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Gather around friends, the yearly educational Ramadan thread is here 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">. It starts this upcoming Tuesday (April 13). Usually I’ve just reposted the ones I’ve done the last few years but this time I wanted to break it down even more easily than before.
1. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and (able) Muslim men and women are required to start fasting when they hit puberty. I say able because some have health issues or circumstances where they can’t fast (diabetes, sick, pregnant women etc)
2. Fasting entails refraining from food, drink, and physical relations from shortly before sunrise to sunset. So at the start of Ramadan now it’ll be roughly 16 hours (4:30 am - 7:30 pm). As the days go on, the beginning and ending times change (fasts will get longer).
3. Nope, not even water. Yes, we are hungry and yes we are thirsty. So why do we fast? First and foremost, it is a commandment by Allah. Besides fasting being beneficial for a person health and giving us appreciation for what we have, it is a religious obligation.
4. As described in the Holy Quran, the purpose of fasting is to attain “taqwa” or God-consciousness.
5. The devil is locked up during Ramadan, so Ramadan is a good time for us to reflect on our actions and realize how much we blame “the devil” for things during the year. This reflection is surprising to me every year.
6. Ramadan is a month in which Muslims should increase their good deeds and acts of worship. We are already obligated to five daily prayers, but in Ramadan, the night prayer is extended by an additional prayer called “taraweeh.”
7. I should have put this earlier in the thread but the pre-dawn meal is called suhoor and the sunset meal is called iftaar. Between the iftaar of one day and the pre-dawn meal of the next, we are allowed to eat/drink as much as we want.
8. Ramadan gives us the right opportunity to develop habits of endurance and self-restraint. We should be even kinder to someone who is fasting, and we should refrain from nonsense talk and arguing during the hours of our fast.
9. It is also a a month of giving. Financially able people are obligated to give a portion of our savings/earnings to charity. There are numbers involved on how much to give etc, but that’s a little beyond my comprehension cuz I’m bad with math https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤣" title="Lachend auf dem Boden rollen" aria-label="Emoji: Lachend auf dem Boden rollen">.
10. The easiest way I can put it is that a person is obligated to give 1/40 of their savings to charity. Again, the number breakdown can be found in detail but it’s just not my area of expertise.
11. Yes, you can wish us a Happy Ramadan, Ramadan Kareem, or Ramadan Mubarak even if you’re not Muslim. It isn’t offensive (so many people ask me if it is). We truly appreciate when people say this to us.
12. No, you don’t have to hide and eat when we’re around. We appreciate that people are so considerate and don’t want to eat around us, but we’re use to this and will not be offended if you eat around us.
13. If you have a Muslim co-worker or colleague, please understand that we may not be as present, energetic, or as go go go as we always are. IF you can make the day easier for your Muslim colleague, that is appreciated and thoughtful (but it’s not something we are entitled to).
14. At the end of the month of Ramadan, we celebrate our holiday called Eid. On Eid, we gather with family and have food/drink, family time, and exchange gifts/money.
15. If you want to give your Muslim friend and Eid gift or Eid money, that is just as acceptable and appreciated as you saying wishing us a happy Ramadan https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">. (But again, neither of those things are required).
16. I’ve just had so many friends ask me about the two things I mention above - the wishing of a happy Ramadan and the giving of gifts to Muslims even if you’re non-Muslim.
17. I think I’ve covered all of the bases https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to reach out!
18. Please share this thread so more people can learn about Ramadan. Education is the biggest rectifier of ignorance!
19. Lastly, thank y’all for your love, support, understanding, and willfulness to learn so that you can be informed. Wishing everyone a blessed and happy #Ramadan https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">
20. Yep I forgot something. Just how some people give up things for lent, some Muslims give up things for Ramadan. For me, it’s usually music and (non-sports) related TV and movies. This helps me have more time for worship & reflection, and less time wasted on other stuff.
These things are encouraged from a religious standpoint. Just trying to unplug and disconnect from as much as you can to give you the maximum amount of time for Ramadan. I think I may put my Facebook and Instagram on pause for the month. I waste a lot of time on IG.
and of course, you don’t need to burn yourself out worshipping all day. Everything in good moderation is what is encouraged. But one should try to increase their good deeds and inculcate good habits they can carry into the rest of the year.
It isn’t just about doing things in Ramadan you don’t do all year. It’s also about making positive changes in your life that you can make everyday practices.
