Ramadan through the eyes of Mary

We are nearing the end of Ramadan, where Muslims throughout the world break their fast and celebrate Eid al-Fitr.  It is such an important time of the year, so we asked one of our loyal Alepp customers Mary to tell us about what this celebration means to her:

Ramadan. My favourite time of the year. Every year, I look forward to Ramadan. I’ve been fasting since I was 6 years old, which is a REALLY long time ago now. I started fasting because my mum was fasting and so my older brother and the days were short. My parents never put pressure on us to fast Ramadan, we just did it. But as we got older, we understood the importance of Ramadan and its significance. Not just for Muslim people, but everyone. 

Ramadan is also of significant importance, because during the month of Ramadan was when God first revealed the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him).

What does Ramadan mean to me? For me, Ramadan is a time to reset. A time to reflect. A time to continuously remind myself to be grateful, not just during Ramadan, but every day. Ramadan reminds me that there are less fortunate people around the world who don’t have the same privileges as I do. What is considered the norm here for me in Australia, they don’t have the basis privileges I have, like clean water, shelter and food.

With my family, we try and eat as a family – with my brother and sister and their families. My mum loves it when we can all break our daily fast together, with all her children and her grandchildren around one table. My sister and I also organise a dinner with our non-Muslim friends, whether it’s our home or in a restaurant and break fast with them. We’ve had friends fast that entire day with us and we break fast all together – their own initiative. They wanted to know what it felt like and they appreciate even more why we fast. It’s quite beautiful. Also, for me personally during the month of Ramadan, I continue to exercise, with my normal exercise regime. I’ve trained for trail runs and a half marathon during Ramadan – over 10kms per run while fasting. Impressive right?

When Ramadan finishes, I feel sad. A sadness that really makes me think of how fast things are passing by. Just like that, a whole month has gone and I’m back to my daytime coffee.

And finally, I’d like to leave one of the most beautiful quotes, which means so much to me and I try and live by every single day. Because to me, I don’t care what faith you are, or not, what your cultural background is.

“[Man] is either your [brother] in faith, or your equal in humanity” – Ali ibn Abi Talib.