Iftar is the breaking of the fast that takes place every night in the
homes of observant Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Hosted by the
Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims, the iftar I attended was
an interfaithevent, intended to educatenon-Muslims like me aboutthe
significance of Islam's holiest month.
Arden Fair Mall
I learned that Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar
calendar, the month Mohammed was supposed to have first received
divine revelationsfrom the Archangel Gabrielthat became the Holy
Qur'an. For a full lunar cycle, from full moon to crescent, adult
Muslims around the world refrain from food, drink and sexual relations
from dawn to sunset.
The fasting or sawm - the word in Arabic literally means
self-restraint - is meant to build discipline. As Imam Azeez, the
spiritual leader of the SALAM center, explained it, when people deny
themselves the simple permissible pleasures - food, drink, sex - it
becomes easier to refrain from the impermissible - alcohol or drugs or
criminal behavior. While attention focuses on food and drink, the
faithful are also supposed to refrain from foul language, gossip,evil
thoughts and even war during Ramadan.
Fasting is also a way to build understanding and empathy for those who
are suffering. Those who cannot fast because of illness or because
they are pregnant are required to feed the poor each day that they
themselves fail to refrain from.
Finally, Ramadan, we weretold, is about family. At theend of the day,
after prayer, families and friendscome together for iftars, tobreak
the fast. By tradition,the first foods eaten are dates and milk. At
the SALAM center that Saturday night, a sumptuous feast of spiced
rice, lamb, fried dumplings and sweets followed, all served in a
joyful holiday spirit.
It felt like Christmas. Our hosts regaled us with talesof Ramadan back
home in Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. They told us the month is very much
like Christmas, atime when mothers prepare their favorite dishes and
families and friends visit. On the last day of Ramadan, gifts are
exchanged. In fact, in many Muslim countries, Ramadan, like Christmas,
has become the principal shopping season and that has some worried
that, like Christmas, Ramadan will become tainted by commercialism.
But as I've watched the Muslims I know this Ramadan and in the past,
it seems unlikely. The central ritual of Ramadan, the fast itself,
prevents theMuslim holy season from drifting too far from its
spiritual roots.
To deny oneself all food and drink for 12 hours - not even a sip of
water is permitted - is very hard. To do that not just for a day or a
week, but for a full month, represents a commitment to faith that is
rare and precious and real. Certainly, it seems so to someone like me,
who has a hard time walking past the candy vending machine at work,
even after I've just had lunch. So, I left my first iftar impressed
and deeply moved.
--
- - - - - - -