Ramadan Reflections: Eid’s a wonderful time of year
by Soror Sakinah Muhammad, Zeta Chapter, Spring 2013
As I sit in my living room scrolling through Facebook a meme catches my eye. A man says to his boss “I need a day off of work to celebrate Eid.” His boss responds “Well what day do you need off?” The man replies “Well I don’t know!” Laughter between them both ensues. I chuckle to myself, reminded of the fact that I’m not working this weekend and don’t have to worry about having that same conversation with my boss. Every year Muslims around the world fast during a holy month in the Islamic calendar called Ramadan. The Islamic lunar calendar makes it so that all of our major holidays and events surround local moon sightings so we never really know when Ramadan or Eid will begin until the night before. There are astrologists who estimate when everything is going to happen in advance and make this knowledge publicly available, but it wouldn’t be a Muslim affair if some casual arguing among uncles and a telescope didn’t take place atop of a mosque or a mountain.
Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar one, the timing on the Gregorian calendar shifts every year, but for 30 days those observing Ramadan abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours. Fasting is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, but there are certain people exempt from it like for example those who are too young, old, the ill, or those with a medical condition that prevents fasting. We celebrate the end of Ramadan with a holiday called “Eid Al-Fitr,” or “the feast of breaking of the fast,” which is going on right now. In Muslim-majority countries Eid Al-Fitr is a three-day long public holiday that includes congregational prayers, giving gifts to children, and spending time with family. In the U.S. people typically celebrate similarly. In my social circle of university women away from home and converts with no Muslim family, we get together and go to morning prayers, followed by a lovely brunch.
When most people think of Ramadan they think of the daylong fasts and nights filled with community and worship. It’s a recurring joke amongst Muslims that upon explaining Ramadan to others we’re met with the phrase “But not even water?” Ramadan is actually so much more than just going without food or water though. It’s a time to reflect upon and strengthen personal connections with God, the Quran, and local communities. It’s also highly encouraged to give more in charity and people often spend their nights in special Ramadan-exclusive prayers called “taraweeh” that can last anywhere from midnight to 1am and beyond. Many also try their best to read the entire Quran during the month and to accomplish spiritual and religious goals they may have set at the beginning. Finally, it is also the time of year when even the most non-religious Muslims attempt to increase their worship and/or show face amongst other Muslims if they normally don’t. Ramadan experiences range from the poor refugee who starts and ends her fast with a few bites of bread to the wealthy prince who enjoys lavish feasts every night.
I continue scrolling through my timeline and see the usual end of Ramadan reflections followed by some hilarious Eid memes making light of things like girls’ plights to find the right outfit and having a Cinderella-like transformation on Eid morning. Another recurring joke among Muslim women is letting yourself go a little in the beauty and self-maintenance department during Ramadan. “If you can’t handle my looks during Ramadan you don’t deserve me on Eid.” Let me be the first to tell you, the Ramadan dehydrated and crusty lip struggle is a legitimate one. I glance at my hands a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to get any traditional Eid henna done this year but gain excitement from coordinating my outfit and mentally preparing for the Lion King-like stampede that is the onslaught of people filling the halls of the mosque.
Another great aspect about Ramadan is that it gets experienced by many people other than Muslims. Over the years I’ve had quite a few friends and sorority sisters fast with me in the name of solidarity and as an interfaith effort. When I joined Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority Inc. in the spring of 2013 a few of my line sisters fasted with me and we all had a wonderful experience. One sister was Christian and the other was Catholic. We created a mobile group chat together and talked daily about our trials and tribulations. A particularly funny memory I have is of the Catholic sister attending a party and while approaching the food table to break her fast she ran into a mutual friend of ours that she didn’t know was Muslim. They were the only two who had broken away from the festivities to make a plate of food after everyone else had already eaten. “Funny how we’re both here at the same time isn’t it?” she said. He replied, “Yeah, I’ve been fasting all day so I’m pretty hungry.” “Really? Me too!” she exclaimed back. He was clearly taken aback by this and a brief conversation followed about their musings of being fasting college students and being at a party during Ramadan in the first place.
During Ramadan, while I made my best effort to pray all five daily prayers on time and read a biography of Prophet Muhammad, my sisters frequently read their bibles and reflected upon their connection to God and Jesus. Last year one of our sisters fasted for a day and attended a fabulous “iftar” (the meal eaten after sunset) with me, followed by an evening at the mosque. This year, with everything going on with Muslims in the media and especially in light of Donald Trump’s election, a Jewish sister decided to fast in interfaith solidarity. All of these beautiful interfaith experiences weighed on my mind more heavily this year because of the rise of hate crimes Muslims have been faced with and Ramadan unfortunately ending with the tragic death of Nabra Hassanen. It’s times like these that we need love and solidarity and that make me thankful to be in a multicultural sorority and also have such diverse friends.
I feel like we get so caught up in focusing on what makes us different from each other and simply tolerating one another when there’s so much beauty in accepting others regardless and because of their differences, and immersing yourself in someone else’s culture. As the late Audre Lord said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” I challenge everyone to step outside of his or her comfort zone and experience something from a different culture. With all the rampant Islamophobia going on it’s especially important for people to engage with their Muslim neighbors and get legitimate insights into our lives, not only propaganda and Fox news. I was filled with a sense of joy as the Eid morning approached when I received a text from a friend who practices a different faith with the greeting “Eid Mubarak,” which roughly translates to “wishing you a blessed Eid”. And since I’m one for corny phrases, I leave you with this: Eid’s a wonderful time of year.
