request and the available accommodations that the faculty member can provide.  OEO then issues a determination, notice of which is provided to the student. If you have any questions or concerns about your academic performance during Ramadan, please reach out to Muslim Chaplain Najiba Akbar (najiba.akbar@tufts.edu).

Other Events During Ramadan

To stay up to date on other events happening during Ramadan, sign up for the Muslim Chaplaincy E-News or visit the MSA’s Linktree or the MSA Instagram page.