Ramadan from an Inside Perspective, Shanzay Yousaf, Oaks Park High School

Ramadan from an Inside Perspective:

With the month of Ramadan approaching, many Muslims are eagerly counting down the days. Ramadan is very important to all Muslims as it is part of the 5 pillars of Islam: declaration of faith (belief that there is only one God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is his messenger), prayer (praying 5 times a day), charity (giving 2.5% of your income to the poor), Hajj (making pilgrimage to Makkah) and fasting. Fasting for Muslims includes not eating or drinking anything from dawn to dusk.

We start our fast at dawn, and before this a large meal is usually consumed to allow for enough energy for the rest of the day. This meal is called suhoor. After eating this meal, we pray Fajr (which is one of our 5 prayers). This usually happens early in the morning e.g. 4:30am. The next meal that we have is at dusk. The fast is broken with the prayer of Maghrib, this can sometimes happen as late as 9PM for Muslims in England. Fasts are usually broken with dates and milk, then the rest of the meal is eaten. People try and add more nutrients in their meals as it has to last for the whole day. Many families eat many fruits and drink lots of water in this time.  Many families meet in Ramadan to break their fast together. Neighbours also give food to each other.

When Muslims fast, they also refrain from any bad habits and try and better themselves. For us, Ramadan is a month in which you should pray as much as possible.  Many Muslims will replace watching TV to read the Quran and will stop listening to songs- which they may replace with naats      (poetry in which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is praised).  Muslims go to the mosque to attend additional congregational prayers which happen once the fast is broken. This is called Taraweeh.

Ramadan begins when a crescent moon is sighted. It ends 30 days later. Eid-al-fitr, is celebrated when Ramadan ends. Muslims celebrate Eid together, it starts with the special Eid prayer which is attended in a mosque. People host celebrations, wear new clothes and girls/women apply henna designs.

All in all, the month of Ramadan is very important and many Muslims eagerly await the long nights spent praying and the iftaar parties. However, in this dire situation that we are now in, no-one knows how this Ramadan will go. With the mosques closed and human contact limited, all muslims know that it will be different to all the rest.

Shanzay Yousaf