Tag Archives: Ramadan

Here’s Why Muslims Fast During Ramadan

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Ramadan takes place during the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar and is considered the most holy month for followers of Islam. It’s believed that during this month, the Holy Quran was descended from Heaven to Earth and during this month, the first revelations of the Quran were received by the Prophet.

This month brings practice of self-reflection, gratitude, and self-restraint in all Islam followers and throughout the month, observers undergo a fast and eat one meal before sunrise and another after sunset.

During fasting hours, many choose to break their fast with dates. Our own writer Unzela Khan Sheikh explained in a recent TikTok that this is because: “Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to break his fasts with dates and water. Whatever the prophet does, we call that Sunnah; something that is recommended because our prophet did it.”

Why do Muslims fast during Ramadan?

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars — or duties — of Islam, along with the testimony of faith, prayer, charitable giving, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims are required to take part every year, though there are special dispensations for those who are ill, pregnant or nursing, menstruating, or traveling, and for young children and the elderly.

According to Vox, fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars — or duties — of Islam, along with the testimony of faith, prayer, charitable giving, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims are required to take part every year, though there are special dispensations for those who are ill, pregnant or nursing, menstruating, or travelling, and for young children and the elderly.

This practice serves many purposes. It reminds you of your human frailty and your dependence on God for sustenance. It shows you what it’s like to be hungry and thirsty so that you feel compassion for, and a duty to help, the poor and the needy.

How to support Muslim friends during Ramadan

Portsmouth University recommends taking the following steps to support your friends during Ramadan:

  • Be considerate when making plans. Arrange to meet friends earlier in the day when they may still have energy from their dawn meal. Perhaps you could go for a walk, rather than meet for lunch? Being considerate of an adjusted timetable shows support and respect and can be a simple – yet appreciated – gesture
  • Check in on your Muslim friends. Checking in on your Muslim friends is always a great idea! Feel free to ask them how they are doing. Doing so will help your Muslim friends feel loved, supported, and seen
  • Don’t ask why someone isn’t fasting. There are many reasons – including medical – why someone may choose not to fast, and these reasons may be very personal. Those who are not able to fast may still choose to take part in other ways of worship
  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask how you can best help your friends to celebrate and practise their religion

Ramadan Mubarak to all Muslims!

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3 Ways To Make Ramadan Special For Kids That AREN’T Fasting

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As Ramadan approaches, parents of young kids like myself are trying to find ways to teach our children about the Holy month.

With older kids, it can be easy to explain what the month means and how we can use it to minimise bad habits. But with toddlers and young children there needs to be a balance of making the time fun and exciting, alongside teaching them its importance.

As Muslims, children are obliged to fast once they hit puberty. Before this during Ramadan, kids will usually partake in family meals such as Iftar (opening of the fast), build the habit of praying five times a day and use the time to understand the importance of helping the less fortunate.

However, as the month places a huge importance on fasting for older children, younger kids might feel left out and want to do more to get into that Ramadan feeling.

So, here are some ways you can help to make the month special for young children that aren’t able to fast. These tips have been suggested by the creators of Salam Occasions, an online store where you can buy Islamic toys, books and decorations.

Decorate your home

Making changes in your home during Ramadan can really help kids differentiate the month of Ramadan from other months.

Children love to help out, so why not let them join in to put up some bunting? Salam Occasions have a range of balloons and acrylic decoration pieces that can transform your prayer space to make it even more exciting for the kids.

Do activities

Learning doesn’t have to be boring – when teaching your young children about Ramadan and what it means, bringing in colouring books can be a game-changer!

Alongside this you can even get your kids to have a healthy competition of designing a mosque, to teach them about the importance of praying together.

One of the three founders of Salam Occasions, Raheema, says: “My three-year-old would probably be able to tell you more about Ramadan than I would because of these books!

“A lot of people are turning to Islamic board books and colouring. As a parent I’ve introduced everything to my daughter from birth and by now she knows a lot more duas (prayers) and stories of Prophets than I did at that age!”

Countdown to Eid

Counting down to a special day definitely makes the month more exciting, building up towards Eid is a great way to get your kids involved.

Now that a lot more Muslim-owned companies are creating advent calendars to help children feel more connected, you can use these to teach them a lesson a day.

You can even DIY your own and tick off each day with a ‘moral of the day’ or ‘word of the day’ related to Ramadan. Alongside this you can even use the countdown to get your child to put £1 a day aside for charity.

This can really cement the idea that Ramadan is all about helping others and being a better person.

Either way, once it gets to Eid, the day where Muslims celebrate and mark the end of the month, your child will feel accomplished looking back at the past month!

At the end of the day, Ramadan is about learning how to be a better person. Whether it’s helping your kids break bad habits such as not fighting with siblings, or using the month to educate them about religion and morals — these tips are sure to get your young kids involved in wanting to learn more.

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Why Do We Need To Pee So Much When We’re Fasting?

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Many of us fasting through the month of Ramadan can attest to the annoying feeling of needing to get up to pee through the night and generally throughout the day.

Muslims observing the holy month refrain from eating from just before the sun rises until it sets, which means packing in all the hydration before fasting commences. That can leave us needing to run to the loo a lot more, of course.

But many Muslims will also notice frequent urinating through the fasting day too, despite not actually drinking anything.

So why do we need to pee so much? Surely what goes in has already come out by a certain point?

Well, just because you’re not drinking doesn’t mean the bladder’s job is done.

Dr Gareth Nye, an ambassador for the Society of Endocrinology, tells HuffPost: “So the bladder is actually the ‘waiting room’ of our urinary tract where urine is stored before we go to the toilet. To look at changes in urine output or how much we do/don’t wee, we need to take a step back and look at the kidneys.

“The kidneys are involved in filtering our blood. It takes toxins and waste products and keeps the useful products the body needs to keep. One of the main filtered products is water which can be let go or kept in different amounts based on our body’s needs.”

So, on average, water makes up about 60-70% of the human body, largely depending on your age. Our bodies lose water through our urine, sweat, faeces and breath, so we have to continually replace this by drinking and eating (around a third of the water we consume comes from our food). If we don’t do this, our bodies can become dehydrated.

But we’re dehydrated, which means less pee right? Not necessarily.

Dr Nye explains that the bladder still needs to flush to out toxins, even when you’re dehydrated, thus creating more urine.

You might even notice a different colour in your pee when you fast.

Dr Nye adds: “The first stage of dehydration is thirst, which kicks in when 2% of body weight is lost. The signals that tell our brain we are thirsty also act on the kidneys to send less water to your bladder, keeping the water within the body and darkening your urine. You do need to flush out the toxins and so your body still produces urine even if you are dehydrated.”

You might notice other changes too in your urine while fasting.

“The key thing is, our bodies can go quite a long time without drinking and show no change in our urine output. Regularly when we sleep we can go eight-10 hours without taking any fluid on board and when you do drink/eat your body will replenish. You may notice changes in concentration as you go through the day as the amount of available water drops.”

So when iftar comes round, don’t forget to drink up (though you will feel the effects of it later).

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Even Though We Are Apart, This Eid We Will Be Together In Our Struggle

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