Fasting and Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and Muslims everywhere hold it above the rest of the year. It is the month the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Fasting through it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which means every able Muslim is expected to do it.

Muslims fast each day from dawn (Fajr) to sunset (Maghrib): no food, no drink, no marital intimacy while the sun is up. The eating is the visible part. The rest of the month is about worship, generosity, and being around other Muslims more than you usually are.

Many Muslims call Ramadan the best month of their year. The whole community turns out for the nightly prayers (Taraweeh), families and friends gather for iftar (the meal that breaks the fast), and you can feel the difference in the air. Mosques fill up, people give more, and everyone is working on the same thing at once.

Your first Ramadan will probably feel exciting and slightly alarming. Can you really go all day without water? What do you eat? How does any of this work around a job or a class schedule? Those are normal questions, and millions of people get through the month every year, including plenty who were standing exactly where you are. Take one day at a time. Allah rewards the sincere effort, not the performance.

The fast (sawm) begins at Fajr (dawn) and ends at Maghrib (sunset). The details:

What breaks the fast: - Eating or drinking anything intentionally - Marital intimacy during fasting hours - Intentional vomiting

What does NOT break the fast: - Accidentally eating or drinking. If you genuinely forgot you were fasting, your fast still counts, so finish the day - Swallowing saliva - Brushing your teeth (though many Muslims prefer a miswak, or brush carefully without swallowing toothpaste) - Taking a shower or swimming, as long as you do not swallow water - Receiving injections that are not nutritional - Tasting food without swallowing, for cooking purposes, though keep it to a minimum

The intention (niyyah): Make the intention to fast before Fajr each day. It happens in your heart and needs no set wording. Deciding "I am fasting tomorrow for the sake of Allah" is enough.

If you break your fast accidentally: If you genuinely forgot and ate or drank, stop as soon as you remember and carry on fasting. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Allah fed you and gave you drink, so your fast is still valid.

If you break your fast intentionally without a valid reason: Make up that day after Ramadan (this is called qada). If you broke it for a valid reason like illness or travel, you also make it up later.

Fasting hours depend on where you are and what time of year it is. In the Toronto area a Ramadan fast runs from about 11 hours in winter to over 16 hours in summer. That swing is normal. Muslims everywhere fast the daylight they have.

Islam is merciful and practical about this. Fasting is obligatory for every sane, adult Muslim, and there are clear exemptions for anyone it would harm:

Temporary exemptions (you make up missed days after Ramadan): - Illness: If fasting would worsen your condition or slow your recovery, you are exempt. That covers mental health conditions as well as physical ones. - Traveling: If you are on the road a significant distance from home, you may break your fast and make up the days later. The Quran says it plainly: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship" (2:185). - Menstruation and postpartum bleeding: Women do not fast during these times and make up the days afterward. - Pregnancy and breastfeeding: If a woman fears for her own health or her baby's, she may break her fast. She makes up the days later, and some scholars also recommend feeding a needy person for each day missed.

Permanent exemptions (you feed a needy person for each day instead): - Chronic illness: If you have a condition that makes fasting permanently unsafe, such as diabetes requiring regular medication or food intake. - Old age: If fasting is genuinely too hard on an elderly person.

Not yet obligated: - Children: Fasting is not required before puberty, though many families let children practice with partial fasts. - New Muslims: There is no formal exemption here, but many scholars tell new Muslims to ease into it. If this is your first Ramadan and a full day is extremely hard, do what you can and know your effort counts. Some new Muslims start with a few days and build from there.

The principle under all of this: Islam does not ask you to harm yourself. If fasting is a genuine health risk, you are supposed to break your fast, and any scholar will tell you so. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about it.

Two meals bookend the daily fast: suhoor (the pre-dawn meal) and iftar (the meal at sunset to break the fast).

Suhoor is eaten before Fajr (dawn), and it is strongly recommended. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Take suhoor, for indeed there is blessing in it." What helps:

• Eat slow-releasing foods that hold you through the day: oatmeal, whole grain bread, eggs, yogurt, fruit like bananas, and nuts.
• Hydrate well. Drink plenty of water. Skip very salty or sugary foods, which will make you thirstier later.
• Keep it simple. Suhoor does not need to be a feast. A moderate, balanced meal is what you want.
• Set an alarm about 30-45 minutes before Fajr so you can eat without rushing and still pray Fajr on time.

