“Not even water?” is the never-ending question all Muslims get during this month every year. Ramadan is a month where muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. During this month, muslims refrain from eating, drinking, and other human temptations in an exchange for focusing on prayer, gratitude, and discipline as a whole. The month of Ramadan is critical in Islamic culture as is the Quran, the Islamic holy book revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Although a day in my life during Ramadan is usually hectic, it is fulfilling at the same time. During Ramadan, my daily routine comes to a general shift as I have to find a way to balance school, work, spirituality, the gym, etc, while fasting. But my whole day is done with purpose, starting with an early morning meal (Suhoor), breaking my fast (Iftar), and finally getting to unwind by touching in with my spirituality at the Mosque during Tarawih prayers, an extra prayer at night to connect deeper with God. Let’s walk through a day as a Muslim student starting from the moment I wake up.
On Friday night, I prepared a yogurt protein bowl, but when I woke up on Saturday, March 1st, at 5:20 AM, I didn’t feel like eating it. This is a pretty usual thing for me. I always struggle to eat when I have just woken up, and on top of that, just eating so early, and going back to sleep is difficult. I ended up eating some blueberries, water, and mango juice. After eating, my family and I prayed Fajr (morning prayer during sunrise) together, then went back to sleep.
I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit lightheaded because I was tired and didn’t eat that well for Suhoor, but I got up and got ready for work. Going to work wasn’t bad. It felt like every other day, I just felt dehydrated. During my time at work from 12-4 p.m.,, I felt caffeine withdrawals kicking in. I’m very used to having some type of energy drink or coffee every morning, so not having one caused me to feel a bit off. On the bright side, work helped me pass the time because if I had not gone to work, the day would have felt a lot more dreadful and longer.
After work, I went home and prayed Duhr & Asr prayer as I was not able to pray them at work. It was only about 4:15, so I decided I was going to rest for a bit. During this resting period, I decided I was gonna listen to a podcast and do some cleaning. I decided to tidy up my room and wipe down surfaces. After I finished this, it was about 4:45, so I decided I was going to the gym to pass some time and get a good workout in. I decided to do some cardio and work out my legs. I then went home in a rush to start helping my mom.
Once I got home, I immediately changed into some comfortable clothes and went downstairs to the kitchen to help my mom. I asked my mom what we were making, and she told me we were making grilled chicken kebabs/wings with rice, salad, tzatziki sauce, cucumber sauce, a fruit smoothie, and tres leches biscoff cake. Besides the main stuff we were making, there are some things that we already have prepared for the meal. For example, dates, harira (a traditional Moroccan soup), and batboot (a traditional Moroccan bread that we fill with different assortments). We previously had these things ready as they are generally appetizers, starter things to snack on as we first break our fast.
All day I have been waiting for this moment, the time to break my fast. Maghrib (Sunset prayer) was at 6:06. My family and I gathered around the table and made dua (prayers). We broke our fast with some water and dates, along with the Harira, then we proceeded to the full course meal. Midway through the meal, we stopped and went to pray Maghrib. The food was so good, I love the vibes of Iftar. The funny kick to it is you always expect that you’re gonna eat so much because of how hungry you are, then, you feel bloated and full after only a couple bites. Now, it’s time to do the Ramadan dishes all moms and sisters hate. The moment I see those dishes, I want to cry. There is always so much, and on top of that, we usually don’t have too long to do them as there is a rush to finish, get ready, and go to tarawih prayer. My brother Ilyass decided to help me. I washed the dishes, and he rinsed them.
Soon after finishing the dishes, I decided I was going to get ready for Tarawih. Tarawih is the prayer Muslims pray in Ramadan after all their prayers. They arrive at the masjid and pray Isha and then pray tarawih. Tarawih is an optional prayer, but many Muslims decide to pray it as it’s a chance to connect with yourself spiritually and get closer to your religion as a whole. Tarawih essentially is 2 rakaat a break, and then pray more, and it’s a cycle of that until 20 rakat are completed. Some people pray all, some pray 8, some pray half. On the first day of Ramadan, I prayed 8. It felt very nice. I was relaxed and felt very connected spiritually. I really enjoy the feeling of the first day of tarawih. But, what’s a day in Ramadan without grabbing a sweet treat after Iftar? Me and my friends Yasmin Abdallah and Rokaya AbdulRahman, both students at Athens Drive High School, and I went and grabbed some drinks from MilkLab. My day felt very successful. It was very diverse, and I got a lot done.
Unlike the belief that if someone fasts they will struggle to do things with their day, Muslims continue to live their usual lives with no disruptions. Yes, it is difficult, but it is something your body gets used to eventually. Ramadan is a time we get in touch with our inner spirituality and feel connected to our religion as a whole. God tests our gratitude by temporarily removing things that we are so used to in our lives to feel what privileges we have. Ramadan Mubarak.
