So………it’s the start of Ramadan again…the holiest month in the islamic calendar
so for 30 days(no food and water for 19 hours)
my sleeping and eating patterns are massively disrupted as i put myself through 30 days of fasting during Ramadan.
Because Ramadan has again fallen during the summer months where the days are longer it will more mentally and physically challenging as i abstain from eating and drinking and try to keep myself mentally pure for 19 hours per day.
11 hours to go and I’m already feeling the effects!!

Best of luck man, got to say, i don’t fancy it much, especially if cycling in this heat!

Best of luck with it – one day I will notice it is coming up and try to do it myself, if only to see how hard it really is…

Rachel

At least you’re not in the North of Scotland. It get’s darker a bit later up here. Good luck with it.

Ramadan Mubarak.

Good luck! I can’t imagine going for so long without any food! Decadent infidel that I am. 😳

Never fails to amaze me just how well most Muslims seem to deal with Ramadan. I really think there must be something very positive for mind, body and soul to fast in this manner.

I really think there must be something very positive for mind, body and soul to fast in this manner.

Can you elaborate on these “practical” benefits?

Why the edit Cloudhopper?

Fair play, must be hard work in this weather

I imagine the benefits include a bit of weight loss and discipline, fairly **** obvious really.

Good luck.

A good few colleagues have decided to allow themselves a little more leeway this year due to timing, the current heat and the circumstances of the job.

I used to find Lent and holy days tough enough as a kid, and but it certainly focuses the mind.
🙂

Look after yourself Gonzy.

Edit:
Benefits?
Being hungry and thirsty is very different to watching someone who’s hungry and thirsty on the TV.

It gives you a sense if perspective – if you want one.

It’s used by the secular and religious alike, for many reasons.
See the innumerable diet threads on here etc.

A mate at work has lately been trying to explain Ramadan to some of our more intrigued colleagues.
So far, he has been asked what happens when if it rains and water gets in his mouth and what if he eats a bug whilst riding.

He also had to explain that no one was forcing him to take the challenge. That shocked people the most!

Ramadan Mubarak and stay hydrated, people.

Religion. Ridiculous nonsense.

No offense.

none taken…everyone is entitled to their opinion.

At least you’re not in the North of Scotland. It get’s darker a bit later up here.

true…it gets harder the further north you go…22 hours of fasting for anyone in Iceland 😯

don’t fancy it much, especially if cycling in this heat!

its still doable…just got to take it easy and allow more recover time between each ride…last year i managed to get a few rides in and for the last 2 weeks or so…i was commuting to work and back on the bike

I really think there must be something very positive for mind, body and soul to fast in this manner.

there is a very spiritual element to it ans well as the physical side of it…both have their massive benefits

one day I will notice it is coming up and try to do it myself, if only to see how hard it really is…

watch this space….

Ramadan Mubarak, dude. As a teacher I’m glad it’s fallen AFTER the English GCSE this year 🙂

watch this space….

No way dude. I’m out.
My belief system’s all about the chocolate eggs and the mince pies. 😉

I imagine the benefits include a bit of weight loss and discipline, fairly **** obvious really.

not necessarily…start of ramadan is always a bit harder. for example for todays first fast i performed a special late evening prayer at 11.30pm (which lasts around 30 minutes if done at home but can be anything up to 90 minutes if done at the mosque). i then would have gone to bed for a short nap before waking up at around 1.30am to have a final meal before making my intention to fast followed by my morning prayer which is carried performed at sunrise (around 2.30am)
then i go to bed and wake up at the normal time…6am and get on with doing routine stuff such as getting kids ready, taking them to school/nursery and then going to work etc.
by the time i get home tonight it will be close to 6.30pm..the kids will need to be fed and in bed by 8.30pm. whilst doing all that we’ll be getting the food ready so we can break our fast at sunset at around 9.30pm.
this cycle is then repeated for 30 days
you would think that its easy to lose weight during ramadan but i personally find that i always gain weight and i put that down to eating the wrong foods but more importantly eating and then sleeping on a full belly.
the disrupted sleep doesnt help either…but it does get easier..even in this weather

i didnt do myself any favours this weekend…after working a half day on Friday we took the kids to the beach in the afternoon. got back late and after the kids were in bed i was up until about 4am sorting my daughters presents out for her 4th birthday on Saturday.
Saturday woke up at 6am by an exited daughter and then it was just busy all throughout the day as we had guests and a party to sort out…lots of cooking and entertaining
then Saturday night the oldest child had a bad asthma attack so i ended up taking him to A&E…we were there from midnight until 4am
yesterday my cousin came round so we ended up taking the kids out and then went for a late lunch. then i had a load of last minute ramadan shopping to do…to stay awake i had a few red bulls so i couldnt sleep last night.
i’m paying for it now while i sit at my desk trying to stay awake!!

