Ramadan Mubarek, Now With Q,C&A
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.
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…
******
So, there you go. Feel free to ask me additional questions or make additional non-combative comments.
And, oh?
Ramadan Mubarek.
41 Responses to Ramadan Mubarek, Now With Q,C&A
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Oh! And I felt like a mega Christian when I fast for the one day a year when my church does this thing. I won’t go into details, but I can’t explain it as well as my pastor and it would probably bore you to tears. But we do it for the same reason as you, all for God and my develope a more indebt relationshiop with God.
For that one day out of the year I do think about God WAY MORE OFTEN because, well, I’m hungry and I know I’m hungry because I’m doing this to get closer to God, pray more and all that jazz.
While it sucks to be hungry, it’s a pretty awesome feeling when it’s all said and done.
I think what you are doing is pretty cool!!!
@Janelle, I love that you do that/understand it, too, despite that we practice different faiths. Just another thread that shows how people are more alike than they are different.
Very good answers to the questions above. I often wondered why people would still do this in this day and age.
The offenders at my prison who are muslim can observe Ramadan if they choose. There are only about 30 of them that do, but I have an extreme amount of respect for them. It has to be very hard to live in such a controlled environment and then follow such a regimented lifestyle on top of that.
Plus, the fact that they are hungry all day long, I’m pretty sure I would snap and hurt someone!
@Becca, I cannot imagine the amount of willpower that it must take to fast while in prison… or the amount of faith.
Wait. You’re not allowed to curse? This should be interesting.
@Avitable, Heh. In about ten days, you’ll understand why I’ve stopped speaking to you, then…
… and here I am thinking that we’re all that because we have specific DAYS for which we abstain from food and drink! Including Yom Kippur, which is a 25-hour fast from sunset the night before until nightfall.
Question: speaking of Yom Kippur, our fasting occurs to afflict (from the literal Hebrew, “make poor”) our souls. It comes down to a very similar concept as yours: it puts God and our relationships with God as the central focus. We, however, have other abstentions as well: for those 25 hours, we are not supposed to eat, drink, wear leather shoes, anoint ourselves with oil, or engage is sexual relations. Do you have similar additional restrictions?
Ramadan Mubarek…
@shiny, No sexual relations, but the leather and oil are okay.
Um. Somehow that last sentence seems rife with the possibility of misinterpretation.
This makes me hungry just thinking about it.
Although there are many times that call for fasting in Christianity and Catholicism, I’ve never actually done it. I’ve heard people who have, though, and their given reasons (and results) are very similar to yours.
@Miss Britt, I think most religions have some sort of fasting involved, and having experienced the results, I can say it’s with good reason.
i hope i have this correct:
taqabballah ta’atakum
@hello haha narf, And May Allah accept your deeds, as well, my friend. (You got it right).
It’s probably REALLY inappropriate to make a bacon joke here, right?
@SciFi Dad, Apparently, my spam filter is far more conservative than I am, because the bacon joke would have been fine with *me*.
And Ramadan Karim to you. You may want to mention that people with health conditions are also exempt. My friend Monsour is diabetic and fasting is out of the question, which is completely understood. But one year when we were still working together I told him I would do a proper fast in his behalf, and I did the “hard fast” which meant I spat a lot that day. Sheesh. The dates he recommended I break my fast with, though, never tasted better than they did that evening.
Unless they’re wrapped in bacon and put in the oven for twenty minute or so…
…oops.
@RW, Yes, people with health conditions are exempt, my dad is a diabetic, but he still fasts under his doctor’s (okay, my MOM’s) supervision. And I do love dates. Sans bacon, though.
Here’s another idea for a book: “Idiot’s guide to Religious practices/events”. It would include events such as Ramadan but explained in a light hearted fashion (much like you did above). I think there is totally a market for that!!!
Ramadan Mubarak.
@tariq, If you and Faiga are looking for a co-author for this (we can cover all of our wacky religious traditions with levity), I’d be honored to be in.
Which reminds me: We Jews just began the month of Elul (we go by a lunar calendar as well!) which is the last month of our cycle and exactly one month away from Rosh Hashanah, our Jewish new year. There are two common practices for the month of Elul which are (a) the sounding of the shofar (ram’s horn) daily; and (b) the blatant and intentional misspelling of the names of our blogging friends.
So — sorry about that, Faiga…
@shiny, Actually, I think we may be onto something here… Sheeny.
