Ramadan 1

I have recently determined to be more observant about my Islamic faith. The first thing I did was go back to not eating pork, something I had become lazy about. Now it is Ramadan and fasting during this month is obligatory for all Muslims.

An Islamic fast is a little different from other types of fasts frequently observed in the West. During Ramadan, a month in the Arabic calendar, Muslims do not eat, drink (even water) or engage in sexual activity between the first light in the sky and sunset for about 30 days. Today, in my locale, that’s 4:10 am to 9:12 pm. There are exceptions for the elderly, the ill, pregnant or nursing women, and people who are traveling. Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar which shifts on the Western calendar. So, sometimes Ramadan falls during the summer, when the fasting hours are longer, and sometimes during the winter, when the fast is shorter.

Today is my first day of fasting for the month as I have been traveling.

As I approached Ramadan, I thought long and hard about my participation. For one thing, the long summer hours were not going to work with my medication regimen, which is not negotiable for the sake of my mental health.

At first I thought about taking God up on that sickness clause and purchasing the food for a person who was fasting for the month. That’s what’s prescribed for those who can’t fast.

But I wanted to do more than that.

I opened myself up to a dialogue with God about Ramadan, taking things one step and one decision at a time, until I came to a compromise solution. I would fast a shorter period that did work with my med schedule and test it out for a day. It’s a time period more in line for when Ramadan falls during the spring.

One of the reasons I was so attracted to Islam nearly thirty years ago now was that it was full of rules so I would “know” I was doing things right. It took a huge leap of faith for me to approach Ramadan with a compromise. I imagined a whole heap of judgment on my head from people who would insist that my fast wasn’t valid because it didn’t follow all of the rules. Right now I’m pretty comfortable saying that it’s between me and God and as no one is responsible to God for my behavior but me, no one else has much of a say about how I do this.

I haven’t been able to commit mentally to fasting for the full month. I remember Ramadan as very difficult and I lack social supports. Islam is a very social religion and I do not have a community to fall back on. So, I’m taking things one day at a time.

Perfect? No. But there is a wonderful saying in Islam that I remind myself of frequently. If you take one step toward God, he takes ten steps toward you. This is one step.