By Ashton Ward
Muslims, both in Utah and across the world, aren”t eating this month, at least not in between dawn and dusk. The fast began Sept. 23 in observance of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting that is an integral part of the Islamic religion. After sunset families and friends gather together to break their fast.
“We”re fasting on Ramadan because it”s part of life. [Islam] is a way of life,” said Ahmad Salah, a doctorate student at BYU. “It”s not like you”re going to work to earn money. It”s like I”m going to work and fasting or not, it doesn”t make a difference. It”s a way of life rather than just doing something.”
Fasting, or “sawm,” is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other four are “Salat” (prayer), “Shahadah” (the testimony of faith), “Zakat” (almsgiving) and “Hajj” (the pilgrimage to Mecca that each Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime if they are able). The month of Ramadan is in observance of sawm and is an essential part of Islam. During Ramadan Muslims around the world fast from food, drink and sexual activities from dawn until dusk when they break their fast with family and friends.
While Ramadan may have the appearance of a cultural practice because of the social aspect, it is a religious requirement and conscientious effort for Muslims.
“Ramadan is not a cultural thing,” Salah said. “Even though it might appear as a cultural thing … it is religious. The things that happen with Ramadan or during Ramadan are part of culture, and you might see them different from city to city or country to country, and we are asked to fast as one of the basic pillars of Ramadan, that”s religious based response.”
The dinner served to break the fast after sunset is typically started with dates, a fruit.
“That”s what we”ve been taught by the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon Him,” Salah said. “He actually taught us to start eating dates immediately, to break the fast on dates, and that”s a common practice across the world.”
Not only do dates taste good, but also they have nutritious value. High in calories and fiber, dates serve as a boost at the beginning of the meal, Salah said.
Ramadan is about more than fasting – it also focuses on spiritual growth and charitable efforts.
“It”s not just fasting from food, but a cleansing of the mind and mindset,” said Nadeem Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake.
“The significance of Ramadan is to get a patience and fear of God, and to remember the people who cannot get food. Because if you eat all the time, you”re never hungry,” said Noor Masjid, a local Muslim.
Muslims pay special attention to service, feeding the needy and providing service to charities during the fast. In Salt Lake, for example, many Muslims help a local food bank gather food, said Tarek Nosseir, vice president of the Islamic Society said.
“What we do is…on a daily basis we feed those who are unfortunate or don”t have a family or something like that,” Nosseir said. “We also donate money for those who are in need.”
Ramadan starts when the first crescent of the new moon can be sighted. Muslims follow a lunar calendar, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar that most of the world follows today, so Ramadan moves to different seasons throughout the years.
“Muslims all over the world follow the lunar calendar in any religious based activity,” Salah said. “Usually there are some astronomical calculations that determine the birth of the new moon, but we are asked not to follow [only] the calculations but to be able to see, to look for the moon, to sight the crescent … if we are able to sight the crescent on the night of the 29th day of the previous month. It”s like a new month eve, it happens every month.”
Ramadan may begin on different days for different Muslim communities because they may sight the new moon
on a different night.
“This is actually what happened on Friday,” Salah said. “So Friday night we waited, we should be able to sight the moon and say OK tomorrow is the first day or Ramadan, or OK, Sunday is the first day. That”s basically how the months start.”
There has been a move to use scientific calculations to determine the official and universal start of Ramadan by the president of the Islamic Society of North America, according to the organization”s official Web site. This has been a cause of debate within the Muslim community because of the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad that one should observe the crescent with the naked eye.
“It”s not like a holiday season, if you will, but it”s a festivities season, … a spiritual festivities, not like a food festivities. And I always like to say this: Ramadan is like having a Thanksgiving dinner every day for 29 to 30 days,” Salah said. “Ramadan is a family reunion, a friends reunion. It”s a time when people get together most of the days; we”re either with family or friends, or we”re inviting family or friends. You know how on Thanksgiving or Christmas people come from all over the world to come together, to have a nice dinner. If you want to get a feeling on what Ramadan is to us, it”s pretty much like that for 29 days.”
Ramadan, like the spiritual side of the Christmas season, is a time to serve others and to serve God. It”s a time to share both physical and spiritual food.
“It”s fun,” Salah said. “I mean, Ramadan is fun even though it may sound vile. People say, ”You fast 29 consecutive days?” I say ”Yeah,” because we like to do it and we”re used to doing it. It”s not a big deal for us. We”re human beings and obviously fasting 16 hours a day for 29 days, for humans, physically speaking, we get hungry and we get thirsty, but like any religion if you”re living a religion you [try to promote the] spiritual nature. You know again in [the LDS] religion, most members do the best to follow your religion, but life will take you away. I consider Ramadan to be a month of re-charging my spiritual batteries, getting together with family and sharing thoughts and sharing and learning about our religion.”
