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 interfaith event, intended to educate non-Muslims like me about the
significance of Islam's holiest month.
Arden Fair Mall
I learned that Ramadan isthe ninth month of the Islamic lunar
calendar, the month Mohammed was supposed to have first received
divine revelations from the Archangel Gabriel that 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 - theword 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
refrainfrom the impermissible - alcohol or drugs or criminal behavior.
While attention focuses on foodand 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 pooreach day that they
themselves fail to refrain from.
Finally, Ramadan, we were told, is about family. At the end of the
day, after prayer, familiesand friends come together for iftars, to
break 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 tales of Ramadan
back home in Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. They told us themonth is very
much like Christmas, a time 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 the Muslim 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 soto 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.
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