Street Prophets

Ramadan, week 1

by lauramp

Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 07:31:34 AM PDT

With sunset on Friday, I've completed a week of the Ramadan fast.

So far, it's going well. It usually takes a few days to get into the routine of it and get used to not eating or drinking during daylight hours.

I work a shift from 2 pm to 11 pm and sunset is around 7 pm now, so this makes it easier as a significant part of my workday is after sunset, when I can break my fast.

This is my eighth Ramadan: I converted to Islam in 1999 and have fasted that year and every year since. It's hard to believe it's been that long!

One of the things I like most about Ramadan is the sense of community with Muslims around the world who are also fasting at the same time. It strengthens my feeling of being part of something larger than myself.

The Muslim community in the area where I live is somewhat scattered, so this sense of community is important to me.

While surfing during the week, I happened to come across Radio Ramadhan Glasgow and just for kicks listened for awhile. I live near Seattle, so people in the UK are eight hours ahead of me. Thus when I was listening in the afternoon my time, they were playing a program called "Late Night Live".

But except for the time zone confusion, and the Scottish accents, it all felt very familiar. The patterns and language of Ramadan and of living Islam are the same, the concerns are the same.

I'm glad I passed some of my time that way.


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  • thanks (0 / 0)

    Thanks to anybody who's taken the time to read this.

    "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

    by lauramp on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 06:11:04 PM PDT

  • Community around the world (0 / 0)

    Thanks for posting this, Laura.

    I'm curious about the radio program: was it a talk show? call in? music? readings?

    The sense of community is something I can definitely relate to: as a Catholic, this sense of belonging to the "universal church" is very real to all of us, I think. Prior to my generation, there was a great deal of emphasis placed onthe fact that a catholic mass was exactly the same in any church any where in the world. Now, it's not exactly the same, the language is different and there are sometimes local variations in how some things are done; but the mass itself is recognizably the same.

    For us, there's also the sense of the universal church extending through time, and into heaven: it's all one church.

    Do Muslims have the same sense of living connection in worship with those who have died?

    Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

    by StarWoman on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 09:14:05 PM PDT

  • Salaam 'alaikum and Ramadan mubarak! (0 / 0)

    You're one year ahead of me; this is my 7th Ramadan.  Insha'allah, I'll be breaking today's fast in about 3 minutes (so this is gonna be reaaallll short ;) ).  For me, the biggest struggle with Ramadan in recent years has been illnesses:  I catch colds and the flu more easily during this time.  But I persevere; it's my jihad. :)  

    Good luck, and may Allah (swt) bless you with an easy fast and many spiritual blessings.  Ameen!

    by JDsg on Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 03:56:31 AM PDT

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