Surviving The Holy Month Of Ramadhan

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O believers, prescribed for you is the Fast, even as it was prescribed for those that were before you — haply you will be godfearing” 2:183 – Arberry Translation.

All of us have heard how important the Holy month of Ramadhan is for our spirituality.  The month in which the Holy Qur’an was sent down, the month which climaxes with the Night Of Power or Destination – a night worthy more than eighty years of worship!  A night that determines your year to come.

But let’s face it, the days are long and in in some places the fasting day ends up being over 17 hours long.  The body can only do so much, and not all of us have the faith to power us all day long as though our spirits alone can energise our daily activities and meet the demands of our everyday life – even though we would all like to believe that.  As far as work, school, university, financial commitments, and other appointments are concerned, business is as usual.

This is your Guide To Survive The Holy Month of Ramadhan.

But first, a few points to consider:

• This month requires all able Believers to fast from Fajr to Maghrib (effectively true dawn to dusk). This obligation is a lesson that through out the year, the healthiest way to go about your daily life is to have two meals a day, early in the morning, and after your Maghrib and Isha prayers.  What is in between (lunch), is not part of the Islamic way of life, and this month is here to help us realise that this is achievable.
• Fasting it self is a form of therapy and the best form of strengthening the gastrointestinal, blood, and nervous systems.
• Fasting is not a cause of illness, but a therapy for illness. Unless you determine that there is potential detriment to your health because of fasting.
• Fasting helps strengthen your will power by stopping you from consuming what is halal, so that on other days of the year, we can stop ourselves from eating what is forbidden and of what is not considered part of “Tayibaat”[i].

Recommendations for making the fast easier are below.  Some items may not be available in your area but can be easily made at home.

General Recommendations:

• A light “suhoor”[ii] is highly recommended and should be considered very important.
• A good Iftar is even more important, needless to say, starting with a date, sea salt, and some warm water.

Specific Recommendations:

1. To prevent thirst:
   1. Green lentil saweeq[iii].
   2. Wheat saweeq with brown sugarcane sugar and some water.
   3. Five dates with water.
   4. Purslane juice with water and either brown sugarcane sugar or honey.
2. To prevent weakness and fatigue:
   1. Wholemeal bread.
   2. Porridge (with meat).
3. To help with weak stomachs and lack of appetite:
   1. Compounds are mixtures of herbal products as per the recommendations of the Ahlul – Bayet, peace be upon him:
      1. Digestive Compound.
      2. Ginger Compound.
   2. Thyme and natural sea salt.
   3. Sea salt.
   4. Warm water – boiled and cooled.
4. To prevent constipation:
   1. Dried prune plums (up to 5).
   2. Dried figs soaked in water.
   3. Olives and olive oil.
5. To prevent over eating:
   2. Medicine of Purslane of Fatima (A.S).

While the above could all be studied individually and expanded upon, It would be sufficient to present a few narrations to indicate the significance of the narrations with regards to the diet and where the recommendations have been extracted from.

Narration 1:

عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام أنه قال: سويق العدس يقطع العطش ويقوي المعدة وفيه شفاء من سبعين داء – الكافي 6:307

It has been narrated from Imam Saddiq, peace be upon him, that lentil saweeq stops thirst, strengthens the stomach, and within it is a remedy for seventy ailments. Al-Kafi 6:307.

Narration 2:

عن أبي الحسن الرضا عليه السلام قال: نعم القوت السويق، إن كنت جائعا أمسك وإن كنت شبعانا هضم طعامك. الكافي 6:305

Imam Redha peace be upon him, is narrated to have said the best sustenance is saweeq, if you were hungry it will help you with that hunger and if you were full it will help you digest your food. Al Kafi 6:305.

Narration 3:

In the book Makarim Al-Akhlaq p169, it is narrated that if you were fasting, always break your fast with dates where possible as that is what the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Household, used to do.

Written by S.L.Al-Hakim

[i] طيبات: Not being just halal, but of greater benefit to your health physically and spiritually.

[ii] A light meal before fajr.

[iii] Saweeq (سويق) is generally produced by using the flour of the item and sautéed without oil.