Why fast in Ramadan?

Ramadan is around the corner again! Naturally, Muslims around the globe are excited about this month and eager to welcome it. Some of my non Muslim friends might be confused as to why we are so excited about a month where we basically keep off food and water for a good chunk of the day. I have been asked this question a few times before so I thought I'd write a post just to explain it for those who might be interested.

Ramadan is one of the holy months for Muslims. Fasting in this month is obligatory for all adult Muslims who are physically able to do so (pregnant women, nursing mothers and the sick are exempt from it). It constitutes the third pillar of Islam.

"It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur'an was revealed as a guidance for the mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong. So any one of you who sees in that month should fast, and anyone who is ill or on a journey should make up the lost days by fasting on other days later. God wants ease for you, not hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him for having guided you, so that you may be thankful." [Qur'an, 2:185]

Fasting was prescribed to us as a spiritual and physical cleanser. I find this month all the more meaningful in the current context where we are increasingly subjecting our minds to the toxic trash propagated by pop culture and our bodies to harmful processed "foods". The physical act of fasting from food is coupled with the mental exercise of fasting from negativity, anger, and self-destructive rhetoric. We are asked to be patient and restrain ourselves from letting our emotions rule our actions. It's a month that acts as a springboard for physical and mental self discipline. Ramadan is the ideal opportunity to break an addiction or at least get started on the journey.

Fasting in Ramadan is a lesson in empathy. When we go through the day knowing there is food right in front of us that we could just grab and eat but can't, we are reminded of millions of our poor brothers and sisters around the world whose everyday reality is hunger and thirst. We are reminded of children born into poverty with hunger as their sole companion and of parents who give away a part of themselves each day in their quest to provide their young ones with a square meal a day. Fasting forces us to empathise and then works as a call to action. It tells us "now you know what hunger feels like. So do something for those who fast involuntarily everyday." It tells us charity is not our benevolence but rather our responsibility to humanity.



Fasting leads to gratitude for what we have, no matter how little it is. That moment when after 16-18 hours of fasting you see the sun set and take that first sip of water-you feel this wave of gratitude and relief wash over you. And nothing can ever replace that feeling of gratefulness as cool liquid cascades down your parched throat and quenches your thirst. Nothing comes close to the feeling of gratitude as you sit around a table with your family sharing a delicious meal lovingly put together by your mother. It sounds really outlandish, but keeping away from food and water throughout the day helps put into perspective all the small blessings in our life that we take for granted- like the privilege of having a loving family, a warm community, a healthy body and a million other things that go unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of everyday. It's hard to encapsulate that feeling in mere words, the feeling of a kind of joyful exhaustion, Of solace in the knowledge that this is not in vain, that this abstinence will lead to growth. Who knew that keeping away from physical nourishment would lead to replenishment of the soul?! 

Ramadan is about reevaluating our life and reconnecting with our goals. It's a sad reality that life gets in the way of our aspirations and dreams. Work, education, and now even social media get in the way and slowly erode our vision for ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong in working for that perfect job or struggling for that degree. But at what cost? I often feel that as a society we place undue emphasis on material success. But the tradeoffs to reach "the top" are just not worth it. Fasting helps us put these things into perspective. It gives one the time to acknowledge what truly matters- our sense of self, our family and friends, our community- and motivates us to work towards solidifying those aspects rather than jumping blindly into the rat race to nowhere.

Above all, fasting is a spiritual exercise that makes one conscious of God as they go about the day. No one forces 1.5 billion people to go hungry and thirsty from dawn till dusk for 30 days, and yet we still do it. Why? Why fast when no one can really determine if you are actually doing it or not? Just one answer-for God. Fasting is for God. And what is one month of fasting really when we look at the other 11 months that the One blesses us with? God doesn't need us to fast, but we still do it for the million blessings sent our way. Not even a lifetime of fasting is enough to repay the blessing of being able to see, of the sense of touch and the ability to tell hot from cold, of being loved and loving back.
I realize this has evolved into a mini essay, but it's hard not to be excited! If you have any questions about Ramadan, please feel free to message me and insha Allah I'll try to help. In a world where people are increasingly alienated from each other, efforts to understand each other and what makes us will hopefully benefit us in more ways than we can imagine.

My battles with food and flab

Before coming to Uni, I had one small expectation from it that I never dared to tell anyone. LOSE WEIGHT. I had heard stories of people losing weight drastically after being subjected to the notorious ‘hostel food’. Not that I was huge or anything, I just wanted to tone down. But apparently, there was another plan in store for me.

