(U-WIRE) TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – By the time it gets to 6 or 7 p.m., most students have already eaten two meals and a few snacks during the day and are ready to figure out what’s for dinner.
But for Muslim students at the University of Alabama celebrating Ramadan, today is the first time in a month that they’ve been able to eat while the sun is up.
Ramadan is a holy month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, say special prayers and give back to the hungry and the poor. This morning, many Muslim students ate during daylight for the first time in a month.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and begins 11 days earlier each year, said Ayse Banu Elmadag, a doctoral student in marketing.
“This happens so that Muslims can experience fasting in different conditions such as longer days versus shorter days,” she said.
During the Muslim Student Association fast-a-thon open dinner Monday at the Bryant Conference Center, Muslim students seemed excited to share their holiday with others.
While they said a 30-day fast is difficult, most said the benefits significantly outweigh the initial hardships.
Sadeq Omar Damrah, a graduate student majoring in applied math and president of the Muslim Student Association, said fasting is most difficult on days when he swims.
Shermeen Memon, a senior majoring in biology, said the first few days of fasting are difficult because Muslims have to get used to a different schedule. She said fasting gets easier over time because Muslim groups come together to support one another.
Young children, the elderly, the sick and women who are nursing do not have to fast during Ramadan, but can make up the fasting at another time, Elmadag said.
Children may start trying to fast for Ramadan at 12 or 13.
Jamal Obid, a graduate student majoring in geology, said that while some days are harder than others, he’s been fasting since he was about 12. Remembering that it’s a sacrifice to God helps, he said.
Muslims believe God asked them to fast during Ramadan.
“We feel that fasting makes us closer to the hungry and poor because we are hungry instead of just claiming to know what hunger is,” Obid said.
He said fasting also cleanses the body and clears the mind.
Elmadag said she usually nibbles throughout the day. Ramadan is the only time when she has the willpower to go hours without food because it’s for God.
“I can’t say fasting is easy,” Elmadag said. “It has a purpose, and it?s something we have to do.”
Because fasting requires everyone to eat before sunrise and after sunset, members of the Muslim community encourage one another by giving wake-up phone calls to make sure everyone has time to eat breakfast and say their morning prayers.
Memon and her family and friends in the Muslim community eat breakfast together to support each other.
“It’s really nice because other times during the year, we don’t get a chance to eat together as often,” she said.
Elmadag said she calls all of her extended relatives if she cannot visit them…
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