Ramadan or Ramzan: History of correct spelling
Every year as the Islamic month of fasting starts, in India social media gets flooded with the debates on whether Ramadan or Ramzan is the correct spelling for the month. The debate is entirely for English educated people because in Urdu the spelling – رمضان – and in Hindi – रमज़ान – are settled.
Several people, especially the intellectual class, claim that Ramadan is recent in origin and started replacing Ramzan under an Arab influence post 1980s. Ramadan is often seen as an attack on Urdu Persian culture, though the spelling in those languages is a settled thing.
Interestingly, if we try to locate these spellings in 19th century texts written and published in the Indian Subcontinent (South Asia), we find usage of both the spellings. Rather, Ramadan was used more often while Ramzan was used more when this was a name of any person.
Rev. William Butler, founder of the Methodist Episcopal Mission in India, gives a glossary of Indian terms in his book, The Land of the Veda: Being Personal Reminiscences of India, published in 1873. In the glossary he said that Ramadan was the common spelling for “The name of a month; a fast of the Mohammedans”, while Ramzan was the correct phonetic spelling.
In 1881, Edwin Arnold edited the book Indian Poetry, which had a poem THE CALIPH’S DRAUGHT. In this poem, translated from Indian language, he wrote, “Upon a day in Ramadan, When sunset brought an end of fast,”
Edward Balfour, I. G of Hospitals, Madras Army, edited a Cyclopedia of India and Eastern and Southern Asia in 1873. This cyclopedia noted, “The Ramadan month of fast, is very strictly attended to…” and “Roza (fasting) during the Ramadan;” Now, very interestingly this same cyclopedia had used the other spelling Ramzan as well. It noted, “The other is the Eed ul Fitr or Ramzan ki Eed, held on the 1st of Shawal at the close of the Ramzan fast.” At another place this cyclopedia noted, “LAILAT- UL-KADR, or night of power, occurs on the night of the 27th Ramzan, and in it the Koran is supposed to have been sent down from heaven.”
It is mostly argued that Ramzan is used in Persian culture while Arab culture wrote Ramadan. Now, if we look at the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the India Office printed in 1903 and edited by Prof. Hermann Ethe the spelling used was Ramadan instead of Ramzan. The catalogue recorded at one place, “Introduction, dated the 18th of Ramadân, A. H. 901 (A. D. 1496, May 31).” The catalogue had more than two dozen mentions of the month of Ramadan and the spelling was the same everywhere. We find no usage of Ramzan in this catalogue.
Maulvee Sayd Ahmad Khan of Hamidia Educational Society, Johannesburg, (a body of Indians in South Africa) wrote to the British Government on 23 December 1909, “This meeting of the Hamidia Islamic Society protests against the Government having relied upon some irresponsible and ignorant persons as to the law relating to Ramadan.”
Closer to us in time, The Indian Listener (journal published by the All India Radio) in its issue of 7 December 1936 informed, “RAMADAN The Mahommedan month of Ramadan commenced this year during the third week of October and ended on the 15th December. As everyone knows, during this period the Koran enjoins every true Muslim to fast daily from sunrise to sunset. As the hour for breaking the daily fast approaches, the Muezzin calls out the “Azan” as a sign that everyone can break his fast. For the benefit of Mahommedan listeners, Calcutta arranged for the “Azan” to be broadcast daily from the studio at 5-20 p.m. during the whole period of Ramadan, the prayer being intoned by M. K. Quader.”
This is not to say that Ramzan was absent. In fact The History of Bhopal written by Begum of Bhopal and translated by H. C. Barstow used the spelling Ramzan at least 25 times and Ramadan was absent here. W. W. Hunter’s famous work The Indian Mussalmans had also employed the spelling Ramzan.
The debate is not new though. In 1898, contributing to The Author, John Beames wrote, “In the Arabic language there are four letters, all of which in India are pronounced as z, three which are pronounced s, and two pronounced t. It would suffice to write all these letters as they are pronounced without putting dots under them. But then the four letters pronounced as z in India are pronounced differently in other Mahomedan countries. For instance, the name of the month during which all good Muslims fast is pronounced in India and Persia Ramzan, while in Arabia and Turkey it is pronounced Ramadhan (i.e. , like the two English words ” rummer ” ” and ” darn, ” not like ” rammer ” and ” dan “) . I do not think any system, except one which hideously distorts them, would enable the Englishman who is unacquainted with Arabic to pronounce these words properly at sight-one would not like to see the word written ” rummer darn ! “
But, in my findings the spelling Ramadan for the month was more common than Ramzan during the late 19th and early 20th century. Ramzan was a more common spelling when referring to the name of a person eg. Ramzan Khan. Both the spellings have existed since at least 150 years in South Asia with a balance tilting towards Ramadan more.
(The ideas expressed are personal to author)
