The phrase shahru ramadan occurs in the Quran only once, in 2:1851.
In our study Siyam is not fasting, but self-control through Quran study, we observed that the popular verses on siyam (2:183-187) are not about fasting but are about pause for reflection, i.e., abstinence from unsettling thoughts through contemplating over divine messages. It refers to Quran study sessions conducted by early Muslims.
In our study we rendered shahru ramadan as the manifestation of inner burning1, on the basis of observations which we will summarize below.
The calendar at the time of revelation did not have a month called Ramadan
Looking into the names of the pre-Islamic Arabian months, we note that there was no month called Ramadan during the time of the Quranic revelation. This is confirmed by sources like al-Muntakhab, Lisan al-Arab and Lane’s lexicon.
Also, because the Quran doesn’t mention the names of other months – apparently because it is against the Quranic spirit to revere any place or time, be it a month, a year, a day or a night – and because months in a year are arbitrary, we can assertively infer that shahru ramadan was NOT a name of a month in early Islam.
Thus, bearing in mind that it was a later innovation, we need to understand what shahr and ramadan meant in classical Arabic.
Shahr means manifestation
Shahr, sh-h-r = make it notable, known, manifest, public, famous, month, moon, full moon.
A classical dictionary like Lisan al-ʿArab sheds much light on the original meaning of the word shahr as it reports that the Bedouin Arabs used to call the moon shahr and didn’t mean month in the modern sense. But since the primary meaning of shahr is something “obvious”, “wide” and “public”, moon that the Arabs were talking about was wide, big, full-figured, obvious and public – not a poorly visible, thin, tiny crescent or ‘new moon’ that people quarrel about.
Likewise, shahirat is a wide big woman; and ash-harat is a pregnant woman with fully grown belly. Some of its other derivatives are: mashoor (famous or manifested), ashaar (banner), shaurat (fame), ishtehaar (celebrity) and ashaar (publicity).
Now, though shahr has traditionally evolved to mean month following this connotation of fully grown moon, it also means declaration or announcement (see Lane’s) and is related to the above derivatives wherefrom the meta-meaning that emerges is ‘manifestation’.
Thus shahr in the Quran simply means MANIFESTATION, especially full manifestation, of something or some process, i.e., fully grown or fully visible. For a detailed study of the word shahr, please see Shahru Ramadan in Quran.
This meaning of shahr as ‘manifestation’ fits into all occurrences of the word shahr and its related words in the Quran.
For example, shahr refers to the manifestation of the full moon as the climax of a lunar cycle (2:197, 2:217, 5:2, 46:15, 58:4). Thus, “known ashhurun” in 2:197 implies “known manifestations (of full moons, referring to months)”. Likewise, shahr in ch 97 occurs to metaphorically emphasize that “a night of meditation (= a night of abstinence), impelled by shahru ramadan, 2:185, is better than thousand shahr of mindlessness. 97:3”. Then shahr in a potentially pregnant woman’s waiting period may refer to the perceived manifestation of a menstrual cycle (2:226, 2:234; cf. 2:228); and shahr for Solomon’s wind graphically refers to the fully manifestation of speed (34:12, 34:12). In the same way, shahru ramadan would mean the manifestation of ramadan2. Below we will look into the meaning of ramadan.
Ramadan means inner burning
Ramadan, r-m-d = burn, burning heat, to sharpen (a spear) between stones, roast, pasture on a burning ground; the heaving of the soul, distress and disquietude, pain, grief. See: LL, V3, p: 322, 323, http://ejtaal.net/aa/#q=rmD.
Thus, considering the primary meaning of ramadan as burning, which cannot mean physical burning in the context of 2:185, we understand it as psychological or INNER BURNING. This understanding is fully consistent with the connotations highlighted above3. For a detailed study of the word ramadan, please see What is Ramadan in Quran?.
Shahru ramadan means manifestation of inner burning
As we noted in our study, this originally refers to the Quran study projects mentioned elsewhere (see 73:20, 73:1-7; cf. 47:24, 23:68, 3:79, 4:82) wherein those believers who experienced shahru ramadan, i.e., burning questions and disquieting thoughts in their minds, participated “for an assigned number of days” (2:184). This was essential for delivery of the message during the time of the Quranic revelation.
Finally, the Quranic message is revealed in human minds, through the manifestation of inner burning (shahru ramadan). It is not revealed in an arbitrary lunar month, called Ramadan, named after the scorching summer heat of a solar month.
Related reading:
Siyam is not fasting, but self-control through Quran study
Blind Dating Versus Perfect Timing
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Note 1
Keeping the above reflections in mind, here is a humble rendering of 2:185:
The manifestation (shahru, sh-h-r) of inner burning (ramadan, r-m-d) is wherein the Reading (Quran, q-r-a) is being sent down as a guidance for people and clarifications (b-y-n) of the guidance and the Criterion (FURQAN, dawn, separator of light from darkness, 2:187). So whoever witnesses the manifestation, let him abstain/halt it. And whoever is sick or travelling (so cannot join these study sessions, 73:20), then the same number from different days. God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship; and so that you may complete the count, and magnify God for what He has guided you, so that you may be grateful. 2:185
Note 2
Question: If shahr in 2:197 or 9:36 means month, then why wouldn’t shahr in 2:185 also mean month? Answer: The word shahr in 2:185 doesn’t have to refer to the same intended meaning as the word shahr in 2:197 or 9:36. The meaning of a derivative of a root, or even the meaning of a same word, may change or even drastically change in the Quran depending on the context. Here are a few examples. Derivatives of the same root but referring to very different meanings: kEb: l-kaʿbayni (5:6), l-kaʿbati (5:95), l-kaʿbata (5:97). Derivatives of the same root but referring to very different meanings: the extreme nuances of the triliteral root qwm, which occurs 660 times in the Quran in 22 derived forms. The same word referring to very different meanings: yad (y-d-y, ydy): aydiyahumā (5:38), yadayhi (5:46), yadayhi (5:46), yadayhi (5:48), yadu (5:64), aydīhim (5:64), yadāhu (5:64) and so on. We can observe numerous examples like this throughout the Quran.
Note 3
The word ramadan derives from the Arabic root r-m-d (ر-م-ض, “scorching heat”), where the Classical Arabic verb “ramiḍa” means “become intensely hot – become burning; become scorching; be blazing; be glowing”. Correlation in roots provides further insights on the wider meaning of the word, for example.:
Overlapping letters
رمض (RaMaDan, Quran 2:185) => burning, friction
رمد (RaMad, 14:18) => ashes, burnt coal
رمز (RaMaz, 3:41) => sign, gesture, uneasiness, agitation
رمح (RiMah, 5:94) => piercing, striking
Same letters, different order
ضمر (DaMiR, 22:27) => lean, weak, diseased, powerless, defective
مرض (MaRaD/MaRiD, 24 times in the Quran) => diseased, imperfect, weak, deficient, dissension, conflict
Thus, in a broader sense, shahru ramadan is manifestation of (inner) burning, friction, sign, agitation, piercing, conflict, dissension, weakness, disease, defect. See: Quran Morphology.
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