It is believed that Muhammad received the Qur’an during the month of Ramadan, Fasting during this holy month is the fourth pillar. Daylight is for fasting and meditation; nights are filled with feasting and revelry. During Ramadan, offices and businesses not catering to tourists may be closed or keep shorter hours.

The last pillar, which is required only once in a lifetime, is pilgrimage (the hajf). Every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able should journey to Mecca during the last month of the Muslim calendar.

In this aspect of Islam, as in many others, the Muslim is imitating the Prophet’s actions. Muhammad is not believed to be divine, but the human channel of God’s word. His actions, however, are sanctified because God chose him to be the recipient of revelation, and several verses of the Qur’an demand obedience to the Prophet. The traditions about the Prophet’s practices, passed on as sunnah, are the revered norms of society, and the derivation of the name for the majority Sunni Muslims. The primary source for sunnah is the Hadith, a written collection of Muhammad’s sayings which guide Muslim life. Agreement and social harmony are essential in Islam. Muhammad once said, “My people will not agree on an error,” and when tjma (consensus) is reached, Sunnis see it as correct.