#ramadan2023

A Spiritual Month

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ١٨٣

“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those before you, so that you may become mindful of God.“— Qur’an 2:183

When God tells us about fasting in the Qur’an. He tells us about mindfulness. What does mindfulness mean in this context?

Mindfulness (“taqwa” in Arabic) is a sort of constant God-consciousness and gratitude throughout our day.

That means if something goes well in our day we thank God. For example if we get a promotion at work we thank Him. Likewise if something goes “badly” we rely on him to help us through the difficult situation and we even thank Him for knowing what’s best for us; better than we even know ourselves. For example if we’re denied a promotion at work, maybe the extra responsibility would have been too much for us and we were not ready for it. There’s goodness in all things.

We can see that fasting then is not about hunger; which is probably the first thing that comes to mind when talking about fasting! Rather it is about piety and God-consciousness. Why then is fasting prescribed for a month of mindfulness?

Fasting is pure self-restraint — fasting from everything apart from God.

Overview of Ramadan

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ١٨٥

“Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the standard ˹to distinguish between right and wrong˺.

So whoever is present this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺.

God intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of God for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful.” —Qur’an 2:185

Ramadan is a month in the lunar calendar, therefore the start and end of the month are determined based on sighting the new crescent moon. This can be done through the traditional method of using the naked eye, or some people prefer to calculate the date beforehand. These different approaches to “moon-sighting” can often mean that people following different methods may be celebrating the start and end of the month on different days.

During Ramadan fasting is prescribed from dawn until sunset (about 5am – 7:30pm at the moment). It involves abstaining from food and drink for that period of time but there are many other aspects to the month of Ramadan.

A lot of people who aren’t visibly practising throughout the year start practising to their fullest in this month — which is why many people feel it is a month of cleansing and coming together of the community at large.

Thos who are unable to fasting are exempt. If someone is sick or pregnant and going to damage their health, they are exempt. Similarly for women if it is their time of the month they won’t fast for a few days.

A Fun Meaningful month

Ramadan is a “fun” month, people enjoy it, miss it after it’s gone and look forward to it all year around! The fun however is not really the aim of the month; it is simply a byproduct.

More than anything Ramadan is a month of discovering meaning. All aspects of Ramadan focus on what is meaningful to one’s soul. This especially involves:

• Fasting
• Giving in charity
• Prayer
• Reading the Qur’an (which is an act of worship in and of itself)
• Focusing on having good character; and good manners with others
• Spending time with one’s community

These are all things that one should do throughout the year — but Ramadan involves really doubling down on them during this month.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم  ” إِنَّ مِنْ أَخْيَرِكُمْ أَحْسَنَكُمْ خُلُقًا

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, ‘The best among you are those who have the best manners and character.’ [Sahih]

Working on one’s character is an especially big aspect of the month, refraining from sins, swearing and any form of speaking ill.

Community is the gift-box that wraps this all up. It is not strictly necessary to spend Ramadan as part of a community. Many people will spend the month by themselves but the community engagement is what rounds off the month.

People are brought together from all walks of life, drawn together by a shared purpose, making the month especially fun and engaging. Human beings are inherently social beings and this is never further exemplified than within Ramadan.

Building community and supporting others is an important part of Islam. By spending Ramadan as a community we’re able to better support those who might feel isolated. I’ve met people that have come from all over the world to various community events. The existence of communal spaces helps people to feel united and supported — especially for people that may be new to a city, having just arrived there for work or study. For new arrivals to a city, having a community to engage with provides a great place to meet new people with shared values, providing a loving home away from home.

While everything I have mentioned around community engagement tends to be fun, that’s not the aim in and of itself. Ultimately all of these things aim to be meaningful to people. The human soul craves purpose and through doing things that are meaningful Ramadan is ultimately a very satisfying time for one’s soul.

Ramadan Routine

Overall Ramadan is a really nice communal and familial time. One will often break fast together with their family — or if they’re not at home, then with people either at a community centre, a mosque, a restaurant or even a local park with their friends!

Most places that are organising a gathering for iftar (the breaking of the fast), will also organise a short talk beforehand. Normally this is a short spiritual reminder, some uplifting advice on how to live your life better, improve yourself and how to best worship God. Naturally if one is listening to uplifting talks every day for a whole month it becomes a really inspiring time, which encourages people to be their best selves.

After sunset one breaks their fast with a small snack, traditionally dates and water. Having eaten and reflected on life people will pray Maghrib together (the prayer after sunset) followed by a larger meal and then night prayers (taraweeh) a bit later.

The night prayers (taraweeh) may last a few hours, running late into the night and finishing at 11pm or even later. After those final prayers it is generally time for one to sleep until dawn.

For many people however, after taraweeh (night prayers), the night is still young! Having just prayed & broken their fast, young people are full of energy and take the time to catch up with people they haven’t seen in a while, sometimes friends that they haven’t seen since last Ramadan! This is time for socialising, going for another meal or catching up at a dessert-shop or a late night cafe.

Before dawn families will eat suhoor, the pre-dawn meal. In some countries people go out again for a bigger meal before fajr (the dawn prayer). For some cultures this is a really big event — equivalent to going out for a fancy dinner!

This is time before dawn is important to making sure one stays hydrated, eats some energising food for the day and gets ready for the dawn prayer (fajr). After praying fajr (the dawn prayer) people will normally go back to sleep for a few extra hours until work in the morning.

Overall Ramadan is a really enjoyable month. It’s not really the month of hunger as it may seem from the outside. It is more considered the month of worship: community, charity, prayer and self-improvement. A time to cut off all of the negative things one might slip-up on throughout the rest of the year.

It is one month of the year spent really focusing on being one’s best self.

Hungry?

قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ  ” رُبَّ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ الْجُوعُ. وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ السَّهَرُ “

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said:” There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer except sleeplessness.”

Ramadan is not intended as a “hungry month”. While everyone tends to fast, each person will end up taking from the month what is important to them. Some people will focus more on the charity aspect, others will focus more on their prayer, or their reading of the Qur’an, while some focus on being with their community and spending time with their families.

It can’t be denied that fasting the first few days does come with hunger, but after the first few days (normally around 10 days) it becomes routine to most people and they can comfortably get on with their days.

After a few days the health benefits of this detox begin to appear, and fasting brings with it a certain mental acuity and sharpness. For anyone that has ever had a big lunch and felt sluggish or sleepy afterwards — fasting feels like the opposite of that. One begins to feel light and sharp and full of small bursts of energy.

Again in the midst of that hunger comes a reminder about God. There’s an inherent feeling of worry and thinking that one would be lost without food, but God continues to sustain us; even when we haven’t had food and water since dawn.

Natural consequences

That being said there are some natural consequences to fasting in Ramadan. If someone is staying up late and not eating all day, naturally they will be a bit more tired during the work day. Speaking at length during a meeting or workshop will be a bit harder; and later in the day dehydration, fatigue and lack of sleep may be an issue for people.

Workplace adjustments

What can one’s workplace do to best support employees that are fasting, helping them to achieve their best work and continue to work effectively as part of a team?

“Lunch” break

Despite note eating a lot of Muslims will still aim to take their lunch break. This can often be used as a time to nap, helping people to feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the afternoon. For many this will be a time to goto the mosque for duhr (midday prayers) and catch up on their reading of the Quran.

Others choose to skip lunch and prefer to finish work an hour earlier.

Commute

Commuting to work can be quite long and tiring, especially while fasting. On the first day of Ramadan I commuted into work and was stood for about an hour, just crammed in with people on a hot train. Many people prefer to work from home where possible to avoid a busy commute and a tiring trip into the office, without water or coffee!

Working-times

Being awake until late at night with night-prayers and then awake early again for the pre-dawn meal will mean that a lot of people are operating on adjusted sleep schedules throughout Ramadan. People’s preferences will vary but a lot of people like to adjust the start and end times of their working day to help accommodate their adjusted sleep schedule.

Many people will prefer to start and end their work day a bit later (e.g: 10-6 instead of 9-5). If someone has been up all night praying, an extra hour of sleep goes a long way! Finishing an hour later in the day is less of a struggle for most people as they just finish work closer to the end of the fast. Ideally they can finish work in time for sunset and then close their laptops and go to eat!

Other people prefer to start much earlier in the day, maybe just after dawn, so they can start early and finish early, while also skipping their lunch break.

It’s important for employers to be sensitive to each of their employees needs and offer people adjusted hours on an individual basis.

Last ten nights of Ramadan

The last ten nights of ramadan are considered some of the most sacred months of the year. As such these are a time for extra worship. Some people will take time off of work and stay in seclusion in the mosque. They will eat and sleep there for 10 days while aiming to inculcate and practise everything they have learned throughout Ramadan. It is a time where people will donate even more in charity and aim to really double down on everything aspect of Ramadan.

Many people take this time off of work so that they can focus on their increased devotion at the end of the month.

A break at the end of the month can help people get through the rest of the month knowing that there are only a few weeks of fasting while working and that they have a break from work at the end of the month.

Meetings – to meet or not to meet

Generally meetings at the end of the day will be a bit tougher. People will be lower on energy and might be starting to feel dehydrated. People may prefer to work quietly on their work at the end of the day as opposed to having to talk too much and engage with others.

Other people however may even prefer to have a meeting where they can chat through a problem and throw ideas back and forth with their team— as opposed to staring at a computer screen and working alone.

Be proactive! Be sensitive and understanding

If you’re a senior member on your project, a team-leader or a line manager reach out first to your Muslim employees to make them feel supported. Often there might be someone on your team who is not visibly Muslim but they are intending to observe Ramadan. It’s worth giving a general communiqué  that you are there to support people who need it.

Many people, especially junior employees, will feel embarrassed to ask for support and will worry that it reflects poorly or looks lazy that they’re asking for help. Reassure them and try and accommodate them within the bounds of their work.

Ask people if they need any adjustment on working hours, offer them the option to WFH where possible.

Make the first move and be cognisant of scheduling meetings late in the day, remember to ask people if they would prefer them to be moved. I’m not generally a shy person, but even i would feel embarrassed to push-back and say “actually i’m quite tired by half 4”. Even though I’m still happy to be working, I wouldn’t feel great running a big workshop for my team that late into a day of fasting.

Everyone is unique in their approach though, so the main thing is to talk to individuals and ask them their working preferences. I hope I’ve outline a few suggestions that make it easier to have that conversation for people working throughout Ramadan.

Eid

Eid marks the end of Ramadan. This is a time to celebrate the completion of the month. It is the biggest celebration in the Muslim calendar – a global day of celebration. This is normally marked by a big meal with family and community; as well as being a time to buy new clothes and dress up!

While Eid is a time of celebration and joy, it is also a bittersweet time seeing Ramadan end. Ramadan is a beloved month and for many it marks the most spiritual month of the year. It is a time of pure devotion to God. It is a time of community, family, faith and unity. A time to reconnect to what is meaningful in one’s life and, with the help of the community and loved ones, focus on truly being the best version of one’s self.

Closing Prayer

We pray that God, grant us the opportunity to witness the next Ramadan. May He accept our worship and good deeds in this blessed month and forgive us for any shortcomings.

We pray that God helps us to continue all of our good habits beyond just this month of Ramadan and enables us to be the best versions of ourselves all year around, continually improving and drawing closer to Him, the most glorified, the most high ﷻ