July 20th marked the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in which a billion Muslims began fasting from dawn to sunset. By now most of you guys are thinking why do Muslims fast for 30 consecutive days with not even water to drink? Well fasting is a pillar of Islam, it’s a way to gain new habits and get rid of bad habits and it’s a tradition that’s been happening for many years.
Ramadan is a special time in which friends and families gather to break their fast with the month’s tastiest foods. It’s a time of prayer, reflection, giving back and sacrifice.
Fasting from dawn to sunset, forces a person to sacrifice what is essential to their body and in doing so, gives a person a sense of physical humbleness.
Now why do I fast?
I fast for self-control, I fast to be grateful and I fast to be conscious of my surroundings. I fast to learn my limits, I fast to reflect on what is actually valuable to me and I fast to obey my Lord. I fast to get rid of the daily grind of eat work eat work eat work drink sleep, because when you take away the eat; the daily grind becomes a daily adventure.
Hope everyone is having a blessed Ramadan thus far!
-Marwa Ahmed
