My first core memory of Ramadan is from when I was still just a child. The sun had set but the air was still warm and humid.
The mosquitoes had started their night shift and it was a hassle trying to swat them away and panicking when they latched onto your skin.
I was tired but overjoyed, I was about to break my fast with my loved ones for the first time. If I focus hard enough I can still remember their beaming smiles, with teeth as white as the pristine robes they had worn for maghrib prayer.
I can still smell the delicious pilau rice that teased me in the hour before we broke our fast and I can still taste the delicious dates that were a reward for a full day of fasting. Of course I was still far to young to have fasted the full 10-12 hours my elders did, but I tried my best.
However, the memory stuck with me because it epitomised two of the best things about Ramadan for me, family and community.
The importance of community during Ramadan got much stronger as I got older and moved to this strange land called England. I have lost count of the number of homes me and my family have been invited to for iftar and the number of people who have walked through ours.
It’s customary to invite a friend, family or even stranger to your home to break your fast with during Ramadan. It means Ramadan can be like a trip to some of the best home cooked food in the world in thirty days thanks to your new Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese, Pakistani and Nigerian friends that you met at your local Mosque.
The first week of fasting is the hardest, especially if the holy month falls in the summer. But by the grace of God there is a meal for you at the end of the day.
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Working as a journalist I’ve also seen first hand the importance of charity during Ramadan. Every year Mosques, charities and community groups up and down the region will be doing their utmost to help the less fortunate.
Spiritually, Ramadan is a time to put your life on pause and strengthen your relationship with God. In Islam we believe that this life we’re living is a test.
We’re placed on this earth to face the trials and tribulations of modern day life but have been given the guidance and rules to remain strong in our faith and ultimately do enough for Allah to accept us into jannah (Heaven).
Sometimes we forget to pray five times a day, sometimes we aren’t as charitable, sometimes we forget to be kind and patient and sometimes we fall ill to earthly distractions that we have become accustomed or addicted to.
For me Ramadan reminds me that if you can abstain from not just food and drink but also negative influences and behaviours for thirty days, then why not for the rest of your life?
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