“Why the edit Cloudhopper?”

Because, life’s too short, you know?

Edit:
Benefits?
Being hungry and thirsty is very different to watching someone who’s hungry and thirsty on the TV.

It gives you a sense if perspective – if you want one.

It’s used by the secular and religious alike, for many reasons.
See the innumerable diet threads on here etc.

thanks Rusty…that’s one way of looking at it.
ramadan is a time to reflect on oneself and offer more prayer as its also the month of forgiveness. we also carry out our charitable duties more in this month than any other…charity is one of the 5 pillars of islam
spiritually it also gives us more focus and teaches us more about self discipline
from the physical side of things as rusty pointed out above..thats one aspect of it…after performing at least 4 days of continuous fasting the body is supposed to have gone through a detox cycle

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evgeniya-melnikova/why-fasting-during-ramada_b_5564387.html

http://www.nairaland.com/1352200/10-incredible-health-benefits-fasting

http://www.ramadan.co.uk/health-benefits-of-fasting/

Tough time of year for it for certain. Best wishes and I respect very much the sacrafice for your beliefs.

Just out of interest, what’s the deal with people who have jobs like doctors, nurses, professional drivers etc where being alert (and not suffering from low blood sugar) is a necessity?

Good luck with it – a colleague goes through this every year, and then does a bit extra to make up for her mum who is unable to do the fasting for medical reasons, so her Mums’s 30 days get shared amongst my colleague and her siblings.

I respect anyone who is prepared to do this for their faith, whether I understand the faith or not.

corroded – Member

Just out of interest, what’s the deal with people who have jobs like doctors, nurses, professional drivers etc where being alert (and not suffering from low blood sugar) is a necessity?

They just do their job, if they’re healthy, because the fast doesn’t cause loss of alertness or low blood sugar

It’s interesting that all of the major religions have some form of fast.

Islam does seem to be the hardest though, so good luck with it 🙂

Hmm. I’ll have to find an excuse to visit Muslim friends for Iftar! All those delicious tasty little snacks, then a proper huge meal. Samosas, pakoras, etc etc. 😀

That’s a real test. Make Christians bitching about giving up something for Easter look petty.
Best wishes.

My muslim ex-collague reckoned it was easy to lose weight during Ramadan.. mind you he wasn’t skinny…

Just out of interest, what’s the deal with people who have jobs like doctors, nurses, professional drivers etc where being alert (and not suffering from low blood sugar) is a necessity?

there is no deal…most are able to still perform their jobs as normal
there’s not much difference between a doctor or police officer who is fasting and one who suffers from diabetes for example.
so long as you’re careful about the foods you eat and keep yourself healthy then fasting wont affect you.

Hmm. I’ll have to find an excuse to visit Muslim friends for Iftar! All those delicious tasty little snacks, then a proper huge meal. Samosas, pakoras, etc etc.

there’ll be plenty of iftar events happening at local mosques around the country. find your local mosque and make enquiries.
more info can be found on places such as The Big Iftar
https://m.facebook.com/TheBigIftar
https://twitter.com/thebigiftar?lang=en-gb

if you know any muslim friends or colleagues then suggest the ShareRamadan idea

Since the Koran was written before Muslims began travelling north and south to latitudes where the summer daylight lasts for ridiculously long, I can’t imagine that this kind of misery was ever intended. In fact I remember reading last year that a UK-based Muslim organisation, the Council of Mosques or some such, was lobbying Mecca for a fatwa allowing all Muslims to fast during Mecca daylight hours. I’d be interested to know how far they got with the idea; not very far I’d suspect.

Gonzy – just a note to say thanks for the different perspective.

Like (I suspect) most on here, I’m a middle-aged white guy, so the different view is really interesting.

Thanks

Just out of interest, what’s the deal with people who have jobs like doctors, nurses, professional drivers etc where being alert (and not suffering from low blood sugar) is a necessity?

I was under the impression that there was a get-out clause for people who genuinely can’t fast for whatever reason (eg, underlying health issues). Though I’d guess that’s down to individual mosques / imams to decide?

Gonzy – just a note to say thanks for the different perspective.

Like (I suspect) most on here, I’m a middle-aged white guy, so the different view is really interesting.

