Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins June 6

[Sally]

Happy Ramadan to all the peaceful Muslims out there. To the extremists, I hope you can restrain yourself until this important holiday is over, unlike other years when you ramped up the killings.

Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins June 6
05.06.2016 18:07 InternationalSigmaLive

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins on June 6 with Muslims in Turkey set to practice fasting, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, until July 4.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time when Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. It is a time of self-examination and increased religious devotion, as well as a time of increased religious observance and socializing, with families sharing rich meals after sunset followed by gatherings with friends or neighbors.

Welcoming the holy month of Ramadan, pious residents in Istanbul are expected to fill mosques to perform “Tarawih” prayers, an extra prayer specific to Ramadan, according to the practices of the Prophet Muhammad, which is performed by Muslims following the obligatory night prayer known as “Isha.” The historic Blue Mosque and the Eyüp Sultan Mosque are the two most symbolic spaces for these prayers during Ramadan in Istanbul.

The holy period creates a unique atmosphere in Istanbul - changing millions of people’s eating habits, working practices and praying times.

- See more at:

Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins June 6 | News

 

[Asclepias]

I think i'm going to try fasting this year. I tried before but never made it past 3pm.

 

[waltky]

Stay happy and healthy for Ramadan...

How to Stay Healthy While Fasting During Ramadan
June 06, 2016 - Main advice for millions of Muslims who are beginning Ramadan fasting period Monday? Moderation when breaking fast each night

The main advice for the millions of Muslims who are beginning the Ramadan fasting period on Monday? Moderation when breaking the fast each night. For the month of Ramadan — considered by most to be from June 6 to July 5 this year — Muslims eat just two meals a day: suhoor, the meal before sunrise, and iftar, the meal at sunset. This year, for countries in the Northern Hemisphere, Ramadan coincides with the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — leading to the longest average fasting hours in the holiday's 33-year lunar-based cycle, according to the news magazine The Week. Some Muslims will be fasting for up to 17 hours a day.

No feasting while non-fasting

Because of this, Dr. Razeen Mahroof, an anesthetist from Oxford, cautioned against eating too much during the non-fasting hours, according to NHS Choices, Britain's health website. "The underlying message behind Ramadan is self-discipline and self-control," Mahroof told the health website. "This shouldn’t fall apart at the end of the day." He said the pre-dawn meal should include foods that are filling yet provide energy for many hours, such as carbohydrates. "Suhoor should be light and include slow-digesting food, like pita bread, salad, cereal [especially oats] or toast, so that you have a constant release of energy,” Mahroof said. NHS Choices, as well as other websites, offer meal plans for those adhering to Ramadan fasting. But all suggest foods to avoid, especially during the night meal, include those high in fat and sugar as well as fried foods.

Sleep and hydration

Senior nutritionist Lovely Ranganath told Gulf News that sleeping and hydrating are also secrets to staying healthy during the month. "Waking up for suhoor becomes difficult as the digestion of fried foods interferes with our sleep cycle," Ranganath told Gulf News. "The body needs to put in more effort to break down the fats, which is a long process."

On the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Selami Aykut, 38, center, and his family observe the sahoor traditional breakfast of Ramadan, in Istanbul, after being woken by street drummers​

She said not hydrating can cause not only dehydration but bloating of the stomach. There are more than 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country — 196 million of its 206 million residents are Muslim. There are more than 3.3 million Muslims in the United States. Many Muslims break their fast each night by eating a date and taking a sip of water, a tradition started nearly 1,400 years ago by the Prophet Muhammad.

#Ramadan: How to stay healthy while fasting

 

[Sally]

Stay happy and healthy for Ramadan...

