Published by Millions of people around the world many many countries fast the whole of this month i.e. the daylight hours of the month (the whole month would kill them all!). Fasting or the Arabic word ’saum’ according to my limited understanding means to refrain from or abstain from. So all these millions of people collectively abstain from three things food; drink and any intimate relationship with the partner (wife or husband the only legal partner a Muslim can have).
Extreme? Many consider this to be extreme and uncalled for perhaps, and I can understand where they’re coming from. What’s wrong with good food or drinking good drinks or romancing with one’s wife or husband?! (I haven’t got the answer if you’re expecting it).
I will try to put forward my uneducated understanding of things. Firstly to refrain from eating; well that’s probably the hardest for most of us (definitely for me). As this is the first day of Ramadan and we are approaching lunch time theirs one thing that is bang on my mind, good guess give yourself a tap on the back and no it’s not the afternoon sun. Now if I reflect very briefly I imagine all those people in Africa or Indian sub-continent or even people from the country from where my parents are from, they are in a constant state of hunger, hunger is the cause of death for many of them and many of their loved ones especially children. Hunger is a term which has three meaning (Oxford English dictionary 1971) 1st the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food, 2nd a strong desire or craving and the 3rd is the want or scarcity of food in a country. I can practically experience the meaning of hunger well two of the meaning of hunger anyway. As for the third one well there is no scarcity of food for me as far as I am concerned I know food is waiting for me just as soon as the sunsets. The way hunger is a cause for health problems so is overeating or unhealthy eating an article I read from the nhs caught my attention ‘Obesity is fast becoming the developed world’s biggest health problem, with over 9,000 deaths a year in England being caused by obesity alone.’
I really want to avoid going into boring factual side of things. For me staying away from food apart from making me hungry makes me… Contemplate. Contemplate even for a moment or two, and this contemplation results in me feeling grateful makes me feel generous, humble amongst many other things. This is just my feelings at this state of hunger at the present moment. I’ll conclude this another time now I’ll contemplate or pray perhaps.
Peace be upon all of mankind.
