Ramadan: More Than a Thirteen Hour Diet

By Numaan Shah

Fasting is an Islamic tradition and one of the pillars of our faith, customs which each Muslim strives to abide by. It takes place during the ninth month of the lunar calendar, a practice begun by the Prophet Muhammad, may the grace of God be upon him. Think of it as an annual get-back-to-the-basics for Muslims, a chance to reconnect with the practices that make us unique and hopefully will elevate our levels of spirituality. But abstaining from food and drink for thirteen and a half hours each day, while my friends are enjoying delicious food all day long… what’s in it for me!? Well, in these next few lines I hope to relate my thoughts on fasting and what it means to me, to provide you with some insight on this ritual that over a billion people partake in each year.

The ideology behind giving up food and drink is so that we spend our time more productively, ideally turning towards prayer and studying the religion for periods of time when we’d otherwise horse around or not be mindful of things like God or our faith. Now I’m willing to admit I tend to be a pretty social person, stopping to chat with each and every familiar face I come across on campus, but that’s just me. But Ramadan is a special time, so I really strive to try to break from this routine and be mindful of more important things, like remembering God, being thankful for all that God provides, and appreciating that we’ve blessed with wonderful family and friends.

It’s about stepping your game up by reflecting on the practices and beliefs that makes one a Muslim: faithfulness, tolerance, spreading love for fellow man, helping the weak, elderly, and needy, and striving to be humble. In my opinion, if one prays or fasts merely for the sake of doing so, they will get little sentiment from this action; but if one spends their time thinking about why they are giving up food and drink, focusing less on the hunger one feels and more on how to better spend time, I’m confident they will come to the same conclusion I have: finding God in all things. We walk around oblivious and ungrateful for all the amazing things around us and within us, like having a warm place to sleep, being able to eat as much as we want whenever we want, feeling safe, breathing clean air and drinking clean water. Being a God-fearing person, I feel it is vital to remember God in all we do and in everything around us, because I have found that the more I am thankful to God for, the more great things he provides me with…not a bad deal if you ask me!

Not to get too religious, but these are the sentiments I feel and the conclusions I have come to as a result of the time I have spent in reflection thus far during this month. Ramadan comes around once a year, and I am sure others much like myself strive to be on their best behavior, reflecting upon the values I have discussed above. But the actions of fasting and reflection need not only be an annual ritual, rather this month should serve as a refresher course, calling us back to our core values. Each day of Ramadan I feel closer to God, closer to others, and feel better about myself. If giving up a few lunches during this month helps warm my soul, imagine what carrying this feeling in my belly all year round can do.