The holy month of Ramadan is considered the holiest and most sacred month of the Islamic Hijri (lunar) calendar. Muslims firmly believe that it was during this exalted month that the archangel Gabriel descended from the heavens and revealed the Message to the Prophet Muhammad.
A bit about Ramadan
Before I start, I would like to say that religion is very personal and so is the interpretation. Although the writing and teachings of Islam are there in black and white in the Koran, how people can interpret that, can be very different. Having grown up in a Pakistani Muslim household in the UK, and lived and worked in the Middle East, I have witnessed how cultures, traditions and religion can sometimes get intertwined and sometimes it’s difficult to dissect.
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast during the hours of sunlight. During this period, they do not eat, drink, smoke, orally take medicines and abstain from any sort of intimacy during the hours they are fasting (to keep the focus on why they are fasting and the meaning of it and a higher power of God and his/her being). The elderly, the medically ill, children are exempt from fasting. My mum explained it to me when I was a child as, when you are hungry, it makes you be thankful to God, realise how lucky you are to have food and makes you think about those in the world that don’t have food. When you are thirsty it makes you think about those that don’t have water to drink. Ramadan is also the month of charitable giving for Muslims to those who are underprivileged.
During Ramadan, because everyone was fasting my mum liked to cook nice foods and special treats for us to open our fasts with. My brother, sisters and I looked forward to these all day whilst our tummies were rumbling! Often, we would have family and friends over to join us to open fasts together or sometimes be invited to theirs. So, it’s also a sociable month. Needless to say, whoever does the cooking in the household is always incredibly busy as well as doing the day to day and fasting themselves each day, so this can become exhausting over the month.
When is Ramadan?
The start and end of Ramadan can be confusing for many Muslims and non-Muslims, and I always found this difficult to explain to my non-Muslim friends and colleagues. Ramadan should start on the sighting of the new moon, but depending on the weather, whether it’s a cloudy night, and which mosque you may align yourself to and where you may live, there is usually disagreement on which day the first fast may be, so don’t be surprised if you have a colleague or team member that starts their fasting month one day earlier or later than the next Muslim. In the same way, as Ramadan ends on the sighting of a new moon, you may find a day or two variation in when a colleague may end Ramadan and request leave to celebrate Eid al Fitr.
Eid celebrations, usually last three days and are all about food, family, and what clothes you will wear!
This year Ramadan is expected to start around Weds 22 March and end on Friday 21 April, but again this may vary slightly. When the Ramadan moon is sighted, if for example on the night of Weds 22 March, special Taraweeh prayers will begin. People can read these prayers at home or join a group at a local mosque. But these special prayers can take an additional hour every night after the final prayer of the night. Not everyone will choose to read these additional prayers, but many do. These will run every night until the sighting of the moon to mark the end of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid.
What is Eid Al-Fitr?
Eid al-Fitr is an Islamic festival that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Muslims around the world perform communal prayer at daybreak on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, after cleansing themselves and donning new clothes. They then continue to celebrate for three days. A common greeting during Eid al-Fitr is “Eid Mubarak,” which means “Blessed Eid.” This greeting is used to wish other Muslims well during Eid.
Through these celebrations, Muslims show their gratitude to Allah after reflecting and fasting during Ramadan.My family and I will be celebrating by doing all of the above, after spending several hours in the kitchen cooking sweet milk, vermicelli breakfast, and the usual biriyani rice, chicken, lamb and spinach curries, kebabs, samosas and other indulgent treats. The children will wait impatiently to receive their Edhi from the elders (traditionally elders give money to the youngsters on Eid and this is called Edhi).
How can I support my friends and colleagues?
Here is a link that you may find interesting to give you an idea of the Ramadan timetable this year. It shows fast start and end times and payers times for the holy month. Muslims pray five times a day.
There is provision in the religion to read your prayers later in the day if you are unable to do it at the set time. This is known as Qaza prayer. However, remember sunrise and sunset timings may be different depending on which part of the country you are in. Also, every year Ramadan starts two weeks earlier on average than the previous year, so when Ramadan falls in the winter months, the fasts are shorter and easier but, in the UK, when it falls in the summer months when the daylight hours are long and its warm, they can be very challenging. As a result, you may find colleagues preferring to work earlier or later shifts than they normally would to accommodate this and family life.
You may have friends and colleagues that do not come across as Islamically religious in their beliefs or are personal about their beliefs, but during Ramadan, may choose to wear a hijab, practise their five prayers a day, go the mosque and read their Taraweeh prayers every night.
Also bear in mind that if individuals are fasting their energy levels may be low if they are involved in heavy physical duties, so could these be shared? Muslim colleagues may not want to take part in Team lunches or after work activities and may avoid being around pubs because they do not want to be seen around alcohol which is prohibited under the religion.Like I said religion is personal and everyone’s interpretation can be too. Ramadan Mubarak to all.