Ramadhan: I've got a headache.

Don't get me started about the “Not even water?!” question.

Or is it Ramadan?

So Ramadhan started a week ago and so far I’ve been sick since the first night. Still sick, and slowly recovering from the effects of some unshakable headache and some other things that are refusing to leave me alone and let me deal with my abstinence in somewhat of an optimum condition.

One of the things that people really forget intentionally or unintentionally is that maxim: “practice makes perfect” and it seems to them an absolutely superhuman that a person can give up food or water for 14 hours. I think the concept of “you have to put in the work” gets absolutely sidelined here, and just turns into a fascination of the act itself. Well, I’ve put in the work for decades.

At least this is the perception I receive from my friends, who I’d like to think they’re “a bit cultured”. So the amazement of the ‘achievement’ of fasting to them is something that baffles me as I’m on my 28th year of fasting already. Yes, I’ve got a caffeine headache¹. Yes, I don’t have the same level of energy per se, and my productivity has shifted to a nocturnal productivity, but that isn’t as much of a ‘wow’ factor it is to me as much as the novelty of the idea that other people might have.

Another aspect that I’m noticing is that people generally don’t know anything about Islam (in this case Ramadhan) or to a large degree christian fasting practices, let alone Judaism or other doctrines. This is striking to me not because Islam is vilified and all that (which is true to a large degree), but the people’s lack of engagement with their parents’ religions is what is striking to me. Yes, I’m in New York and secularization is at its highest trends now and there is a rise of agnosticism and atheism etc, etc, but that to me still doesn’t forgive the sheer ignorance.

One can counter-argue that our ability to interact/view/notice trends far away from our social circles have never been higher due to the Tiktoks, and Twitters and the likes. This at least should spark a level of interest that is sufficient to develop a ‘basic idea’ of what Ramadhan is, and why/how do people fast during this month.

This also is reflected in the fact that the Muslim community in general from my interactions with various aspects of it are not necessarily active in raising awareness of the month, what it means, what are its values, and so on.. This is contrasted by something absolutely fascinating in the UK called “Ramadan Tent Project” in which it aims to take the iftar or breaking of the fast to some of the unusual places, like football stadiums, churches, the parliament, and other places.

It’s different here.

The major difference I’ve been noticing here from a cultural point of view is how the Muslim immigrant societies have given up to the American times of day, being a part of the larger society. This is visible in the fact that in majority Muslim countries, the social day literally starts after iftar. This means your active hours (beyond the working hours) start around 8-9pm and extend to 2pm or so. Meanwhile in the US (and I’m extrapolating to the West in general and minority communities), once you are out of the night prayers at 9.30-10pm, you feel like the day has ended for you already. I find that difference significant in terms of the spiritual aspect of practice.

I am more inclined to end my day after the night prayers, and take a small walk in the quiet streets, with the meditative state of mind after the prayers and the congregation. This is technically impossible in majority Muslim countries as I mentioned earlier.

The Positive Isolation

The other interesting aspect I’m noticing in this experience with the length of days is the isolation, and that to me is somewhat of a positive aspect.

Part of the spiritual aspect of being in Ramadhan is the spiritual/mindful aspect of the physical exercise. In a similar fashion to the Buddhists’, the Christians, and almost every spiritual and philosophical tradition that did a form of abstinence or restraint, the transition from the physical abstinence to the mindful exercise is what is the essence of what Ramadhan means to me. Willingly giving up what is ‘permissible’ is an exercise of ‘Takhali’ or ‘removal/shedding of burden’ in aspiration for a higher state of being. This meditative aspect of the practice is what I am increasingly tuning into as I grow into the years.

The state of hunger kinds of forces upon you a zen-like mindset, and a sense of observed humility towards the outside world, specially when the world outside is not at the same wavelength as you are. This is something I’ve discussed with a friend recently. The fact that I am outside of the norm, or on the outside of the norms of society, this makes me intellectually engage with the practices of what I do/believe in constantly. I find this absolutely enriching, while being challenging without a doubt.

This ‘positive isolation’ makes me a lot focus inward in comparison to being around family and friends every night. It is putting me in a state of spiritual engagement with the act of fasting itself, beyond the ritualistic aspect. The longer days, and shorter nights, allow for a peaceful walk at night, to have a moment of reflection about the day as a whole, in comparison to being within the normal times, or with family during Ramadhan. There’s this sense of a “right ending” for a day in comparison to what it feels like back in Kuwait.

Ramadhan means spiritual readings.

Part of the ritualistic approach to Ramadhan is attempting to gain spiritual, emotional, and intellectual elevation. That comes in many forms and the Quran is an obvious one.

With that, I’m currently reading “The Alchemy of Happiness” by the famous Imam Al-Ghazali. An interesting thing I noticed when trying to find the book in Arabic is that the English translation (which is translated from ‘Hindustani’, yes! not Urdu, not Hindi) has more chapters and is actually bigger than the Arabic version. This is generally not the case for many of the books I’ve read or found in both languages.

Another one I’m reading is “The Heart of Islam” by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the George Washington professor and philosopher of Islamic intellectual studies. The book was written post 9/11 to provide an intro about the belief system, the philosophies, and whatnot. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is possibly the authority on Islamic intellectual discourse in the Western Hemisphere, and he has an interesting discussion with the Dalai Lama, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and Reverend Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, on the idea of happiness as part of an interfaith dialogue. Just watching Dalai Lama laughs is fun by itself.

It’s always fascinating to me because I’m more of a traditionally brought up in the faith, and I have been on a 17-year long journey so far on trying to understand Islam from an intellectual point of view, beyond the ritualistic aspect of it. This also means that in my opinion most of the “renewal” of the intellectual ideas within Islam is happening in the west, as the Middle East is struggling with increased control over practice by the states. This is another subject.

But, can we agree that these book covers are beautiful?!

But I’m still sick! 11 days in!

Haven’t been able to go for a run consistently due to the time change and the inability to shake this sickness for some reason.. This is the only drawback so far.. As someone who’s consistently running 4 times a week, this is not ideal. But yeah..

Till next time.

1. One hack that I’ve discovered recently is extended release caffeine pill, recommended by a medical doctor on twitter as part of ‘Ramadhan hacks’. It is basically similar to the long-effect medicine, but caffeine, to basically reduce the effects of withdrawal. Is this inline with the spiritual recommendation of giving up things you want? I don’t know, but it’s definitely amusing..