Ramadan : Exercise in Self-Control : Holy month: During Ramadan, the month of fasting, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.

Sunday is the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. During the daylight hours, Muslims are commanded to abstain from all that is taken by mouth, including food, water and tobacco.

All Muslims are required to observe the fast except young children, invalids, travelers and women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating. They are exempted during Ramadan but, except for the children, must fast the same number of days later when they are able. If they cannot complete the fast within the year, they may discharge their duty by feeding the poor.

“We fast because we are ordered to fast,” says Hasan Hathut of the Los Angeles Islamic Center. “We say, ‘We hear and obey.’ It is an excellent exercise in self-control.” As with the other religious duties of Islam, proper intention ( niya ) is considered essential, and mosques are particularly well attended during Ramadan.

After sunset the fast is broken with a light meal called futur, and eating is permitted from then on until just before dawn. The prophet Muhammad always broke his fast by taking a dried date or two with water, but there are no hard and fast regulations on what is lawful to eat. The foods traditionally eaten vary from country to country, and even from year to year, since the Muslim calendar is based on the phases of the moon and Ramadan can fall during any season.

The night hours are not given over entirely to eating. In addition to the regular sunset and evening prayers, Muslims perform a special Ramadan prayer called tarawih , and much of the night may be spent in religious discussion and recitations from the Koran. Many Muslims make a point of reciting the entire Koran during the course of the month.

In Muslim countries the time of breaking the fast is usually announced by a public signal such as the firing of a cannon. How do Los Angeles Muslims determine when to break the fast?

“I check my watch,” says Shabbir Mansuri of the Islamic Institute. The Islamic Center publishes a calendar for the entire year giving the correct hours for prayer; the time of breaking the fast coincides with the daily prayer called maghrib. Mansuri says that a lot of Muslims who don’t have access to the Islamic Center’s calendar simply follow the time of sunset as given in newspapers.

The television program “Islam,” which is broadcast Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. on KSCI (Channel 18), will feature a special program for the beginning of Ramadan. “Islam” is in English, except for recitations from the Koran.