Good Morning Everyone & Ramadhan Kareem to all my readers, regardless of what you believe in. Today is day two of the holy month of fasting and I'm feeling great. The first few days of Ramadhan are usually a little rough because it takes time for the body to get used to having no food or drink from sunrise to sunset, but so far it's been good for me, Al Hamdulillah. I've been preparing myself mentally and physically for a week.
Ramadhan is my favorite time of the year. I had a discussion with a Christian friend of mine recently who still couldn't get his head around the idea of fasting and why we 'chose' to torture our bodies for a month. He didn't see how anyone could possibly gain from fasting for a month. I don't see it as torture. It's a form of discipline and spiritual cleansing provided you do it the right way. The first few days are a little rough then slowly you feel lighter and your thoughts are clearer and you feel happier. It's like going to a meditation retreat in an ashram. (sleeping half the day and then stuffing your face all night isn't really fasting in my opinion. You're not going to feel any difference. In fact, you'll just feel ill and heavy most of the time).
Fasting in a Muslim community is also a wonderful thing. When the entire region is fasting together, it makes a huge difference. It feels special. People make an extra effort to go to the mosque for all prayers, to spend time with the family, to pray and read the Quran, etc. It's hard to describe.
Many of the tourists left Salalah over the weekend and the Salalah Tourism Festival ended with a bang on Wednesday. The mountains are looking beautiful. Now it's time for the locals to enjoy Khareef!
Anyway, a little update on the online activists (new label) situation.... here's the Human Rights Watch report from July 21st, and Amnesty International's Report from July 17th. How embarassing.
Ramadan Kareem Nadia!
ReplyDelete(love the bit about stuffing your face all night/sleeping all day...sounds familiar :)
Ramadan Kareem Nadia and a happy Renaissance Day. Seems to me a bit odd that a Christian would have such an opinion about fasting since Jesus (pbuh) did it himself and taught about it. I believe fasting during Lent (between carnaval and easter) actually gained in popularity here in recent years and not just amongst Roman Catholics, but especially in protestant circles (might just be my view as a Christian). Considering your last paragraph, no matter how sad it is to read such reports, here's a link that I think puts things slightly in perspective: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/quebec-law-breaches-canada-s-international-human-rights-obligations-2012-05-26
ReplyDeleteAppearantly people at AI agree with your questions regarding "Human Rights Activism"
Kind regards,
JB
I am beginning to learn about Ramadhan from my friends here in Muscat. It is a beautiful way of spiritual experience to fast and cleansing, it certainly bestows a lot of discipline and helps one to get in to one's zone I guess. I was so inspired by the very early morning prayers this month and did a painting, hope you like it, it is my latest post:-)These prayers from the mosques make me pray along.
ReplyDelete