Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar, a month of prayer, peace and reflection.
Fasting is externally the most readily noticeable feature of Ramadan, and is a duty upon healthy,
adult Muslims. Ramadan is a month for inner self-awareness, and reflection; for renewed focus on
spirituality; for thankfulness and gratitude to God for the abundance of blessings we enjoy, from life
to provision; for compassion and generosity especially for those who remain in need of the
necessities of life.
Muslims also enjoy the feeling of togetherness shared by family and friends throughout the month,
something often lost in modern lives. A practical landmark is the yearly lesson in self-restraint and
discipline that carries forward to other aspects of life such as work, study, relationships. Ramadan
is thus the renewal of positive change that is to be maintained year-long. The Islamic lunar
calendar has twenty nine or thirty days each month — depending on if the crescent for the new
month is sighted with the naked eye. This year Ramadan started on the eve of 19 June.
Fasting is abstaining from eating and drinking (ingesting) and having sexual activity from dawn
until sunset, which in NZ this year is under 12 hours. Long fasts this year for those in Northern
Europe are equally compulsory while the reward for fasting is according to the individual’s
experience — inward and outward. Muslims may also pray during the night and spend time
praying, reading the Holy Quran, meditating or helping the needy. Muslims who may practice their
faith intermittently may increase the practice of their faith during this month. The physical
prohibitions are complimented by a mental and emotional reset: a “detox” of mind, body and soul.
Ultimately, it is a fasting of the heart.
Muslims thus refrain (always, and especially in this month of renewal) from things such as
argumentation, gossiping, eavesdropping, backbiting, lying and slander as these acts nullify the
worth of a fast. In essence Muslims must try to be model human beings during the fast with the
aim of retaining these virtuous qualities thereafter. The act of abstaining instils discipline,
appreciation, patience, and mental clarity. It is expected that having performed these “Ramadan
works” for a whole month every year, the fasting person continuously struggles for ideal character.
Employers, colleagues and supervisors may consider flexible allowances for the demands of
Ramadan and considering flexible working arrangements. Routines can often be slightly altered in
a way that does not adversely affect overall productivity. Short breaks, even naps, for example are
now widely recognised as beneficial, if practical — concern for adverse impact on an employer is
relevant to a fasting person’s relationship with God.
Some positive contributions to workplaces include a possible shared fast-breaking gathering, given the early fast-breaking times at present. Fast-breaking is a spiritually special time, and may include a snack of dates and fresh fruits. Working partly through lunch to be able to get home in time is a popular option that allows one to freshen up and settle down at home with family for fast-breaking (5:10pm).
The end of Ramadan is marked by the annual festival of Eid, which Muslims need to attend,
thereafter followed by celebrations. The actual day that Eid day falls on will depend on when the
new moon is sighted. This year, Muslims will seek the crescent on Friday 17 July and if sighted,
celebrate on Saturday 18 July, and if not, then Sunday 19 July. It is important for Muslims to take
the first day of Eid off, or at least the first morning to attend prayers. Eid is as religiously important
to Muslims as Christmas for practising Christians or Yom Kippur is for Jews.
The fasting season is also a great opportunity to join hands for a needy cause: some workplaces
have come together to “fast” for a local cause they wish to support. This could involve giving up
food and water, or just giving up something for the day, such as sugar, or coffee, whatever it may
be. Finally, it is during Eid celebrations that the sharing of special foods, snacks and sweets is
widespread, and a reward for all involved throughout the fasting month. Overall, Ramadan and Eid
represent a time of commitment, compassion and togetherness for all.
1. Fasting is one of the main tools of achieving the objectives of the month of Ramadan, which are to reconnect with the Divine, to renew one’s ties with the Divine. Legally, fasting strictly entails refraining from eating, drinking or sexual relations from Dawn to Sunset.
2. Ramadan is unique in that it is both a very spiritual time of discipline, mental and spiritual
quiet, but also is a very social month, with communal evening prayers in the mosque, and often
gatherings of friends and family for fast-breaking. A journey that is both individual and
collective.
3. A common activity during the month is the recitation of the Quran and reflection on its
meanings: the Quran invites deep pondering upon it, as a means to God through
understanding and reflection.
4. Ramadan is not a month of frivolity and time-wasting, but a month to savour every precious
breath and moment; a time to reduce empty talk, particularly gossip, avoiding matters not
concerning one.
5. Ramadan is thus a time of self-reckoning and self-auditing, particularly for the past year since
last Ramadan, and for planning ahead towards next Ramadan.
6. The renewal is a recommitting of one’s self to the way of those who sought God: the way of
Abraham, the way of John, of Jesus, and of Muhammad — peace be upon them all — the
prophetic way. It is a pathway well-trodden path.
7. The seeking of God is a spiritual partaking in a discipline that every seeker of God in the past
has done, so we now connect with them in following in their footsteps along the prophetic path
to God.
8. It is a time to discipline the tongue and the ultimately, to discipline the heart. For just as the
appetite is stopped from feasting during the day, the heart is stopped from feasting on jealousy,
envy, anxiety, or and fear and stress. It is thus a time of heightened peace. A time to realise
that everything originates from and returns to, God, that all blessing is through God, and to
renew our Trust in God.
9. It is a time to be even more concerned for others; such as those in difficulty through poverty, or
drugs, or other forms of harm; it is thus a time of giving of heightened giving to others.
10. Ramadan is not abstaining from food but from all forms of thoughtlessness. Today, that may
include abstaining from the distraction of excessive technology or mass-advertising; from the
anxiety to “have” and thus be attached to the merely temporal things we consume — anxiety
that leads to hoarding and consumerism, and its greed; abstaining from that which veils the
intellect from all that is pure, original and reminding of God, and of our great human potential.