CORRECTION APPENDED SEE BOTTOM:As the sun set over campus, orange, pink and red highlights cascading across the horizon, a group of Muslim students laid out their prayer mats. The students waited for the muezzin-a fellow student appointed to sing the call to prayer-to begin.

Allahu Akbar-God is most great-echoed through the Village Lounge four times, followed by the shahada-the Islamic testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is his prophet, and the first of the five pillars of Islam. After the completion of the shahada, the muezzin called the faithful to prayer.

Hayy 'ala s-sala: Come alive to the prayer. Hayy 'ala l-falah: Come alive to flourishing.

His voice beautifully accentuated each staccato note, repetition and all the extended and modulated sounds that form the adhan-the call to prayer. As he set the tone for the rest of the prayer, those celebrating the holy month of Ramadan aligned their bodies with his to pray together.

"Ramadan is a great opportunity to reflect. It is a time for me to step out of my normal schedule and really look at things differently. I take a lot for granted," says Anum Khan '10, co-president of the Muslim Student Association and a native of Pakistan. "However, when you are not eating, and you are not drinking, and you are praying five times a day, and you are doing it much more seriously than you would normally, it has this aura about it."

Khan, like many of the Muslim students at Brandeis, has been fasting from sunrise to sunset since Sept. 13 in accordance with the holy month of Ramadan, which ends Saturday with the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, the three day Festival of Fast-Breaking. Muslims fasting for Ramadan-the third of the five pillars of Islam-not only refrain from eating and drinking during the day, but also stress the importance of praying five times daily, practicing charity and self-accountability, reading the Quran and reflecting. And while some Muslim students at Brandeis say they fast rarely or not at all because of stress from school and work, others choose to adhere to the strictest rules of the holiday.

Imam Talal Eid, the University's Muslim chaplain, estimates that approximately 25 undergraduates identify themselves as Muslim.

Many observant students find comfort that they're able to celebrate Ramadan with their community. "The Muslim community at Brandeis is very important to me. It keeps me very grounded and very centered," Khan says. "It keeps reminding me of who I am and where I come from."

In keeping with a tradition that began last year, each weekday the MSA sponsors an iftar- the meal to break the fast at sunset-at different locations around campus. The celebrations are open to the larger community. Anyone is welcome to come, learn about Ramadan and enjoy the delicious food cooked by both undergraduate and graduate students observing the holiday.

"I would like to commend the efforts of the quads who have hosted iftars and the community that has joined and supported its Muslim peers," Eid says. "It's quite a special thing at Brandeis, to get along regardless of religion and recognize each others' faiths and beliefs."

Many students say that fasting is only a part of the significance of Ramadan. MSA co-President Azra Qizilbash '09 says that it's important for her to break the fast with her community and read the Quran throughout the month.

"Sometimes fasting can be a little mundane if you don't take the time to think about it. The first couple of days it's very tiresome," she says.

Qizilbash says she didn't fast for the first few days of Ramadan, but once she took the time to reflect on her beliefs, she began to participate in the daily fast.

"After so many years, it becomes a habit. You don't sit down to think about it," Qizilbash says.

Ramadan is clearly much more than just fasting. It is a time of great spirituality and celebration, when Muslims turn both inward, reflecting on themselves, their actions and their faith, giving charity, breaking the fast as a community and strengthening their relationship with God.

"The significance of Ramadan for me is very unique because I am really attached to the spirituality," Mohammad Kundos '10, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, says. "It is beyond stopping yourself from eating; it's more than that. The fast is not the most important thing during Ramadan. It is more about cleaning yourself, cleaning your mind-it's much deeper."

Khan tries her best to get up in the morning for suhoor-the pre-dawn meal-followed by the first prayer of the day.

"When you get up, it's calm; you look outside, and it's still," Khan says. "When I stand on the prayer mat, it is very interesting because I am usually thinking I am probably the only one in this building who is doing this right now, yet everywhere around me there are so many people who are standing up in the same position and doing the exact same thing."

Kundos echoes Khan's suggestion that unity is one of the most spiritual and significant aspects of Ramadan.

"After this element of cleaning yourself, Ramadan is more to unite the people together and build an atmosphere of celebration," Kundos says. "I love the spirituality that comes out of this holiday. It's like connecting to your soul-to yourself-looking at the soul and all that comes out of it so that you may understand your actions."

Students say that under their urging the administration has increased its focus over the last few years to ensure Muslim students have the resources they need. Beginning last year, students observing the fast were allowed to purchase two meals during the evening meal period so they could save the second meal for suhoor at 4 a.m. This year is also the second year of daily iftars on the weekdays.

"The university has been accommodating. However, there is definitely room to take that to the next level," Kundos says. "For example, Eid is not recognized as an actual holiday, [but] it's one of the biggest holidays in the Islamic year. It is important to recognize that Islam is a faith on campus that there are people celebrating Ramadan and it is a time of great happiness for them." Kundos adds that Eid, unlike many Jewish and Christian holidays, is not given the recognition it deserves on campus.

Kundos suggests that the next step could be as simple as raising awareness around campus during the month of Ramadan.

"I don't think the University gives it enough attention," Kundos says. "For example, on Yom Kippur when most of the community was fasting, I was hoping someone would draw attention to the fact that both the Muslim and the Jewish communities on campus were fasting together, but no one did."

On Oct. 11, MSA will be hosting a campuswide and intercollegiate iftar at 6 p.m. in Levin ballroom.

Correction: The article incorrectly stated that students aligned their voices to sing together during prayer. Prayer is silent however.