Hey guys!
I do realize that it's been a very long while since I have been here. What can I say, this summer was a really busy one! I was in NYC for a week, then I was in TN visiting my brother and my sister-in-law because they were about to have their first baby. We all got so busy with getting things ready for my little niece that I barely had time to look in the mirror. And after that, of course, my beautiful and precious niece got here.
On top of that I am starting my freshman year at college this fall, so that had me pretty busy as well. So, my apologies for the big disappearance.
Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I'll steer towards the topic of this post. For those of you who haven't figured out from the last posts, I am a practicing Muslim. I was born a Muslim and I choose to be one too. (Just clarifying, you know, cause people ask me all the time if I was forced into being a Muslim since I was a kid. o.O Like whaaaaat. This is why we need to promote a better understanding of Islam. No preaching here).
Being a Muslim, the holy month of Ramadan means a lot to me. Since I was one of the very (and I mean, seriously rare species) few Muslims in my school, people were always asking me about Ramadan and what it stands for. So, I thought, why not make a post over here and explain it better to the internet world. I was prompted because the month of Ramadan is going on right now (though it's not always this time of the year but we'll get into that later).
So, let's start with the basics. The month of Ramadan is a very holy month for us Muslims. It is the month in which we fast everyday from sunrise to sunset. During this fast, we cannot eat or drink anything. Not even water. Or toothpaste. Or gum. Or a lollipop. Or...well, you get my point. Nothing. And many people think that's all there is to Ramadan. Starve yourself everyday.
But that's not true. Ramadan is the month of abstaining from all evils. It is a month where you try to purify yourself to the best of your ability. This includes not cussing, not talking bad about people, not indulging in inappropriate sexual activities (*shifty eyes*), not drinking alcohol (although, Muslims aren't allowed to do that anyway. But hey, no one's perfect. Not me. Not you.), not cheating, not stealing, and basically just abstaining from all sins.
So, in this month, you let yourself rise above worldly goods and go through a spiritual experience. It cleanses you, and puts things into perspective.
A lot of people ask that isn't this unhealthy? And why would God want you to starve yourself?
Well, see. It's really not about starving yourself. According to nutritionists and doctors, the diet plan observed in the month of Ramadan is very healthy. It cleanses your digestive system and is very healthy for you. Well, that's if you don't eat yourself to death at sunset, but I don't really see how people can do that because even though it may sound crazytalklike, it is really hard to binge eat after you have been not eating the whole day. It really is, trust me. You think you can eat a camel when it's almost sunset but when you start eating, you find yourself full really fast. Or at least I do. Dunno about you. How about you guys tell me what you do?
Plus, it's a really great way to lose weight. Unless you drench yourself in greasy food. Which is sort of, like, really unhealthy. So, don't. Spread awareness of the No Greasy Food in Ramadan Campaign for me, please!
So, the basics of a day in Ramadan: the sehri and the iftaar. Sehri is what you eat in the morning before sunrise or the Fajr prayer time. You're not required to eat something but it's recommended and healthy. Usually, people like to eat something heavy. Something with a little substance so it can keep giving them energy the whole day but not anything too greasy that it'd make you thirsty the whole day. Things like eggs and other heavy breakfast foods are usually favorite. For me, not so much. I'm really NOT a morning person no matter how hard I try (though I'm starting to wonder, do I really ever try?), I cannot eat too much in the morning. It makes me wanna throw up. So I just down a bowl of cereal and some tea because my philosophy is that I'm gonna get hungry at 12 anyway no matter what I eat. Cause I'm fat like that. Don't judge.
The next comes iftaar. Iftaar is when you break your fast at sunset or after Maghrib prayer time. It is recommended (as it was practiced by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) himself) to break your fast with dates (that's the fruit not the outing) or water. I personally prefer dates because, well, they're delicious! After that ya eat. Yeah. It's traditional in Pakistan (which is where I hail from) to have fruit salad in iftaar but I'm not too sure about other Muslim cultures. Which I think is pretty cool as fruits are some of the healthiest things to eat.
Now moving on to another question I get asked a lot. Why do we fast? What's the purpose of Ramadan? I believe I answered part of that question earlier. It's to cleanse yourself and rise above worldly goods. But also adding to that, it's a humbling experience. Not being able to eat or drink the whole day is not easy. It's something, although you can get a little used to, you'll always struggle with. It's never easy to give up on such luxuries which is why it gives you a new perspective and understanding. When you realize what it's like to not have certain things that you take for granted, you look at things differently. It makes you appreciate what you have and your blessings. It also helps you understand what it's like to be poor and not as blessed. That, to me, is a very nice experience. It's sort of like a slap in the face. Although I don't usually enjoy slap-in-the-face's, this is something to be slapped in the face for. Even though you're really not being slapped in the face. Wait, what? *confuses herself* Anyway.
Last but not the least, when exactly is Ramadan? Hmm. So, now, the Muslim year is a little different from our usual years. Muslim calendar is lunar-based. Which means that Muslim months move around on our regular calendar. So, it's safe to say that there is not definite month in which Ramadan takes place. Instead, it changes every year. It goes back by 10 days (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong) every year. So, where Ramadan started August 11th this year, it will start 10 days earlier next year.
The month of Ramadan is also the month of revelations as it was in this month that the Quran was released to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), which makes it all the more special to Muslims.
So, I think I've pretty much covered everything I was wanting to cover. Though, sometimes my brain fails me; in that case, I shall edit later with anything more I have to add.
Also, this is not meant to be a preaching post, just a post to help spread more of understanding of what Ramadan is. I hate preaching. It gets me. I hate it when people preach you and shove their views down your throats trying to get you to believe in what they want. It's seriously so freaking annoying I don't even know what to do with myself. I personally believe in educating people about what you believe in and why you believe in it. The rest is their decision. I'm pretty sure since they're humans just like you, they're intelligent enough to make their own decisions. Unless you're preaching your pets. In which case, well, go right ahead. Although they just might not understand what you're trying to tell them. Anyway, those people have a right to choose what they believe in just as much as you do. You don't own them, no matter how much you want to. *more shifty eyes*
Anyway, that's it for this post. Hope I was able to help people understand more what Ramadan is and why it's so important to Muslims. If I missed anything or messed anything, feel free to comment about it. :)
Loves n hugs,
Amna.
P.S.: Ugh. I really hate how this thing won't let me post my favorite types of smileys coz they mess with the stupid HTML thing. MY posts aren't complete without my smileyfaces. v_v
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