Saturday, August 22nd marked the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan. I am writing this article because ever since it has started my non-muslim friends are very curious as to what this Holy month is all about.
Fasting is the third pillar of Islam(out of five-they are similar to the 10 commandments). It is a must for all muslims. Ramadan is a time when from Sunrise to Sunset you do not eat or drink anything. Kind of like Lent, except we cannot have anything.
Then people ask "why?". Why do you have to fast from sunrise-sunset? It is to cleanse our bodies, and to help us understand what those who are less fortunate go through. It makes even the most materialistic person, think about how they would feel without a their regular three meals a day.
A typical day of Ramadan starts like this: Waking up for morning prayer and Sahar at 4 am. We eat a large breakfast so that we can have energy throughout the day. Then we can go back to sleep or go to work/school. We pray the next two prayer times and read Quran(holy book like the bible) as much as we can. Then we all anxiously wait for Iftar which is sunset and time to EAT! After eating a scrumptious meal, we pray the sunset prayer-Maghrib. After this most muslims go to tareweeeh. It is a prayer that is done during the month of Ramadan that throughout the 30 days of Ramadan, we try to finish the sura's/verses of the Quran.
After 30 days, we celebrate with a holiday named EID. It is a time when children buy new clothes, and the grownups hand out money as presents. We visit each others houses and hold parties to celebrate the finishing of another Ramadan.
This is a month that we are supposed to worship Allah, with peaceful and calmness. Many people do not understand this month and this is why I wrote this blog. Although it is a rigorous schedule their is unique satisfaction to fasting during the month of ramadan=) So to all of you fellow muslims RAMDAN KAREEM!
