Day One of Ramadan Challenge Completed

For my “Ramadan Challenge” series, I will try to narrow the scope of each blog to one particular thought on fasting each day. Some days will be more eventful than others will; some will result in quiet nights in the house and others will involve partying at a neighbor's house.

In my community, the fasting for Ramadan begins at 3:30 AM and continues until 7:30 PM. This means no food or water for sixteen hours. I must say that day one was a success, despite the fact that I may have started a little late due to not hearing the call to prayer. I did manage, nonetheless, to go the entire day without either food or water, though I did make sure to drink about ten liters of water up until the fasting time began. Sleeping until one in the afternoon and not going outside may have helped make things easier for me, too. At the end of the day, however, I have to admit that I was so hungry. As soon as 7:30 arrived, I pulled out a huge plate of fruits and made macaroni and cheese as well as noodles, and drank two liters of water.

However, something interesting happened at around 7:15 this evening. Some kids were walking around my house. I opened the door and we talked for a bit. They were waiting for their mother so they could go home. The first thing that I said wasn’t, “Oh my God, is it time to eat yet?” The first things I said was, “I have some fruits and chips in here if you want to have some when fasting is over. I think I did this because since I was fasting, and I knew they were fasting, I knew that they must have been hungry, too.

Some time passed, and another person came to the door. Even though I was in the process of making the macaroni and cheese and noodles, I set them aside, gave my new guest water, tea, and more fruits, and offered him more food until he refused. When I got to my macaroni and cheese, they were a little cold, but I didn’t mind.

Did the fact that I didn’t have food all day make me more willing to share what food I did have? Or was it merely a side effect of the delirium I suffered from my brain eating itself out of hunger.

Maybe one of the purposes of Ramadan is to make us more aware of the suffering of others. Maybe the purpose is to feel those pangs of hunger so that when we see that beggar on the street, we won’t be so quick to say no; or, if not giving money, we could at least buy them some bread or food. I’ve tended to notice that women tend to be more sincere about their need for money than men are, so maybe I could try to be less distrustful of them when I see them on the streets of Fes or Ouarzazate.