This is day 23 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. Ramadan, as my husband says, is a time to “get right.” It is when we are meant to turn down the din of the world, quiet the chatter in our minds, listen to our heartbeats. Much is made of our fasting, the abstention of all food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Yet for me, through my 15 years of being Muslim, I find that the greatest challenge of Ramadan is... Read more
The White House and other government agencies have held Ramadan iftar dinners for decades, but Trump’s version will flip the previous model on its head. Many Americans don’t realize that for a few decades now, the White House, State Department and other government institutions have regularly held Ramadan iftar dinners — fast-breaking meals for Muslims observing Ramadan — for a variety of domestic and international guests. They have been seen as both a diplomatic event to break bread with dignitaries... Read more
This is Day 22 of the #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. A quarter of the world’s population, or around 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, are currently in a time of Ramadan. In Ramadan, we’re fasting during the day from sun up to sun down. In Chicago where I live, this means that from around 3:45 a.m. to around 8:15 p.m., we are refraining from water (or any liquid), food, sex and trying to be more mindful of our bad habits, our... Read more
This is Day 21 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. Sometimes I find myself missing the ways I used to love and know God as a child. Things were simple back then; I was innocent, young and so acutely aware of Allah that I felt it in my bones. Other times, I find myself banking on grace and goodness to come down the road, and happiness and confidence to saunter in along with them. In middle school, I thought high... Read more
This is Day 20 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. The holy month is a time for deepening the greatest of all love affairs It’s well after midnight and burning candles flicker in my dimly lit living room. Music hums quietly in the background. A love song carried through the vibrating cry of the reed flute. My head gently sways right to left to Oruç Güvenç’s sweet notes, and we sit, me and my Beloved, at the table overlooking the... Read more
This is Day 19 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. There is probably no time of year which spurs Muslims to reflect on the passage of time the way Ramadan does. Muslims become keenly invested in the cycles of the moon more than any other lunar month, and those who are fasting can viscerally experience the loops of sunlight and moonlight down to the minute as cycles of hunger, thirst and satiation, fatigue and rest. This year Ramadan happens to... Read more
That’s both the sweetness and test of Ramadan -- that no one can really know if you are indeed fasting from food and drink but Allah swt. Not your spouse, your children, not your closest friend. Just God. Read more
This is Day 17 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. This Ramadan has been rough, nearly my roughest one. Not so much the fasting part but the introspection part. My thirties are in their sunsetting phase, and I am thinking a lot about the second half of my life and where things are headed. As a single (divorced twice) woman, a Muslim (hijab-wearing) woman and a community activist (the kind that makes people uncomfortable), I have found myself in the... Read more
This is Day 16 of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series. As we move into crazier times, where more and more people are disillusioned with God or no longer see His use in their daily lives, I reflect upon one of the criticisms constantly used against God-fearing people and their penchant for praying without action. Read more
There is simply no substitute for reading the Quran in Arabic, regardless of your comprehension. Sitting with the Quran and reading it aloud in the original Arabic is ibadat – you submit yourself fully to the rhythm and the music of the verses, as laid down by the Creator, exactly as given to the Prophet, during that first Ramadan. Read more
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