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RE: #Fiftywords: Renewed Family Bonds (Ramadan Special)
I enjoyed your personal insights into Ramadan. I always thought of it as such a sacrifice, to deprive yourself all day.
When I have seen my work colleagues and friends fasting, I didn't consider they were heading home to a month of what I would compare to a Christmas family feast. Although when I think about Christmas with my family I'm not sure I could endure it for a month after all...
It's sounds pretty special, maybe in part a testament to your writing skills or is it your truth coming through in your writing? I'd be interested to know how much that picture you paint with words rings true.
Thanks for reading.
It's really not, it might be hard the first few days you do it (that's why muslims are encouraged to let their children fast half a day, so when they grow up, getting used to sawm becomes easier.)
Depending on my defintion of sacrifice, it's not. Sawm becomes forbidden when it can affect your health for worse (God says that himself in the Qur'an.)
So if you say you can't fast because "Oh, that's hard I can't make such sacrifice." It's not excuse in Islam, God knows if you really can or not if you tried.
But if the reason is illness and things like that (and the doctor agrees.) Then you're free to fast or not. If Fasting can make your health worse, make the cure late or can lead to death... The last three cases you're forbidden to fast.
For maybe 30 years, my mother have Diabetes (she wasn't born with it,) so every year she asks the doctor if she can fast or not that year... Some years they advice her of fasting but breaking fast if she felt tired (it happens a lot.) Some years they tell her to not fast at all. Lately that happens a lot as she got older, this year she didn't fast.
Ah, sorry for the long talk, I just wanted to correct that it's not a sacrifice and those who see it as such aren't exactly right.
I don't know for how many Muslims my words will ring true, but it definitely is for my family and many people I know.
As for the food, having a big meal at the night of fasting is just a cultural tradition that I don't think is good, many people over-eat so they can endure the next day. I only knew in recent years, but you'll "endure" the next day better if you didn't eat much the night before.