How to Pray for Muslims during Ramadan

This year, 2026, Muslims will celebrate Ramadan from February 17th through March 19th. Ramadan is the Islamic month of mandatory fasting when all Muslims, 12 years and older, participate in daylong fasts to seek Allah and gain his favor.

The dates of Ramadan change, as it follows the lunar Hijri calendar, not the typical solar 365-day calendar.   

What is the significance of Ramadan?

Fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Fasting is a requirement for every Muslim. Muslims fast from many things: food, liquids (sometimes even spit), sex, and lying.

Ramadan is also significant because it holds the only opportunity for Muslims to experience any closeness with Allah. During the Night of Power, which can happen on any day during the last 10 days of Ramadan, there is one second where Allah connects with the devout praying Muslim and answers their requests. This most important night of Ramadan is claimed to give Muslims who pray all through the night a special reward; their recited prayers will be worth more than 1,000 months of worship. Many Muslims spend the last 10 nights of Ramadan praying in the mosque so they do not miss the Night of Power (Quran 97:3).   

What do Muslims have to do during Ramadan? Rules and rituals 

Along with fasting, Muslims must perform several rituals, including trying to recite the entire Quran during that month, daily taraweeh, which are night prayers in the mosque, giving zakat or charity, feeding the poor, and starting the two main daily meals (iftar and suhoor) with dates and water. 

There are strict rules that Muslims must obey.  For example, when a day of fasting is missed due to travel or illness, the Muslim must make it up later, preferably right after Ramadan ends (Quran 2:184). Muslim women often have to make up lost days of fasting because of menstruation and after a baby's delivery. 

The Muslim’s fast will be void in many conditions, including intentional swallowing of any liquid, excessive bleeding, touching a dog or a dead animal, lusting after a woman, and the application of skin products. Muslims avoid taking a shower during the hours of fasting, so their fast will not be voided by the cleansing products or the water getting into the eyes, nose, and mouth. 

Why should Christians pray for Muslims during Ramadan? 

As you can tell, Ramadan is a very intense and unforgiving time for Muslims – there is no grace or hope. They must be perfect, or else they will not gain Allah’s favor or forgiveness of their sins.

Ramadan is a spiritually draining and oppressive time for Muslims. As Christ-followers, we should pray for their eyes and hearts to be opened to the gospel.

It is crucial for Christians to pray for Muslims, especially during Ramadan, because it is a time of spiritual warfare for their souls. 

Day to day, Muslims carry the weight of their sin until they can do good deeds to “pay it off.” But even then, they are left wondering if they have done enough. 

Ways to pray for Muslims during Ramadan

When praying for your Muslim friend, try to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine obsessing over every sinful thought, prayer, and rule. Failure could cost you the approval of Allah and the prospect of paradise. 

Pray that your Muslim friend would be free from spiritual slavery, the need to be perfect, and shame. Ask the Lord to turn their yearning for sustenance after fasting into hunger for Jesus. Ultimately, pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them.

Praying for Muslim families starts with asking the Lord to work on the hearts of Muslim men. If their hearts are drawn to Jesus, then it is likely that their families will follow. Pray that the Lord would use their shortcomings to reveal their need for Him. Ask the Father to draw their hearts to Himself. 

Pray for the Muslim women. Islam does not value women as equal to men. Muslim women especially need to know Christ’s love. Ask the Lord to grant Muslim women protection and courage to ask questions and find Jesus. Pray for Christian women to love and share Jesus with them.

Muslim children need our prayers as they are still developing and easily influenced. In Jesus’ name, ask for the guarding of their hearts and minds. In Matthew 11:25, Jesus praises the Father for revealing the Kingdom of heaven to infants. Through prayer, we can ask God to continue to reveal truth to children, in this case, Muslim children.  

Our daily prayer should be that the Lord would bring many Muslim families to know Him.

Download this free daily prayer guide so we can pray together for Muslims during Ramadan! Print this out and hang it up as a visible reminder of how vital this time is spiritually for those in Islam.

Prayer 

Dear Lord, during this time of Islamic fasting, please stir my heart with compassion for my Muslim friends. Remind me to pray for your lost sheep. Please meet lost Muslims where they are and open their ears and hearts to the liberating truth of your love. Amen.