Ramadan a time for self-denial, reflection

Stephanie Damon-Moore Guest Writer

On the first truly cold morning of September, when the sun hasn’t even considered rising, a handful of Vassar students are peeling themselves out of bed. No, it’s not because the fire alarm is going off again or because they have crew team practice. It’s Sept. 13, and the Islamic holiday of Ramadan has begun. For Muslim students, that means it’s breakfast time.

Practicing Muslims eat this early during the holy month of Ramadan because they must fast during the day. Muslims wake up long before the sun to eat their breakfast before the first of the five daily prayers. While everybody else is munching away all day, they abstain from eating or drinking. The fast is broken after dark, around 7:15 p.m. And then they do it again, for 30 days.

Muslim tradition holds that Ramadan’s exercises of self-denial will open the soul to spiritual growth and bring individuals closer to God. Muslims don’t just practice self-denial through fasting; they’re also expected to abstain from being unkind, losing their tempers, cursing, having sex during the day or any other kind of excess. Another practice encouraged during Ramadan is reading the Qu’ran, Islam’s most important holy text.

According to Islamic history, in 610 AD, during the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel gave the prophet Mohammed a golden tablet. Muslim tradition holds that the Qu’ran, whose name means “recitation,” is the product of the tablet and of many subsequent visits from the angel to the prophet, during which the angel gave the Prophet God’s words to write down. Muslims celebrate Ramadan not only as the time when their faith was founded, but a critical period for its survival. Fourteen years later, also during Ramadan, pagans from Mecca and Muslims from Medina met in the Battle of Badr. Although the people of Medina were outnumbered, they conquered Mecca. The defeat of the pagans was a critical victory for Islam.

Today, Muslims around the world recognize Ramadan as an opportunity to celebrate their faith and exercise self-control. At Vassar, a handful of Muslim students will be fasting all day for the next month. One of those students is Ali Jamil ’10, who spearheaded the movement to bring the once-defunct Vassar Islamic Society back to active status this year. Although Jamil isn’t always eager to wake up at 4 a.m., he does appreciate starting his day with the first of the five prayers.

“It’s one of the most important, because it sets you through your day,” Jamil said. He also emphasized that fasting isn’t the only important aspect of Ramadan. “The main focus during the holiday is visiting all your family members. Basically everyone who has a house, you visit them,” he said.

A special challenge for Jamil is running on the cross-country team during Ramadan. Because Muslims are expected to abstain from drinking water while fasting, he runs his races without it. “The hardest part is the 15 minutes right after a five-mile race,” said Jamil, “but I’ve run my best races while I’m fasting.” Although he recognizes the drawbacks of running while fasting, he can’t imagine giving up either one.

Natasha Mir ’11 says her parents wouldn’t let her fast while she was on a sports team. “My parents are both doctors, and they know how bad that is for you.” But Mir is happy about fasting this year. “Fasting is not at all as hard as it seems and it’s actually enjoyable,” she said. She does, however, recognize the difficulties that fasting at college presents, not least of which is waking up for the early breakfast and prayer. “My roommate’s going to hate me by the end of this,” she said.

But Jamil maintains that Vassar is a “comfortable environment for anyone.” Although Jamil lives in a suite this year, “Last year my roommates were totally cool with me praying in the middle of the room. They just walked around me,” he said.