@shiny, @Faiqa, I could contribute with some input for understanding the Sabbats in the Wiccan traditions!
And I can totally do light-hearted writing…oooh, oooh! Pick ME!
@Cissa Fireheart, This is starting to look like a really good idea… and you’d be a welcome addition, I’ll let you know!
@tariq, I don’t know, I’m not comfortable with writing a book for someone who thinks of themselves as an idiot.
@Faiqa, How about The Novice’s Guide to Religious Practices. I think it’s a great idea. I think it would lead to more inter-faith understanding.
I like Tariq’s idea above. That’s a good one.
@Hockeymandad, He’s just full of good book ideas. Maybe *he* should write it…
Oooh! Definitely a book!!
I’ve never fasted, but I’m kinda interested in doing it, mostly for the experience. I should probably look into that. and adapt several religions’ guidelines as my own.
After that gallon of ice cream is gone.
@Sybil Law, Ahh, yes, gallons of ice cream are the biggest obstacles to our personal growth in so many ways.
I have a guy friend who was a cheerleader with me in high school and as soon as the sun went down he’d eat food and jump right back into practice. How he did cheerleading without eating or drinking, I’ll never know!
And he said he always gained weight because he ate a lot of junk food.
I have a lot of respect for anyone who observes Ramadan or all the jewish holidays where you fast. (I observe Yom Kippur and I almost passed out last year. We Jews apparently have a ton of holidays where we fast… news to me!)
Also, Turkey Bacon!! Yay for a lack of pork in our lives.
@Molly, I just don’t know what I would have done without turkey bacon and sausage. Sigh. Also, my reason for gaining is the late night eating. And maaaaaybe the junk food.
My husband fasts for 3 to 5 days every year or so as a Buddhist meditation. He is allowed to drink water during this time, but that’s all. I haven’t done a fast yet, but after a recent 24 hour medical fast didn’t kill me I might try a 2 or 3 day fast. It’s a very intimidating prospect for me!
@Lisa, There are all different kinds of ways to fast, too, I think some people will just eat fruit and nuts… you should give it a go.
@Lisa, Try starting with one day. I used to fast a couple of days a month (not consecutively) as a way to train myself to eat less. I allowed myself small portions of nuts or something to keep my blood sugar up.
OK, I love the idea of a book. There is a lot of craziness going on in this country right now with repect to Islam and I think we all could benefit from learning and understanding our similiarities and differences.
@Finn, So true, have you read “The Muslim Next Door”? I forget who wrote it, but it’s really good.
OK. I’ve read this post four times in my reader and I’m wondering this; even though I’m not Muslim, I’m curious if I’m brave enough to even try this for one day. Could I fast from sunup to sundown and when the sugar dips low, could I keep from snapping at my family?
I might try it. No promises. But I think it’s awesome and amazing that you do it each and every year. Ramadan Mubarek, you amazing woman!
@Coal Miner’s Granddaughter, Aww, thanks, did you know that Pope John Paul asked all Catholics to fast for one day in Ramadan as an interfaith gesture? He was so cool.
Thank you for sharing this information with us. It’s all very interesting! I have done fasting in preparations for Wiccan rituals, but usually for us, a big part of the Sabbats we celebrate involves a big communal feast after ritual.
I bet I could last a week with the Islamic style of fasting, after that I’d be freaking out….you folks are strong people!
@Cissa Fireheart, Actually, we’re supposed to “break” our fast in the company of others, as well. People usually go to the local masjid and eat together. After that, we do a special prayer that’s a recitation of the Quran. If we did that now, though, our kids wouldn’t get to bed until 1a.m. every night. But, when the Ramadan falls in the winter, we’ll definitely do that. My point being that there’s a communal aspect to our fasting, as well.
This is what I mean when I say I usually learn something when I read your posts.
My brother is a store manager. He usually has 4 or 5 Muslim employees and every year he mentions to me how they are trying to keep up their energy and not be cranky at work.
Do the elderly also fast? Also, is 14 the set age where fasting starts or is this up to the the individual.
@Little Miss Sunshine State, Fasting is supposed to begin in earnest when a child hits puberty, I was a late a starter.
Also, the elderly do fast as long as fasting doesn’t affect their health negatively. Usually, if someone is diabetic or has to take medications, they are exempt. But if there are no health problems that prohibit fasting, then they are required to fast.