Today marks the first day of Ramadan.

What is Ramadan? you ask.

What am I, your personal encyclopedia?  You’re obviously new here! I respond.

Go read about it here.

Having grown up in the U.S., and having fasted since I was fourteen, I’ve fielded many questions and comments about Ramadan.  All of them were important, none of them were stupid.

Like:

So, you don’t eat or drink for an entire month?

Seriously?  Come on.  Of course I eat and drink.  If I could go an entire month without eating, I wouldn’t be forty pounds overweight.  If I could go all month without eating food and drinking water, I’d be a superhero.  A superhero with a generally useless yet cost effective superpower.  We eat prior to sunrise and after sunset.

I bet you lose a lot of weight.

No, I don’t.  In fact, I gain about ten pounds every Ramadan.  I think I should get extra credit for that, by the way.

Did you fast when you were pregnant?

No, I also did not fast right after I had both of my children.  Fasting while I’m nursing is optional.  There are several exceptions to who must fast.  Those who cannot fast are required to feed people as a substitute.

You must be sooo hungry.

You have no idea.  I am also thirsty.  Even more excruciating?  I am not allowed to curse, get angry or lose my temper.  I think that part is harder than the fasting, actually.  Honestly, though, this discomfort disappears somewhere around day four or five.

Can I eat in front of you?  Is that offensive?

Of course you can eat in front of me and I am not offended by it, at all.  Just like I’m not offended if you bust out a ham sandwich when I’m not fasting.  Now, if you’re going to go out of your way and pontificate on how lovely your food tastes and oh-my-god-how-can-you-not-want-to-eat-this-it’s-so-delicious-I-think-I-want-to-wash-it-all-down-with-a-nice-and-much-needed-refreshing-sip-of-cool-clear-water?  We may have a problem.

Why do you fast?  (Note that this does not say, “Why do Muslims fast?”  Although, certainly that would cover most of my response, I am not, nor will I ever be, a spokesperson for every Muslim you ever meet.  Most likely, I am far from it).

Ramadan, for me, is a time to develop my God* consciousness.  Most religionists (I’m using that term in the sense of people who beleive in a religion) give a great deal of lip service to how important they think God is.  But, at least as is the case with me, God occupies a small percentage a day of my conscious mind.  Ramadan is always the exception for me.  There is nothing more God-consciousness inspiring than when 6p.m. rolls around and you’re considering gnawing off your left arm due to excruciating hunger, and you stop to remember that you’re doing this because God commanded it.  People offer (accurate) explanations regarding how this time reminds us of those who do not have a choice regarding when they can eat or of the importance of charity, etc.  I personally beleive those are encompassed within the God consciousness reason, though.

* Allah means “God” in Arabic and since I’m writing in English here, you know…

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So, there you go.  Feel free to ask me additional questions or make additional non-combative comments.

And, oh?

Ramadan Mubarek.