Food, fasting and family

THERE are just a couple of days to go until Ramadan begins and for the last two weeks I have been fielding the same question from friends and acquaintances: how do you cope?

To be honest, I don’t know. I believe that there is no art to fasting and I still surprise myself every year by lasting the month. Now at the age of 24, I believe it is probably down to practice.

This year the holy month falls during the height of summer as well as being my first time fasting while working full-time. I suppose the idea isn’t exactly appealing this time around. 

As most of you will be happy to have shorter working hours and counting down the days for the three-day holiday when it’s all over, I will be counting down the minutes until sunset hits and I can indulge on all the soul food that has taken my mum (well, maid) five hours to prepare.

With the holy month moving 10 days backwards every year (the lunar calendar is shorter than the solar), this time we have been blessed with a summer Ramadan where periods of fasting can last up to 14 hours, so forgive me for my moody blues.

For the better part of my life, my experience of Ramadan has been during the winter, so the only way to cope, as I found last year, is to drink plenty of water during Suhoor (the morning meal before fasting begins at sunrise).

There have been occasions where my stomach or mind did not allow me to eat or drink anything after Futoor (breaking fast) and I stupidly decided to miss out on having Suhoor  … note to self, never skip the morning meal and refreshments.

As the 45 degree heat sweltered over the desert waking me up at 8am with a dry mouth, I refrained from cursing the world (as part of the fast is to avoid evil thoughts and actions) and suffered with a headache, and when it hit 11am, I had transformed into the Hulk, with seven more hours to go until I could drink an ice-cold, refreshing glass of water.

Some people may be mistaken to think that Ramadan is just about abstaining from food and drink for a month, but to me it is more of a self-assessment, because there’s nothing I love more in this world than food.

And, when it comes to hunger, I have no coping strategy.

With no energy, my yearly routine consists of daily naps and watching movies (brief smile from editor, as at least I will not miss the FilmWeekly deadline).

The thought of how good you feel after it’s all over really only starts to come into effect in the third week and joining my family to break my fast is a joy. After we’ve eaten we all gather around the TV to watch whatever ridiculous Ramadan show is on while sipping on red tea and having a few traditional Arabic desserts.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, fasting is something I take seriously as a Muslim and have been doing so since the age of 11, mind you, at that age I would still drink water and chew gum but clearly because I wasn’t really eating, I felt like I was fasting.

During the holy month, those who practice Islam read the entire Quran and some take part in special prayers at the mosque called Taraweeh, during which a whole section of the Quran is recited.

The most holy night of the year, Laylat Al Qadr (the night of destiny) is the night which the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and has Muslims attending the mosque for the last 10 days of Ramadan.

I wouldn’t necessarily say I was the best Muslim, but to me Ramadan is an opportunity to cleanse myself spiritually and spread kindness.

Charity, being another pillar of Islam, is very important during Ramadan and is 70 times greater than any other time of the year. I personally like to help by giving food to those in need. It is said that if you help someone break their fast, then you will receive a reward for their fast as well as your own.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of it all. Not only do I feel closer to Allah, but I also feel like a better person. That is until I return to bad mouthing the drivers on the road as I head to the gym to shed the excess pounds I have piled on for NOT sticking to the healthy options available during iftar and suhoor.