Editing Mosque (section)

===Ramadan===
[[File:Taipei Grand Mosque - Fast Break.JPG|thumb|left|[[Iftar]] at [[Taipei Grand Mosque]], Taiwan during [[Ramadan]]]]
Islam's holiest month, ''[[Ramadan|Ramaḍān]]'', is observed through many events. As Muslims must [[sawm|fast]] during the day during Ramadan, mosques will host ''[[Iftar|Ifṭār]]'' dinners after sunset and the fourth required prayer of the day, that is ''[[Maghrib]]''. Food is provided, at least in part, by members of the community, thereby creating daily [[potluck]] dinners. Because of the community contribution necessary to serve ''iftar'' dinners, mosques with smaller congregations may not be able to host the ''iftar'' dinners daily. Some mosques will also hold ''[[Suhoor|Suḥūr]]'' meals before [[dawn]] to congregants attending the first required prayer of the day, ''[[Fajr]]''. As with iftar dinners, congregants usually provide the food for suhoor, although able mosques may provide food instead. Mosques will often invite poorer members of the Muslim community to share in beginning and breaking the fasts, as providing [[Alms|charity]] during Ramadan is regarded in Islam as especially honorable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_51.html |access-date=April 17, 2006 |title=Charity |publisher=University of Southern California |website=Compendium of Muslim Texts |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205112728/http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_51.html |archive-date=February 5, 2006 }}</ref>

Following the last obligatory daily prayer (''[[Isha'|ʿIshāʾ]]'') special, optional ''[[Tarawih|Tarāwīḥ]]'' prayers are offered in larger mosques. During each night of prayers, which can last for up to two hours each night, usually one member of the community who has memorized the entire Quran (a [[Hafiz (Quran)|Hafiz]]) will recite a segment of the book.<ref name="teach-islam">{{Cite book |title=Teach Yourself Islam |last=Maqsood |first=Ruqaiyyah Waris |isbn=978-0-07-141963-5 |year= 2003 |edition=2nd |publisher=McGraw-Hill |pages=57–58, 72–75, 112–120 |location=Chicago}}</ref> Sometimes, several such people (not necessarily of the local community) take turns to do this. During the last ten days of Ramadan, larger mosques will host all-night programs to observe ''[[Laylat al-Qadr]]'', the night Muslims believe that Muhammad first received Quranic revelations.<ref name="teach-islam" /> On that night, between [[sunset]] and [[sunrise]], mosques employ speakers to educate congregants in attendance about Islam. Mosques or the community usually provide meals periodically throughout the night

[[File:Nasr ol Molk mosque vault ceiling.jpg|thumb|Vault ceiling of the [[Nasir al-Mulk Mosque]] in [[Shiraz]], Iran]]
During the last ten days of [[Ramadan (calendar month)|Ramadan]], larger mosques within the Muslim community will host ''[[Iʿtikāf]]'', a practice in which at least one Muslim man from the community must participate. Muslims performing itikaf are required to stay within the mosque for ten consecutive days, often in worship or learning about Islam. As a result, the rest of the Muslim community is responsible for providing the participants with food, drinks, and whatever else they need during their stay.<ref name="teach-islam" />