Since my African boyfriend was Muslim, he practiced Ramadan, the month long fast that Muslims do every year. I was very interested in this and I decided to celebrate Ramadan, too. I wasn't doing it as a Muslim, just with them He didn't even know I was going to do it. But, when he found out, he taught me how to do it correctly. You couldn't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset. You are not even supposed to brush your teeth, take an aspirin, or anything. We did brush our teeth but did not drink water afterwards. The reason for fasting is to get in touch with God, or Allah. Supposedly, you think about God more when you are hungry and voluntarily fasting...everytime you think about eating, you think about why you chose to fast, thus God crosses your mind more than a normal day. Keep in mind, my explanations are my interpretations of what was explained to me, what I read, and what I also believe. My interpretations probably do not correlate with everything Islam actually teaches.
When I heard that Muslims fasted for a month, I always thought they didn't eat anything at all for a whole month & I probably thought they could have liquids. To be honest, I really never gave it much thought. They can eat after sunset and before sunrise, but it is not like they gorge themselves or anything. My beau said that if you break your fast with water, the next day, you'll be thirsty. So, we usually broke our fast with OG minestrone soup and salad. Then we'd eat a regular dinner later in the evening. You are supposed to wake before sunrise to eat I think and pray of course, but I usually woke up after sunrise, so I couldn't eat until the evening. Not being Muslim, I didn't pray 5X a day toward Mecca which they are supposed to do everyday. My Muslim boyfriend did the praying in the morning and evening, but he didn't do the middle of the day ones - that is why I say he wasn't strict. Another thing you are not supposed to do during the day is curse, have sex, take medicine...Let me tell you that I never thought about God so much in my life as that month. It made me think of people who didn't have the choice to fast or not and were really hungry. It made me want to help them. Charity is another of the requirements of Islam and Ramadan reinforces this for them and it did for me, too. Smelling food cooking or seeing people eat, when you "can't" is a very spiritual and humbling experience. Oftentimes I felt weak from lack of food and water during the day, but most of the time, I felt fine and even had more energy than normal. Prior to participating in Ramadan, I thought you'd lose weight, but you don't b/c you eat at night only. Here comes the touchy subject...women and that time of the month. I wouldn't think it would make a difference, but there are rules in the Koran about fasting while menstruating. You are not supposed to fast while menstruating. I didn't go for that. I thought that women could never do the whole month then and that wasn't fair. My friend didn't approve of that, but I reminded him that I wasn't fasting as a Muslim just with them, so it was okay.
Just to review the important points...There are five Pillars of Islam or things they believe they must do to be a Good Muslim.
1. Statement of Faith that there is no God but Allah or Iman
2. Pray 5 times a day in the direction of Mecca, their Holy City. AKA Salah
3. Ramadan - fast for one month or Sawm
4. Charity or Zakah
5. Haaj - pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives
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