The first day, I find out that there is no ‘hostel food’ here. Ok, then what do I eat? Maybe I’ll have to cook myself. Then I’ll definitely lose weight! ‘Cause even I won’t eat the stuff I cook.

Unfortunately, there was another option, many options actually. I found out there is an international café in the Student Association (SA) building, Which is, ‘International’. There is an Arabic corner which serves Pakistani/Indian food (think naan, chicken handi, Butter chicken), there was an Indian store which served Sri Lankan food(think Kothu!) and later was bought by the Pakistanis of the Arabic corner and converted into an international stall which served Mexican and Italian food. These two stalls, accompanied by a beverage counter which was owned by a Sri Lankan (and now by the Pakistanis from the Arabic corner.) make up the backside of SA. Wait, that doesn’t sound right…

Inside the SA, we have Western-Oriental stall, a Japanese corner a Malay counter and a Thai counter.

So during my first few weeks here everything was hunky-dory…Morning I’d wake up thinking which new delicacy I’d try out. By noon I’d be hogging a ‘Garlic double cheese naan’ and dinner would be Pizza with friends. Little did I realize that in approximately a month all these ‘delicacies’ will take their revenge on me by bonding with my body. Oh but in some areas the size did decrease- Like my wallet size. Eating at the Arabic corner everyday proved to be too expensive. If I continued eating there I might have ended up washing dishes to pay for the food.

So I decided to switch the Sri Lankan counter. One dish that immediately scored with me was Chicken Kothu Roti. It is made of shredded paranthas and minced chicken with roasted onions and chillis…and is just amazing. One of my friends informed me that in Sri Lanka they like this dish so much that they even have a song dedicated to it!

Kothu is also popular in Tamil Nadu. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t come across it in India.

So for a few days it was kothu for me all day and all night long. After some time my friends started complaining that I smelt of Kothu. Actually no, they just couldn’t see me putting another spoonful of it in my mouth. And I admit, I got tired of it.

So it was time to switch again. This time I decided to try out the food stalls inside SA. So I started frequenting the Malay counter. The dish that caught my fancy? Mee Goreng. It’s fried noodles. It’s quite delicious and makes a good meal. But no one told me that if you eat it every day you are going to inflate.

So there I was with a few more pounds packed on me. I started following the usual route which people who have gained weight and are too lazy to do anything about it do- Wear LOOSE clothes. So even though I looked like I like wearing curtains and bed sheets, I no longer looked, ahem, plump.

(No.not in these kind of curtains.)

 This went on for a few weeks until my cheeks started getting…Plump. Now I had only two options left-

·         Wear a mask

·         Exercise

I did consider the first option for a long time, but something told me that taking that course of action will alarm the students and staff of the University of Nottingham.

So unwillingly I started going to the gym. Thankfully I had a bunch of loyal friends to join me while working out as they were also getting, ahem, plump. :D

The first day, I went all dressed in my handy LOOSE gym clothes. I stepped on the treadmill and pressed the level option. ‘Uphill’- no. ‘cardio’- no. ‘pikes peak’- what the hell is that?!. ‘Weight loss’- Aha! Come to mama! So, very optimistically, I started on it, smiling-totally determined, aiming to jog for 20 mins. After a few seconds the smile disappeared- Straight face. The straight face then morphed into a frown. And in 5 minutes you had a 5’7 plump sweaty girl who looked like she was, ermm… ‘not used to exertion.’

OK that was not good. I needed to try something easier but which will help me reduce weight instantly. I scanned the gym and my eyes stopped on the cycle. Now, I have always loved cycling. As a kid I used to spend hours cycling around our colony with my friends. I even chipped my tooth while I was trying to impress no one in particular while trying to cycle hands free. Wait, I wasn’t supposed to reveal that. Anyway, ‘cycling it is!’ I thought. So I started cycling and all was going pretty well when I see a girl, half my size, pedalling away to glory. Watching her made me tired.

I gave up.

But then, the next day, I thought why not try it again. So again I went to the gym. I braved the treadmill. I jogged, but this time I set some realistic goals. I worked out for about an hour. And, I FELT SO GOOD! There is something about exercising that releases some sort of positive energy in you. Since then my friends and I have become a common (and slightly unpleasant?) sight at the gym.

Will I lose weight? Only time and my ability to persist at it can tell.

What about you? Any weight loss techniques that worked for you? (If you are ‘plump’ that is :D) And yeah don’t tell me ‘Reduce food’. That’s one of my passions!

This post might seem completely random, but it’s something I have wanted to write about from a long time. But again, I thrive on randomness!