How to Stay Healthy While Fasting During Ramadan
June 06, 2016 - Main advice for millions of Muslims who are beginning Ramadan fasting period Monday? Moderation when breaking fast each night

The main advice for the millions of Muslims who are beginning the Ramadan fasting period on Monday? Moderation when breaking the fast each night. For the month of Ramadan — considered by most to be from June 6 to July 5 this year — Muslims eat just two meals a day: suhoor, the meal before sunrise, and iftar, the meal at sunset. This year, for countries in the Northern Hemisphere, Ramadan coincides with the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — leading to the longest average fasting hours in the holiday's 33-year lunar-based cycle, according to the news magazine The Week. Some Muslims will be fasting for up to 17 hours a day.

No feasting while non-fasting

Because of this, Dr. Razeen Mahroof, an anesthetist from Oxford, cautioned against eating too much during the non-fasting hours, according to NHS Choices, Britain's health website. "The underlying message behind Ramadan is self-discipline and self-control," Mahroof told the health website. "This shouldn’t fall apart at the end of the day." He said the pre-dawn meal should include foods that are filling yet provide energy for many hours, such as carbohydrates. "Suhoor should be light and include slow-digesting food, like pita bread, salad, cereal [especially oats] or toast, so that you have a constant release of energy,” Mahroof said. NHS Choices, as well as other websites, offer meal plans for those adhering to Ramadan fasting. But all suggest foods to avoid, especially during the night meal, include those high in fat and sugar as well as fried foods.

Sleep and hydration

Senior nutritionist Lovely Ranganath told Gulf News that sleeping and hydrating are also secrets to staying healthy during the month. "Waking up for suhoor becomes difficult as the digestion of fried foods interferes with our sleep cycle," Ranganath told Gulf News. "The body needs to put in more effort to break down the fats, which is a long process."

On the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Selami Aykut, 38, center, and his family observe the sahoor traditional breakfast of Ramadan, in Istanbul, after being woken by street drummers​

She said not hydrating can cause not only dehydration but bloating of the stomach. There are more than 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country — 196 million of its 206 million residents are Muslim. There are more than 3.3 million Muslims in the United States. Many Muslims break their fast each night by eating a date and taking a sip of water, a tradition started nearly 1,400 years ago by the Prophet Muhammad.

#Ramadan: How to stay healthy while fasting

Diabetics have to be especially careful.

Guide to diabetic Ramadan fasting?

 

[waltky]

Ramadan - a time for reflection...

For me, fasting means patience
June 12, 2016 - It brings me closer to God and makes me more thankful for everything He has provided me.

Ramadan for me is family time. At least that's the way how it used to be back in Turkey. I have a large extended family in Turkey and we used to open our fasts everyday at my grandparents' house, where all my uncles and aunts, their children and grandchildren would gather. In fact, one of the best memories I have of Ramadan are the times spent with all my family, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. One of my most memorable Ramadan was in the year 2009, when all of my family, including my uncles who live abroad, came back for Ramadan to Turkey and spent the whole month there. We would all gather for Iftar where we had the best cooked Turkish dish as well as homemade Turkish künefe. It was the best Ramadan meal I have ever had and I wish we soon have another good family reunion soon.

Although I am lucky enough to be here in the UAE with my family (mother, father and brother), something seems to be missing when we all sit down for Iftar together. I miss that feeling of being with that large group of familiar faces of all relatives, chatting, smiling and breaking bread together. I miss our lovely Ramadan gatherings in Turkey because we are a large family and it's better to have Iftar in a big group with people from all ages. In Turkey during Ramadan I used to read the Turkish version of Quran to understand it better. I also used to watch Islamic cartoons. I still watch them every Ramadan and read the Turkish version of Quran as well as the Arabic one. On a personal level, fasting for me means patience. It helps you understand the plight of the less fortunate. It brings me closer to God and makes me more thankful for everything He has provided me.

When Ramadan approaches, I train myself to eat less than the usual because I love eating. So it is better for me to get used to eating less so that I am able to fast easily these 30 days. I have been fasting properly from the age 14. An hour after Iftar, I try to exercise, since we only get to eat once properly and this can cause me to gain weight. I sleep at 1am and wake up for suhoor at 3am. I recently graduated from college and I am unemployed, so fasting is not very strenuous for me as I am home most of the time. I am very active on social media these days, so I talk to my friends and relatives in Turkey or do video chatting with them so that time passes quickly.

