It is believed that the ninth month is the when the Quran was first revealed to Mohammed so it is an extremely important month for those practicing Islam.
Every year, Muslims all over the world celebrate their holiest month. It is a month of reflection, prayer, and fasting. They fast from not only food and water but gossip, impure thoughts, anger, sex, and smoking. While us Westerners mainly think of Ramadan as a month of closed restaurants and no eating in public, it is much more than that. It is a month to be in prayer and to do good works like feeding the hungry or taking care of those in need. It is a chance to set aside your own desires and your own self and find the innate goodness inside of you and take care of others. Good deeds are rewarded more during Ramadan so it is a month of charity and good will!
I even got a text message from the King of Bahrain to kick off the month!
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam and allows them to connect deeper with Allah. It forces them to keep their desires and thoughts in check and gives them the opportunity to connect with where their thoughts are- something most of us, even non-muslims, could benefit from.
So what all that looks like is that before dawn, everyone gets up early and has a pre-fast meal called Suhoor. This is eaten before the first prayer of the day, which is called Fajr.
Again, following the schedule of the moon and sun, the timings of the Suhoor and Iftar are scheduled out and you can find their timings each day.
They go about their day, abstaining from food and even water (yes, even in the heat of the desert!) and practice self discipline along with the other prayers for the day. They spent time in the Quran and doing good things for their communities... and counting down to Iftar, I'm sure! Muslims who are elderly, sick, pregnant, on their periods, traveling, or children, are excused from the fast and are expected to eat and drink normally (though, in a predominantly muslim country, it is more than frowned upon to eat or drink in public- in fact, in many places you can be fined for doing so!) There are also labor laws that apply to the laborers during Ramadan that shorten their working hours or allow them water, which is good because its already reached triple digits here in Bahrain and I can't imagine working outside in the heat with no relief!
Iftar is the breaking of the fast at sunset and everyone gathers together to break their fast. It is said that the Prophet Mohammed broke his fast with three dates, so dates are a popular way to break the fast. Also popular is something called halwa which is a mixture of nuts, sugar syrup, and wheat flour. Its sort of an odd texture and extremely sweet but it gives a big boost of sugar and calories after an entire day of nothing. Iftars tend to be a large gathering and a family and friends affair- think holiday dinners in the States. Its also become a big "thing" to do here and hotels and restaurants plan elaborate feasts after sunset in spectacularly decorated tents that are filled with food and music!
There are a couple of different greetings you give during Ramadan-
Ramadan Kareem means have a generous Ramadan
And Ramadan Mubarak which means have a blessed or happy Ramadan!
When we visited the Bahrain Museum I saw these informational panels about Ramadan!
Its been interesting to learn about and definitely a much different experience than just normal daily life in Bahrain. Especially since Mom and Dad are here visiting, we're planning more and more around normal eating times and making sure we've had food and water before we go out and run around. I will say, selfishly, its pretty nice to deal with less traffic on the roads and far less people out in public, but also selfishly, it definitely puts a damper on our touring the island and doing stuff plans. It's just the beginning of Ramadan right now so I'm sure more people will come out and celebrate their Iftars in public, but right now everyone seems to be staying inside. We had dinner after sunset last night and the mall that's normally insanely busy was all but dead!
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