“Not even water?”
“Not even chewing gum?”
These are questions that many Muslims are used to being asked as the special month of Ramadhan approaches. Ramadhan requires Muslims to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset for 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the new moon. Muslims wake up before sunrise to have a meal called sehri or suhoor and break their fast at sunset with a meal known as iftar, traditionally consisting of a date and some water. Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadhan and is a festival synonymous with family, feast and fun.
What can Ramadhan teach us?
- The implementation of good habits. Many Muslims will tell you that as time goes on, their body and mind get accustomed to fasting (this does not necessarily mean that it gets easier as you can get more and more tired as the month progresses). This month of fasting shows that if you really want to implement a good habit, you absolutely can! Being consistent and steadfast should allow these practices to turn into habits that will become part of your routine.
- Gratitude. No lunch and no snacks make you grateful for all the meals that are often taken for granted. As the saying goes, it is only when something is no longer here that you realise its value. It is only in Ramadhan that every food item you see in online advertisements or in shop windows looks particularly appealing and you regret having thrown away that sandwich that was just a tad too salty.
- Mindfulness. The amount of people who do not have access to nutritious meals and safe drinking water daily, throughout the year is appalling. Even as you feel hungry and tired throughout the day, you are privileged to know that you have food and water to break your fast with. Your stomach rumblings are the norm for so many people who have grown accustomed to not knowing what their next meal will consist of and where they will get it from.
- Happiness is found in ‘ordinary’ moments. Setting the table for iftar with your cousin, stuffing the samosas with your mum and chatting to your brother while walking to the mosque may not be extravagant. Yet, these moments collected throughout the years make for incredible and nostalgic memories.
