So with living in England, it's without a doubt that I'm going to meet and become friends with non-Muslims. And as I always say, where I live is pretty diverse and I have friends from many different backgrounds.
Whilst I was at school, when Ramadan came around, the non-Muslim kids would always be so curious about it and want to learn about Ramadan which is cool because it shows they're open to learning about something different. But at the time, sometimes, I did get a little annoyed given I was fasting and I'd repetitively answer the same questions sometimes. But I never snapped at anyone for it, after all, they just wanted to learn.
And overall it was quite sweet and sometimes funny.
Anyway let's dive straight in, what questions was I asked?
#1 - "Are You Allowed To Drink Water?"
This is always the most frequently asked question during Ramadan. No, Muslims can't drink water when they fast during Ramadan, as well as not being able to eat food.
#2 - "How Long Do You Fast For?"
We start fasting at sunrise and eat again at sunset. Ramadan itself lasts for one month.
#3 - "What Do You Eat At Iftar Time?"
Reminder: Iftar is the evening meal which we have at sunset.
And we have lots of South Asian food. Curry and roti (chapati) is the main meal my family has and sometimes my mum makes us side dishes like kebabs, samosas, pakoras etc.
She made us these little mini-pizzas once too, they were amazing. I love my mum haha.
#4 - "Do All Muslims Have To Fast?"
Nope. Children, the sick, those on medication, pregnant women and menstruating women are all exempt from fasting.
Last year actually, I did not fast during Ramadan because I had really stressful exams during that time and if I fasted whilst being stressed about those exams which also take a lot of energy out of you- chances are I could have made myself ill, and many other Muslims also didn't fast during these stressful exams. Plus these exams were a once in a lifetime thing that had a huge impact on our future, so we needed to be 110% to pass them.
So to sum it up, if your health is at risk then you can't fast.
#5 - "Are Women Not Allowed To Fast On Their Period Because You Believe They're Dirty?"
Nope that's not the reason.
When a woman is menstruating she will be losing fluid, and vitamins so she needs to drink water and eat to keep her strength up.
And plus, many women like myself get period pains, like cramps and back pain, and drinking water, herbal tea, black tea usually helps me with those kinds of pains- if I'm dehydrated during my period, the pains are so bad, so it's important to stay hydrated during your period.
Therefore women cannot fast on their period for health reasons as not eating and drinking could have a negative impact on their health.
Not to mention, we also go through hormonal imbalances during our period and whilst you're fasting you're supposed to remain calm and try your best not to get angry- and well, when a girl is on her period that's difficult. Especially for me haha, I always end up snapping at my little brother at some point and just being really moody sometimes- I can't help it though.
#6 - "Have You Ever Cheated? And Do You Think Some Muslims Cheat?"
Nope. I have never cheated before, that eliminates the whole point of Ramadan.
Firstly we need to remember that Muslims are only human after all, and there are almost 2 billion of us in the world so yes, of course some of us will cheat even they're not supposed to. But I've never known anyone who's cheated.
#7 - "So It's Not Just About Starving Yourself For A Whole Month?"
I laughed when my friend asked me this😂😂
Firstly, we're not starving ourselves because we eat at sunset.
Secondly, no there's more to it than just fasting.
It's about self-discipline, reflecting on yourself, improving yourself, giving up bad habits, getting closer to Allah (God), and remembering the poor and those less fortunate than you, and if you can helping the poor and the less fortunate.
#8 - "What's The Point Of Fasting?"
Well, it helps me become a stronger person. When I was at secondary school for example, we didn't have a room we could go to at lunchtime so we didn't have to see everyone eat, we had to sit in the canteen or go outside whilst everyone around us was eating.
Some of my friends felt bad at first and used to hide their food, but we told them it didn't matter and that they could eat in front of us.
It did make me hungry to be honest, but ultimately it made me a stronger person and it was tempting but I resisted it. Because that's where the self-discipline comes in, it's so tempting just to think: "I can't take anymore, everyone around me is eating! I'm gonna go buy food!"
But you just have to learn to control yourself and think positively, that those few more hours you have to wait will fly by and that the world can't stop eating just because I'm fasting. Once you start thinking that way self-control because easy and you become a stronger person.
We had to do PE whilst we were fasting as well. When the weather was really hot the teachers told us we could sit out, but if we were inside or the weather wasn't hot we had to do PE. At first we all complained because we couldn't drink water, but we still did it. Sure everyone took it a little easier and when we played team games our non-Muslim teammates were really understanding about it- even they agreed with us that we shouldn't have to do PE, but we did- and it didn't kill us, and that just showed us all how strong we were still being able to run around even though we hadn't had water or food. I thought that'd make me crack, but it didn't and I was still fine afterwards.
#9 - "Do You Just Eat Through The Night?"
Yeah pretty much that's what I do. I mean, I'll have iftar, then I won't eat for like an hour and I'll just have a cup of tea, then after an hour I'll have something else and I'll just be snacking on random stuff I can find, then I'll have my meal before sunrise and go to bed.
#10 - "Are Non-Muslims Allowed With You?"
Yes!
If you want to fast during Ramadan even just for one day to "see what it's like" like some non-Muslim kids at my school did, then by all means do so, it's perfectly okay for you to do that.
It's actually awesome you'd want to participate in something that isn't your religion/culture, and see what other people go through, when non-Muslim kids fasted even just for a day to see what it's like, I actually found it quite admirable.
So seriously, if you want to fast even just for one day this Ramadan, just message me if you want to discuss it or anything or if you want to clear something up about it.
But yes, of course Non-Muslims are allowed to fast with us if they want to.
Any Last Words?
That's all for tonight guys. I have so many more questions in my head about what kids have asked me, but I'll limit it to just 10 this MyTake and I'll write a part 2, and I'm going to include a really funny question one kid asked me that I'll never forget- I laugh even just thinking about it😂
I hope everyone Muslim and Non-Muslim stays safe during this Ramadan and during the lockdown. Please remember to stay healthy, keep social distancing and stay at home. :)
Well it's time for me to sign off the internet and go to bed right now.
Goodnight and thank you for reading! ^_^ :) <3
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