Iftar is the meal that breaks the fast at sunset. The Sunnah (practice of the Prophet) is to break it with dates and water, since dates give you quick natural sugar after a long day. Then you pray Maghrib, and then you eat properly.

Practical tips for iftar:

• Start light. Your stomach has contracted over the day. Begin with dates, water, and maybe soup, and save the main meal for after Maghrib.
• Avoid overeating. The temptation is real, and it defeats the point of the fast while making you feel unwell. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised filling one-third of the stomach with food, one-third with water, and leaving one-third empty.
• Community iftars are one of the best parts of Ramadan. Many mosques put on free iftar meals, and neighbors and friends invite each other over. If you are new, this is the easiest room in the year to meet people in.
• Meal prep makes Ramadan much easier. Cooking in advance means less work when you are tired and hungry.

Fasting is training in discipline and gratitude, and it is not meant to wreck you. Look after your body while you work on your soul.

Going without food and drink is the visible part. What Ramadan is actually for is changing you. The Quran says: "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa (God-consciousness)" (2:183).

Taqwa, meaning awareness of Allah and of the fact that He is present, is the goal. Fasting trains self-control, teaches you to hold off on what you want, and keeps you conscious that Allah sees what you do. When you pass on food that nobody would ever know you ate, that is the training working.

Ramadan is also a time of increased worship. Many Muslims:

• Read the entire Quran during the month, at roughly one juz (section) per day
• Pray Taraweeh, the special nightly prayers held at the mosque, where the Quran is recited from start to finish across the month
• Make extra du'a (supplication). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said the fasting person's supplication is not rejected
• Give generously in charity. Ramadan is when Muslims give the most, and many pay their annual zakat (obligatory charity) then
• Seek Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, which falls on one of the last ten odd nights of Ramadan. The Quran calls it "better than a thousand months" (97:3), and many Muslims spend all ten nights in extra worship

Ramadan also teaches empathy. Being hungry on purpose tells you something about what millions of people live with every day. Most people find they keep giving more once the month is over.

Do not try to do all of this in your first Ramadan. Fast, and pick one or two extras. You can add more next year, and the year after that. Sincerity counts for more than volume.

After 29 or 30 days of fasting, Ramadan closes with one of the two major Islamic celebrations: Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Breaking the Fast). It is a day of joy, gratitude, and community.

Eid begins with a special congregational prayer, usually in the morning at mosques, community centers, or open spaces. The prayer includes a sermon (khutbah), and afterward come the greetings, the hugs, and the well-wishes. Muslims greet each other with "Eid Mubarak!" (Blessed Eid!).

Some of the traditions of Eid al-Fitr:

• Zakat al-Fitr: before the Eid prayer, every Muslim (or the head of household, on behalf of each family member) gives a small charity called Zakat al-Fitr. It means nobody in the community spends Eid without food and dignity. It usually works out to one meal's worth of staple food.
• New or best clothes: it is Sunnah to wear your best or newest clothes for Eid. This is a celebration, and dressing up is part of it.
• Eating before the prayer: unlike the month you just finished, you eat something first, often dates, before heading to the Eid prayer. The contrast is deliberate.
• Visiting family and friends: Eid is social. People visit relatives, share meals, and give gifts, especially to children.
• Sweets and special foods: every culture has its own Eid treats. Middle Eastern ma'amoul (date-filled cookies), South Asian sheer khurma (vermicelli pudding), Turkish baklava.

Eid can matter enormously to a new Muslim. If you have no Muslim family to spend it with, say so at your mosque, because plenty of families would be glad to have you at their table. Community Eid events usually mean food, activities, and a room full of people in a good mood.

It is also normal to get emotional on Eid. You fasted your first Ramadan, which is a real thing to have done. Your discipline is stronger and you are closer to Allah than you were a month ago. That is worth celebrating.

Eid also shows you how Islam balances discipline against joy. After a month of devotion, Allah gives His servants a day to celebrate, eat well, and be grateful. Worship, then celebration. It is a good rhythm to live by.