Saturday, September 5, 2009

A bit TMI for my liking, but here you go!


It's the month of Ramadan!

Yeah, you already know that.

Everyone's fasting..ie. not eating from dawn til dusk.

But I havent been fasting for the past week.

I'm not a sinner though (or at least not in this sense).

I had my monthly visit from youknowho for the past week.

So why couldn't I fast, you ask?

Well, fasting is a form of worship. And just in case you all didnt know, fasting is also one of the five pillars of Islam, therefore its mandated and obligatory on Muslims.

However, when performing acts of worship one must be in a state of cleanliness and when whatchamacallit visits every month, you're really not in the most cleanliest state,now are you? So Allah has made it permissible for us women, during that horrendous monthly visit, to be excused from things like praying the five daily prayers and fasting.

Anywho, to get to the point of this post, while not fasting this week, I realized that I appreciated food much more. Weird, huh? I just realized that the company that you have when you break the fast and the food that you break the fast with tastes sooooooooooo much better when you couldnt have it for a long number of hours as opposed to always having it.

And this my friends, is the whole point of Ramadan. To be appreciative. To be humble. To be patient. And most of all, to be thankful for what you have.

It's a bit sad that I've come to this conclusion now. Many, many years later. But at least I finally came to it.

Better late, then never, right?

15 comments:

Viva La Fashion said...

its always better late then never. especially when it comes to birthday presents. lol. :) but this post was really interesting. i never knew much about this before.

Little Ms Blogger said...

Great observation and I think it is great that you had it.

EmptyWords said...

watchamacallit, the candy bar, is really yummyyyy... now i want some

Faith said...

So true, maybe we don’t observe that feeling of taste appreciation because most of us gobble up food like we’re going to fast again in five minutes!! I think there are lots of fasting points that we’re missing in the holy month.

I Love Brownies said...

I'm so happy I found your blog....I know I'll learn so much you. I know very little about Islam and have been 'banned' from my former religion of my youth for embracing and teaching about a 'one-God' understanding that includes ALL mankind. I know...kind of heavy from a girl who calls herself "I love Brownies". But I'm looking forward to more from you. You observation about appreciation is fantastic. :-)

Anonymous said...

Yeah dang girl, that IS tmi. lol. Oh and just so everyone knows, although a women is not allowed to perform the 5 daily prayers + fast when she is on her whatchamacallit, she is still allowed to pray to God through other forms (e.g. by making dua - which means calling out to God)

Unknown said...

better late than never indeed! great post xoxox

linlah said...

"To be appreciative. To be humble. To be patient. And most of all, to be thankful for what you have." Thank you for the reminder.

mint.fresh.muslim said...

*I like* FB Style ;-)

rachaelgking said...

Absolutely. I love this- it's a good reminder for all of us, even if we don't participate.

Sparkle said...

Hi there and Happy Ramadan

^_^ almost the end I know... I think this gonna be repeated a lot here ( better late than never) lol

Anyway, nice perspective you got there and I'm glad others found it enlightening.

lol @ watchamacallit

P.S don't u just hate it when you gotta pretend that you're fasting or even praying at home in front of your bro or Dad? Lol

Salamz

Meg said...

I didn't know that, about the time of month. It's interesting, and I guess it makes sense. Thanks for being informative!

Kate said...

This is fascinating!

Kate said...

Do pregnant women fast? At what age do you start fasting (my 2nd graders don't fast). Are there things I can do to support the kids in my class (I have 5 of them) who celebrate Ramadan?

Falling Up said...

Pregnant women are excused from fasting. but many do if their babies are healthy and the doctor gives consent. Fasting is mandatory after a child has reaches puberty, i believe, but many are encouraged to start fasting earlier, around 8 - 10 years of age. :)

The only support I can think of is not passing out treats during school/waiting until its time to go home to do so.