Honestly, I love this country (the UAE) but fasting here can get a bit difficult because of the extreme hot weather conditions. But I love the rules the UAE government has in place of reduced working hours and not being allowed to eat in public. This helps almost everyone reach back home during Iftar time and spend quality time with family.

For me, fasting means patience - Khaleej Times

See also:

For Muslims, fasting during Ramadan offers an opportunity for self-reflection and spiritual rejuvenation
10 June`16 - As the sun set on a cool June evening, hundreds of Muslims at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove bit into dates and sipped pink-colored rose milk, their first taste of food in 16 hours.

Seated at tables on a grassy lawn outside the mosque, the community had gathered for iftar, or breaking of the fast, on the second day of Ramadan. After eating a small plate of dates, grapes, watermelon and a potato-filled samosa as the call to prayer played gently over a loud speaker, they filed inside for the evening prayer, then returned for a meal of pasta, meatballs, garlic bread and salad. Although food and appetites were abundant, for many of the Muslims in attendance that evening, the focus wasn't on eating but rather spirituality. "Any time my stomach growls or I want to eat, it's a reminder that it's not any other day when I'm hungry, but that I'm fasting with a purpose," said Myra Mughal, a 22-year-old student at Golden West College in Huntington Beach who grew up attending the Islamic Society. "It's a tug on the sleeve to not forget my patience, that this is a time to strengthen my character and to try my best to embody the essence of Islam, which to me is to be merciful and compassionate with everyone."

Ramadan is the name of the ninth lunar month in the Muslim calendar, during which it is said that the Prophet Muhammad first received the Koran, the Islamic holy book. Fasting during this time — this year it's expected to be June 5 to July 5 — is one of the pillars, or fundamentals, of the religion, so all healthy adults who are not traveling, menstruating, pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication are required to abstain from all food, drink and sexual activity from sunrise to sunset. This year in Orange County, the fast lasts about 15½ hours, from about 4:15 a.m. until 8 p.m., although the length of the fast shifts as the days grow longer and longer. In addition, Ramadan is a time to immerse oneself in the Koran, and many Muslims set out to read the entire sacred text — which is about 600 pages long — during this month.

While non-Muslims typically look at Ramadan as a hardship, most Muslims view the month as a time of spiritual rejuvenation. "It's a form of self-discipline," said Ozgur Koca, assistant professor of Islamic Studies at Claremont School of Theology, outside Los Angeles. "It paves the way for self-transformation, spiritual cleansing, a realization of higher ethical standard and kindness to others." Koca also explained that fasting is not exclusive to Islam. For instance, Jews fast during Yom Kippur and some Christian denominations fast during Lent. "The idea of abstaining from certain things for a certain period of time seems to be an important thing across religions," he said. For Atef Mahgoub, religious director of the Islamic Center of Irvine, Ramadan gives Muslims the opportunity to take stock of their lives. "It's a time to evaluate yourself, to call yourself into account," he said, "to say, 'Where have you been in the last year and where are you going?' If you have a flaw in your personality, this is the time to work on it."

One piece of advice Mahgoub gave his congregation before Ramadan began was to avoid Facebook and excess television. "I encouraged people to not waste their time," he said. For Irvine resident Mirkena Ozer, Ramadan is like a spiritual "boot camp." The stay-at-home mother of six wakes up at 3a.m. every day this month to prepare the pre-dawn meal for her family — usually eggs or other high-protein breakfast food. This is followed by the dawn prayer, and while her children usually go back to sleep, Ozer and her husband stay awake to read the Koran. After her husband and children leave for work and school, she does her errands and starts cooking dinner. After all, the morning is when she has the most energy. Later in the day, she continues reading the Koran or listening to religious lectures. To break the fast, Ozer's family typically drinks water and eats dates and soup. This light meal is followed by the evening prayers and a full dinner. Later at night the family performs a set of longer prayers that only occur during Ramadan called taraweeh.

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