no water no sex basically you become closer to your lord through worship and sacrifice. Increased prayers, charity, etc is also part of the whole Ramadan thing....
No consumption of any food or liquids. Unless it's for medicinal purposes. But abstaining from food is not the whole point. It's abstaining from all temptations of the eyes, mouth, hands, legs, and mind. No looking at pr0n or eyeing up girls, no cursing or bad mouthing anyone, no perverted touching, don't go anywhere that might lead you to those things, and most importantly be patient and forgiving. Be generous and donate as much as you can, not just financially. Not just during the daytime, but the whole month. It's supposed to be a cleansing process and stuff.
But the same can be said about Lent in the Christian faith. Just gotta respect what people do, especially when its things that don't harm anyone else.
That's one thing I notice with a lot of 1st generations from the Middle East and India, their parents pressure into traditions and religions they may not even believe in.
Point is that after it's over, you should take something from it and learn to apply it year round as well. It's hard to have the Ramadan mindset all the time but you should learn from it to better yourself as a person overall.
I can live with the no food part. But no water consumption is quite hard to do.. especially when it's in the summer.
You're supposed to do all that throughout the year. However fasting becomes mandatory in this month. It's supposed recharge for the rest of year. Fasting throughout the year is highly recommended and many muslims fast on and off through the year. All the other good things are supposed to be done all year long as well....
Here's a good article about weight training and diet during this month. http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personald...r-success-by-rehan-jalali-the-protein-shaikh/
Be courteous kind and forgiving, Be gentle and peaceful each day. Be warm and human and grateful, and have a nice thing to say.
Long days this year -> since we use the lunar calendar, Ramadan inches forward 11 days every year. So yesterday, we fasted from 4:49AM to 8:18PM. That said, I don't think I can complain. I spend all day at work in an air conditioned office, whereas there are folks in places like Africa and the Middle East that are braving 115 degree temps with no cooling. Then I get to walk home in 67 degree temps. I remember back in my freshman year of college, 1998, Ramadan was in December and we could break our fast at like 5:15PM. And that was on winter break. Good times.
that's a good point... start small... great point. if everybody is doing that all year long, regardless of faith, this world will be a better place.
You too and if you are in Houston, or anywhere else where it is still very hot, be careful with physical exertion while you are fasting.
Except for the abstention from sex part, unless you are one of those who think the world without humans would be a better place. Baqui, I lived in a Gulf country for a couple of years and remember watching construction workers working during Ramadan and wondering how they do it. Ramadan was not in the summer that year, but it's pretty much hot all the time there.
Uhhh.....India is majority Hindu. However, there are a lot of Islamic people FROM India as well. This is not a ritual of race though, it is a ritual of religion.
