Sighting the Moon

It’s that time of the year again ! Ramadan O Ramadan !

An honest fact first. I don’t particularly like fasting. For me, it’s the most difficult of the 5 pillars as it’s the most testing. There’s this MAJOR restriction in place, not for a day or two, but for an entire month and it takes a while to adjust to it. This particular Ramadan is the first I’ve witnessed in the month of August. And it’s easily the hottest and the one with the worse weather I’ve ever seen in Kuwait.

A few days before we were to start fasting, I opened up books and websites, just to brush up some facts and knowledge on the holy month. And I came across this very beautiful line that summed up everything this month stands for. Allah says ‘’Except for fasting which is only for My sake, and I will reward him for it’’. And it dawned upon me again, that fasting, as hard as it sounds, what with us sitting an calculating the total fasting time, adjusting schedules, changing sleep time; it’s not going to kill an it’s not ordained to punish. There’s a reason to it. A reason that we see i.e. understanding hunger and consequently developing compassion for the less fortunate , controlling desires, but there is definitely a side to fasting that we wont be able to see for which God promises rewards. Fasting, above all, is an act of pure faith.

The night the moon was to be sighted, the Crescent Sighting Authority had a piece in the local papers spelling out the timings at which the moon would rise and when it’d be visible. Spotting it in the sky would welcome the holy month. I’ve never seen the moon that signifies Ramadan, nor have I seen what’s popularly known as ‘Eid ka chand’ but I’m sure it must be a sight to see, especially if one keeps in mind what it signifies.

Two days into the fasting schedule, I can say I have adjusted. Things I couldn’t imagine on a normal day i.e. a cup of tea to start the day, a pack of Pringles to munch on or chewing away on ‘pink’ extra at nearly all times; I don’t crave it anymore. What changed in 2 days? It’s surely more than the mind set! To say fasting is ‘easy’ would be to over simplify it, but the feeling one gets on listening to the magrib azaan and taking that first sip of water. It makes the effort worth it.

Happy Fasting Everyone.