Ramaḍān in Malaysia
Ramaḍān is a blessed month in which Muslims fast for about 29 to 30 days, depending on the moon circulation announced by the observatory. Ramaḍān, which literally means scorching hot, is the ninth month according to the Islamic calendar, after Sya’bān and before Syawwāl. During this month, we fast from sunrise to sunset, which we refer to as fajr and maghrib, respectively. Fasting in Islam goes beyond the traditional meaning of abstaining oneself from eating and drinking. It also involves refraining oneself from committing vices. However, as human beings I understand that it is impossible to rid ourselves from committing sins 100%, so I like to think of it as committing as few sins as we possibly can. The phrase that we use to welcome the month of Ramaḍān is Ramaḍān Karīm or Ramaḍān Mubārak, which means ‘blessed Ramaḍān.’
Fasting in Malaysia is different from fasting in other parts of the world. Because Malaysians consist of many religions (Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc.), some restaurants are left open during the day—fast food restaurants and restaurants run by non-Muslims. We have lived harmoniously for over six decades that it is a well-known fact that non-Muslims and Muslims who don’t fast (those who menstruate and those who are physically and mentally unable to fast) will eat in private to respect the ones fasting. Sometimes, non-Muslims here fast just like us Muslims to see what it feels like to fast for a month, and I find that very interesting. We typically fast for about 14 hours: from 0530 until 1930. By 0530, we have woken up to have our sahur, which is our meal before the fasting duration, and by 1930 we have broken our fast with dinner.
In Malaysia, there will be bazaar Ramaḍān almost everywhere. You can find all kinds of delicacies sold at the bazaar, from drinks of all colors to food of all sizes. The bazaar is not restricted for Muslims only. Non-Muslims also enjoy buying food sold there for their families. One huge con of the bazaar is that we tend to buy so many things that exceed our capacity to eat. In my opinion this is due to the massive appetite we develop during the day and we feel like eating a bit of everything. This is a test for us not to be gluttonous and greedy. It’s important to be mindful not to be extravagant with our expenses as we want to avoid wasting food and money. The practice that I personally enjoy during this blessed month is charity. We can see many people donating food and money to those in need and this deed is highly recommended and greatly appreciated.
At night, most of us go to the masjid (mosque) to pray tarāwīh, extra prayers we perform specifically during the nights of Ramaḍān. Some people suggest that the reason behind this is to digest the food that we have eaten during dinner. A humor that circulates among us (Malaysian Muslims) is the hypothesis “The farther we go into Ramaḍān, the fewer the number of people who perform this prayer at the masjid.” Another event that happens at night is the night bazaar where we can shop for new clothes to wear during Eid (I will explain about how Malaysians celebrate Eid in another article, so stay tuned).
Nuzūl Al-Qurān (revelation of the Quran) is an event that occurred during the Prophet’s time whereby the first verse of the Quran was revealed to him until it was completed by stages. This event occurred on the 17th of Ramaḍān so it is a common practice that Muslims race against time to finish the whole Quran at least once during this holy month (this practice is not an obligation). Another event that occurs in Ramaḍān is the Laylat Al-Qadr (night of power) when we wake up in the middle of the night to perform supererogatory deeds to get more rewards in the last ten nights (this practice is not an obligation).
Before I end this article, I would like to highlight that it is an obligation for Muslims who have only reached the age of maturity to fast in this month. Children are not bound to fast but parents teach them fasting so that they will get used to it when they grow up. Sometimes they fast from sunrise to sunset and sometimes they fast half the day. Sometimes they fast the whole month and sometimes they fast half of it. To all the Muslims who are reading this, I wish you Ramaḍān Karīm and may this Ramaḍān be better than the previous one.