Fast(ing) and Curious: All about Ramadan at MS890

By Noor Ul Huda, Lucky Sherpa, and Sonia Hamouche

Well, it’s that time of the year again! I’m not talking about Saint Patrick's Day or Spring, I’m talking about Ramadan! Ramadan is the month when Muslims fast.The month of Ramadan changes every single year. They use the Hijri Calendar, also known as the lunar calendar, to know when Ramadan is. This calendar is shorter than the Gregorian or solar calendar by 10 or 11 days, so Ramadan always comes about 10 days earlier than the previous year. Ramadan 2022 is set to begin on the night of March 22nd and expected to end on April 21st.

Ramadan is celebrated by 1.9 billion people across the world and it is a very important month to Muslims. It’s a month for fasting, worship, and prayer. Fasting is one of the most well-known things about Ramadan and when Muslims fast they wake up before sunrise, eat a big meal to get them through the day, and then, at sunset, they break their fasts during Iftar (literally means break-fast) which is also Maghrib or sunset  time. During sunrise when you have the meal to get you through the day, it’s called Suhoor. Drinking lots of water at that time is recommended to get through the day.

In our school, out of all the students roughly 18% are Muslim. This doesn’t mean that all of them fast but are observing it in one way or another. We should be mindful of those who are fasting as it can be very challenging.

During Ramadan, it is meant that each Muslim should read the Quran, the religious book for Muslims. Fasting is done to help people focus on their reading of the Quran. Children usually start fasting at the age of 10 or when they reach puberty. When you first start fasting, it may seem like a very long 14  hours but soon one gets used to it and it gets easier. In addition to being a religious obligation, they  believe there are spiritual, mental, and physical health benefits to the fast. 

Some of the difficulties of fasting are that you still have to continue with your daily activities and occupations while still not being able to drink or eat anything. For some people, they have school and have to climb up the stairs while not being able to drink anything. Another struggle is waking up early in the morning to eat, you have to wake up very early to eat and you must finish eating before Sunrise. It is impermissible to eat after Fajr (The first  prayer of the day for Muslims). 

What MS 890 could do to help is to allow every student who fasts to take the elevator. Last year MS 890 assured fasting students that they could take the elevator, but this never happened. Instead they had to walk up multiple flights of stairs while fasting. According to Livestrong.com, when a lot of physical activity is exerted without drinking any water or eating anything, it can result in lightheadedness, nausea, and muscle fatigue. This is due to the fact that glycogen and blood glucose will quickly become depleted which is very bad for the health of the  students.

We are hoping that this Ramadan, things will be different and that Muslims will be offered access to the elevator. Another solution could be giving a designated area to Muslim students as it would allow Muslim students to avoid going down to the lunch room but that still poses the problem of students going to their classes first period after climbing four or five stories. Some students taking advantage of the situation. For example, some students may take advantage by going on their phones or other things. To prevent this we could have students sign a slip or complete a form which has them guarantee they won't do such things and if they don’t listen they would have their privileges taken away.