Thanks

Indeed. As an occasionally militant atheist I think the entire thing is hogwash of course, and the whole “detox” idea is cast iron pseudoscience, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to read nonetheless. Whatever your reasoning, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a pretty big personal challenge and not one I think I’d relish, certainly not when it’s 24′ outside. Fair play.

So yeah, what he said, thanks for sharing.

Not Ramadan related but a long time ago I travelled with a muslim friend up into the arctic circle. As we were travelling he was only praying 3 times a day but still doing it at dawn and dusk (which were about 2 hours apart). Anyway, turns out that when he found a mosque in a place called Inuvik the locals just adjusted the times to Edmonton time, much much further south and more practical.

Why don’t people just correct to Mecca? It does seem a little harsh give the origins are in a place where it is pretty much 12 hours day light all year round.

One of our ladies in the shop had a ramadaming nurse faint on her while she was having a blood test.

Yes you can break or not observe the fast for health or safety reasons although in the rare cases I am aware of people took only a little water.

It was interesting livng in Singapore where they have holidays for all religions/nationalities – Christmas/Chinese NYEaster/Devali/EID. American company I worked gave 3 personal days ontop of holidays so varying religions could take their days (done mostly for Jewish holidays buy applied to all)

Indeed. As an occasionally militant atheist I think the entire thing is hogwash of course, and the whole “detox” idea is cast iron pseudoscience, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to read nonetheless. Whatever your reasoning, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a pretty big personal challenge and not one I think I’d relish, certainly not when it’s 24′ outside. Fair play

THIS
Yes lotS of colleagues off work today

Not much time to eat either what with the long prayer

Hopefully you will be fine

Inshallah 😉

Why don’t people just correct to Mecca? It does seem a little harsh give the origins are in a place where it is pretty much 12 hours day light all year round

There have been some requests especially the more northern you get for this

This is how I did though I was in that rough area anyway

cougar those who are elderly and frail, mentally ill, pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, women who are on their period are the ones who the exemption usually applies to.
however if you would normally be physically and mentally able to fast but have not been able to during ramadan for a medical reason then you are expected to make up for the lost ones later in the year.
for those who are not able to fast at all…then someone can perform their fasts on their behalf but its generally more acceptable to ether make a charitable donation or by feeding the poor

for prayer times you will always align the times so they match the nearest mosque. i live in manchester but if i’m out on my travels and say for instatnce i’m up in north wales…i will perform my prayers according to the tiems that are aligned to the local mosque there
therefore the logic for the mosque that Jonba mentions is sound logic as it can be justified by its remoteness
in a more densely populated area its harder to do this….especially with different time zones.
for example you live in australia so you are between 5-7 hours ahead of Mecca time.
if you performed your fast following mecca times your fast would be invalid for the following reasons:
to begin your fast you must get up before the break of dawn to to have your last meal and to make your intention to fast. this is usually followed by the first prayer of the day at dawn. so according to mecca time dawn is at around 5am and dusk is at around 7pm. so when the saudis start begin their fast at dawn (5am) it will already be between 10am-12noon in australia. come the end of the fast at dusk 7pm saudi time will mean that those in australia will be breaking their fast between midnight and 2am.
in order to perform a fast you must make your intention to fast at dawn and break your fast at dusk…so thats why is just wont work.
you pray and fast according to the light conditions where you are geographically located

They just do their job, if they’re healthy, because the fast doesn’t cause loss of alertness or low blood sugar

Was told there are exceptions for exactly the reason mentioned.

you pray and fast according to the light conditions where you are geographically located

Just checked the times from my local mosque.

01:33 to 22:04 today.

20 hours and 31 minutes is a long time to go without as much as a custard cream.

Respect.

If you fail for one day can you add a day on the end? My next door neighbour used to say this to me if I walked into the garden and ‘caught’ him smoking!

So………it’s the start of Ramadan again…the holiest month in the islamic calendar
so for 30 days(no food and water for 19 hours)

I think the xmas celebrations sounds better
30 days of constantly imbibing food and alcohol, all in the name of our lord and saviour santa claus

my liver may feel differently

I’m abstaining from food today too for weight loss reasons, although I will have the luxury of water and black coffee. However, I won’t be eating again until breakfast tomorrow.

Best of luck to all undertaking Ramadan.

Ramadan Mubarak!

jonba – Member

Why don’t people just correct to Mecca? It does seem a little harsh give the origins are in a place where it is pretty much 12 hours day light all year round.

What do you do in space? What do you do when we colonise Venus with its 6000 hour long day? Do we just use UTC?

(not taking the piss, it intrigues me; there’s obviously a break point at which local time just becomes impossible)