Ramadan is considered the month of Quran and Charity and whoever fasts receives great rewards. It is written that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A Month begins with mercy, and in the middle it is forgiveness, and at the end a saving from hellfire,” nevertheless, fasting is considered an annual opportunity to balance a persons weight and gives relief to the whole bodily system that works throughout the year. Huzaifah Ibrahim from Egypt says:
“I want to fast during the camp, even if it is quite hard.”
The words of Allah were received on the Lailatul-Qadrnight, that Allah gives his believer great rewards for good deeds. The Prophet said, “Whoever spent the night of Qadr praying and reading the Quran, Allah will erase his future sins.” During this night Angels come down with Angel Jibril (Gabriel) to pray with believers and ask them for forgiveness and mercy, and the Prophet indicates that Lailatul-Qadr is one of the nights during the last ten nights of Ramadan. Muslims celebrate this holy night mainly on the 27th of the holy month.
Saeed Al-Shahi, from Sultanate of Oman, thought of his family and remembers sitting with them at Iftar time (breaking the fast), saying with a smile, “I remember well when we sit together, family and relatives to have Iftar together, it is a very beautiful time.”
During Ramadan, Muslims perform lots of religious rituals, like reading the Quran more often, performing Taraweeh prayers every night of Ramadan after Ishaa prayer (night prayer). Also Muslims increase doing good deeds and paying charity to needy people and pay Zakat (fourth pillar of Islam) as it has double rewards during this month.
In normal situations, a faster starts his iftar (breaking the fast) with some dates, water, yoghurt, soup and salad. In order to help them get the enzymes that help the digestive system going. Also, dates contains fibres that help reduce the fats in the blood and contains a level of sugar that the faster needs whilst yoghurt on the other hand contains protein and calcium.
Suhur meal (meal before starting the fast which is before sunrise) is considered an important meal during Holy Month of Ramadan. The Prophet said, “have a Suhur meal, as it has Barakah (blessing)”. Therefore, the Suhur meal has great rewards because the Muslim has followed the teachings of his Prophet (peace be upon him), but it is very important that it is delayed as much as possible until before Fajr Azan (call for early morning prayer) in order to help the body and nerve system to bear long hours of fasting.
Ghanem Al-Kawari from Qatar said, “there is difference in timing here; the day is so long, but it is for good – inshaAllah – we have brought some Ramadan food with us. Finally, I would like to congratulate everybody for Ramadan.”