Hey guys, I wanted to make a video about Ramadan because it's one of the most widely recognized celebrations in the world.
Nearly one quarter of the entire world's population is Muslim and there are nearly 1 billion people fasting during the month of Ramadan.
The idea to fast for Ramadan for one day was sparked when I asked my audience on Instagram to share about their experiences during Ramadan, and I was blown away by the overwhelming amount of positivity in their responses.
Since one of the main reasons why I travel is to embrace other cultures and learn from them, I wanted to try this to better understand what so many people around the world are experiencing during this very spiritual time of the year.
Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims.
It's the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and historically, it's the month when Allah started telling the Prophet Muhammad the divine verses which would eventually become the Quran, which is the central text of Islam.
During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating any foods, drinking any liquids smoking, swearing and engaging in any sexual activities from dawn until sunset.
There are exceptions for people who are sick, pregnant or nursing women on their period, young children and elderly people.
One of the main reasons why Muslims fast during Ramadan is to empathize with people in poverty.
It also creates this amazing sense of community for Muslims all around the world who are sharing this month together.
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and it's done to increase taqwa, which is someone's godly consciousness or general spiritual goodness.
Throughout the year, Muslims pray five times a day.
Once before the sun rises, once in the early afternoon, once in the late afternoon, once just before the sun sets, and the last time is just before they go to bed.
This all goes towards increasing their taqwa.
Muslims believe that fasting brings you closer to God and towards a more godly state of being.
All of the good that you do during Ramadan in a way counts a lot more than usual, which is why another pillar of Islam Zakat, also is very important during Ramadan.
Zakat is all about charity.
Muslims who make a certain amount of money per year are expected to donate 25 of their income to charity, usually during the month of Ramadan.
At the end of Ramadan, there's a big three-day celebration called Eid.
It's a religious holiday where families and friends all come together for big meals and exchange presents, and generally everyone has an amazing time.
After learning so much about Ramadan, I'm excited to try it for myself, but I have no idea what to expect, because this will be my first time ever trying fasting and I have a feeling It's a lot harder than it sounds.
I will be starting my day of Ramadan an hour before sunrise at 4 o'clock in the morning tomorrow.
I can't believe that it's 4.30 in the morning right now.
Probably gonna regret not drinking enough water. potatoes and some beef sausages with mushrooms.
I feel like there is already salt in this.
Probably gonna regret that.
So I've had some protein and a good amount of carbs.
This is my third or fourth glass of water.
I am gonna go back to sleep for a few more hours and continue the day from there.
Good morning.
Good morning.
It's your Ramadan day.
I wanted to sleep in so I'll hopefully get a little bit less hungry throughout the day.
It's going to be your first morning without a coffee in how long?
Definitely around a couple of months probably.
I had a very hard time doing Ramadan.
I didn't do the full thing.
I only did a day and I had a hard time.
Let's see how it goes for you.
No I can't, I can't.
So it is nearly 5 pm now, which means there's a little more than two hours left to today's fast, and I had to just get out of the apartment because I was feeling so tempted with like sitting in the kitchen and there's a full fridge of food and I'm just so hungry that I didn't trust myself not to to cheat and and break the fast early.
It's definitely teaching me a lot about self-control and how many temptations there are around us constantly.
I'm realizing how much I snack throughout the day.
I drink so much coffee every day, which is probably why I'm having such a bad headache right now.
And you only have to fast from 4 or 5 a.m. until 8 p.m.
It sounds really straightforward and simple, but when you actually are practicing it, it's a lot more difficult than I would have imagined.
I've meditated a few times today and I can't stop fidgeting.
I'm feeling my mind wander a lot more than when I'm usually meditating.
My body is just feeling so empty.
There is only a few more hours of the fast and then it's iftar, which I am so excited for tonight.
Look who's home.
I missed you.
How was the day, babe?
It's been honestly just really hard to focus.
I think that's been the hardest thing, and I just haven't been able to work in the same way that I usually do, which makes it so crazy that there are so many Muslims that go out and they work all day doing manual labor.
Or even students who are doing their exams and everything.
I'm also, I'm so low energy right now that I can't even... You're trying to think about it.
I'm trying to think about what I want to say, but it's a little hard.
But this is what happens when it's the final hour of fasting.
Is there a specific age that all children start?
So...
It depends on the family, but you are obliged to start fasting once you hit puberty.
So that's why you're better off getting practice earlier, so that your first time fasting is not when you're 12 or 13 or 14.
Yeah, by the time I was 11 or 12, I was already capable of doing it the full 30 days.
But yeah, and the craziest part was that I would see my dad go out to work every day.
And my dad is an agricultural engineer.
He works on land outside Egypt's blazing hot, you know?
So I always just thought like it's crazy that I go to school sit still obviously you don't need to focus, and all that.
And then we'd get back home.
Everybody would take naps and my dad would only come back like an hour or two before breaking fast after a full day of work.
Also for full disclosure this Ramadan.
There has been days that I decided to do only food fast and I drank water.
We live in Los Angeles.
There's been a lot of cases of COVID-19 here, and it's obviously recommended that everybody stays hydrated throughout the day.
So for a bunch of days during this Ramadan I did only the food fast, but I still hydrated during the day, which obviously I know that that's not fasting.
I still chose to not eat because I wanted to still have the shared experience with my friends and family and everybody that is that is fasting.
Well, that's just like one example of all of the differences that people are going through right now because of the pandemic.
This is like the most different ramadan that you guys have had in history.
In the history of islam, this is the most difficult Ramadan that people have ever faced.
So for people not to be able to be in mosques and actually take the full opportunity to turn inwards and meditate on their spirituality and their relationship with God and all these things that Ramadan is for.
And you know, you go visit family, with your friends.
It's very, very community oriented and everybody visits everyone.
You're encouraged to be out to do good and volunteer and be around people and help people in need.
That's one thing I wanted to do.
I've been volunteering at Bread and Roses, which is a soup kitchen for homeless people here in Venice Beach, and it's closed right now.
I don't know why that wouldn't be considered an essential business, but because Ramadan is based so much around charity, I know that Muslims are some of the most generous people in the world.
I donated to Feeding America today because that's one of like the only things that you can do to continue to honor that like charity aspect of Ramadan when you can't physically go out and help people who are in need.
The experience of Ramadan is more oriented towards being able to have empathy towards people in need.
I'm glad that you're keeping a smile on.
I'm really excited because we have such a short amount of time until Iftar.
Yes, we're gonna be eating some dates and some water, but we should pick out something to order.
It's getting worse now that i know that it's over.
We only have like 10, 15 minutes, 15 minutes left and my head is killing me.
I'm gonna go pick up the food in a restaurant just across the street.
Let me go get the.
Let me go get the food Hurry.
That's it.
That's the sun setting.
Umar, where are you?
I'm ready to break fast.
It's so pretty.
I don't see him anywhere.
Oh, is that, is that our car?
I think that's him.
That's him.
That was him.
Wow, that was.
Oh god, i'm losing it.
Oh, look at him.
Look at him over there!
He's coming!
He's coming!
Oh my god!
Yes!
Yes!
We got some fresh dates.
Yes.
I'm going to say the prayer they usually say for breaking the fast, but you should just set an intention.
Just really reflect on your day before you break your fast.
You need to like calm down.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Okay.
So you say, say Bismillah and take the bite.
Bismillah.
Oh, these are great days.
And then, wait, wait, wait.
You drink over three times.
Take the first sip.
That's how it's said.
You had to give me more warning.
I got too excited.
It's said this is how Prophet Muhammad would drink water.
It would always be over three.
Take one, two, and then the third.
It can be the long one.
Ah, water.
Really is the most important thing as humans that we need.
This looks so good.
I know the joy.
All right, first bite.
I can instantly feel my headache going away.
Well, it's been the biggest realization A lot of gratitude and a lot of respect for all of the people who are currently fasting and have done fasting throughout their lives.
Incredible.
This is amazing.
I grew up Muslim.
I'm from Muslim culture, so I know what it feels like to feel seen by people that you know ever since 9-11.
Now we think that all what they think about us is that all the negative things that the media propagates.
But you know to see, to see you just taking on this experiment and and gaining the empathy for, as you said, like almost 2 billion people around the world, it's pretty admirable, thank you.
Well, Let's eat.
From just this short experience, I've learned that Ramadan is about so much more than fasting.
It's about becoming aware of your negative habits and practicing self-control.
It's a time dedicated towards prayer, reflection, and meditation.
It teaches you to be grateful for all of the blessings in your life and to be more understanding towards people less fortunate than you.
It's also about community.
It's taking the time away from your normal routine to disconnect and come together to share meals and appreciate each other's presence in our lives.
I'm feeling very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about Islamic culture, and to those of you who are currently fasting Ramadan Mubarak.
