creatively fasting for ramadan

Ramadan Kareem!

What Now?

Trials and Tribulations• Fasting during Ramadan can be a challenging duty

for those unaccustomed. • Fasting for thirty days is even more so.• Fasting is purposeful and meaningful. Without

strong reason, fasting is impossible.• I am fasting during Ramadan for the first time.• I am fasting in order to share in the experiences of

my community, because I care about my community, my friends, and anyone who treats me like their own.

Okay… so what is Ramadan?• When Muhammad received his first vision of the

angel Gabriel near Mecca, he was asked to read. • He could not read, so he was taught ten verses by

Gabriel which have become the backbone of the Quran.

• In remembrance of this time, Muslims fast as a restraint from imperfect material goods and focus on the perfect good of Allah and the Quran.

• Muslims are especially prayerful and generous during Ramadan.

Ramadan Origins

• Like all religious practices, the concept of Ramadan precedes Islam.

• Originally, fasting for long periods was practiced by pagans of Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, the eastern Sinai and the United Arab Emirates) from Moon-rise to Moon-set as worship to the lunar god.

• Muhammad adopted this practice for Ramadan.

How is Ramadan Practiced?• Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from Sun-up

until Sun-down for thirty days (daytime hours).• The yearly period and hours differ depending on the

lunar period (must be a New Moon to start) and geographic location (latitude and longitude determine daytime hours).

• In Morocco, Muslims fast for 17 hours.• During the fasting period, Muslims are called to be

more prayerful, chaste, pious, and pensive.

Probably not an ideal Ramadan vacation spot…

Maher Zain’s “Ramadan” song

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnJdXj3P26M

How do I cope?• I like to practice what a lot of people in my community

do, which is sleep until the afternoon and exude very little physical activity until it is time to eat.

• In Morocco of this year, people in my community may eat around 7:30pm– after 17+ hours of not eating or drinking water.

• When I wake up at 12pm, I do a little work, especially because everything is practically shut down during Ramadan. There isn’t much work available.

• I spend time doing relaxing hobbies which do not require much mental or physical exercise so that it distracts me from my thirst and keeps my spirits high.

Like what?

• My favorite hobby is art. It is easy, fun, and calming.

• I have been decorating my house with my art projects.

• Painting my walls, using recyclable materials to make small sculptures, and drawing with colored pencils are among the few art works that I do.

Pop art!

Wall paintingToilet paper roll flowers

Color pencil surrealism art

Xumsa door signs

Recyclable plastic bottle model city art

Henna-ed tajine

Art Project Ideas

• Murals on my walls. Although I do not have enough energy for this during Ramadan, here are a few ideas that I have:

Best Hobby: Reading

• Although reading for long stretches is difficult for me on an empty stomach, I cannot resist the simple pleasure that a good book brings.

• Besides, the proof that reading leads to great happiness is pretty clear according to this article: http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/date-reader-readers-best-people-fall-love-scientifically-proven/662017/

Quotes from Article “Why Readers, Scientifically, Are The Best People To Fall In Love With”

• “You’re grateful, thoughtful, pensive. You feel like a piece of you was just gained and lost. You’ve just experienced something deep, something intimate. (Maybe, erotic?) You just had an intense and somewhat transient metamorphosis. Like falling in love with a stranger you will never see again, you ache with the yearning and sadness of an ended affair, but at the same time, feel satisfied. Full from the experience, the connection, the richness that comes after digesting another soul. You feel fed, if only for a little while.”

• “It’s no surprise that readers are better people. Having experienced someone else’s life through abstract eyes, they’ve learned what it’s like to leave their bodies and see the world through other frames of reference. They have access to hundreds of souls, and the collected wisdom of all them. They have seen things you’ll never understand and have experienced deaths of people you’ll never know. They’ve learned what it’s like to be a woman, and a man. They know what it’s like to watch someone suffer. They are wise beyond their years.”

My Henna Art

• You may have noticed my henna-ed tajine and henna-ed door sign. Interested in reading about the history of Henna in Morocco? See the slide below .

• Thanks for reading, you lovely being!

References

• http://www.completemorocco.com/morocco-an-introduction/ramadan/

• http://islam.about.com/od/ramadan/f/ramadanintro.htm

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/ramadan-fasting-times_n_5537721.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan