Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.
Muslims across the globe enter into the holiest month of the Islamic lunar calendar, the month of Ramadan.Prime Minister Mia Mottley made mention of this period during the wrap up of her media briefing last Sunday.
Her comment was perhaps a suggestion that we use the opportunity to reflect on what is continuing to transpire around us and to remember in our prayers the unfolding disaster in St. Vincent brought about by the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.
Ramadan is characterised by complete fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset and additional prayers during the nights. It is also a time when more charitable acts are done and when an individual seeks to reform his or herself spiritually, emotionally and mentally.
As one writer in Canada observed, fasting from dawn to dusk for 30 days is no easy feat in normal times, it can even be more challenging during the times we currently find ourselves.
It is the second year of the pandemic and although we in Barbados have a little more flexibility than our counterparts in Canada and other parts of the world we are still subject to curfew times and gathering restrictions.
Additionally, this year we face the prospects of ashfall from the volcanic activity in St. Vincent.
We are grateful this year that our mosques in Barbados can be opened during Ramadan and facilitate worshippers albeit with protocols in place. A marked difference over last year when prayers in the home among members of the household were the requirement as mosques had to be closed.
Sadly, the traditional joyous occasions of “iftar” (the evening meal when the fast is broken) at sunset among relatives, friends, neighbours and the community is still not an option due to gathering restrictions.
Nevertheless, the ‘iftar’ meals of the immediate family will be used as a time for the household to share a meal together, perhaps something not so common in our busy, fast-paced world outside of Ramadan.
Sharing of meals at the time of fast-breaking is one of the hallmarks of this period and reinforced over and over again in the teachings of the faith. Especially sharing food to break fast amongst those less endowed economically in the community is one of the greatest acts of blessings during this month. Mosques would usually allow for this feeding activity to take place in their environs but since last year due to COVID that could not happen and so it depended upon individuals to keep up the practice and look for the ones in need that they were acquainted with and give them a meal.
This universal practice of sharing food, eating together helps motivates us spiritually and helps us collectively to keep going. This certainly cannot be replaced in the virtual world.
The emotional and mental impact during this time of restricted movement can be especially telling on individuals who don’t have family support or live alone.
Connection via the virtual space maybe their only recourse looking forward of course to that physical interaction when we return to some normalcy.
Fasting is not only about not eating and drinking. As one participant in a recent webinar pointed out fasting in Ramadan is not about starving oneself during the day only to eat at sunset, it is about reforming oneself physically as well as spiritually.
The fast is a means to an end, and that end is not about eating each evening but the purpose is becoming a better human being. Noble ideals I am sure shared by faith practitioners in other faiths, like Christians during Lent and Jews during Passover, both characterized by fasting and prayer.Fasting, prayer, increased worship, charity and an overall better countenance are what is expected of us during Ramadan with the intention of continuing on such a path after Ramadan.What helps me in getting through the month and achieving some of the above is giving up some of the practices normally done outside of the month that can certainly be sources of distraction.
Limiting social media interaction, turning off the television and not playing games are among those actions that I take to allow my focus to be on what I want to achieve.
Fasting, the experts tell us, is good to improve brain activity and memory.
“Restricting the hours when you eat has been shown to significantly improve memory, according to a study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In this study, after four weeks of intermittent fasting, performance on a spatial planning and working memory task and on a working memory capacity test increased significantly.” Having the experience of 40 years of fasting annually I can certainly attest to that and confirm better mental clarity is achieved through fasting. Additionally, the experts also point out: “Intermittent fasting turns on an important process called autophagy, in which your brain “takes out the trash” that builds up during the day.This self-cleaning process helps detoxify the brain, clear out old and damaged cells, and sweep away debris. This nightly housekeeping promotes the regeneration of newer, healthier cells.
A wealth of research has shown that problems with autophagy have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric disorders.”
So while the old adage “a hungry man is an angry man” may be true in some cases intentional fasting as we do in Ramadan helps cultivate a mental disposition that allows for us to be more patient, understanding and have empathy. Qualities so badly needed in our world today.
I wish my fellow Muslims a blessed Ramadan (Ramadan Mubarak) and I encourage all Barbadians, if your health permits, to try fasting with us this month. We start with an early morning breakfast, which in Barbados we must stop eating by around 4:15 am.
We go through the day without any food or drink and breakfast at sunset which is now around 6:20 pm.
I take this opportunity also in the coming days and weeks to encourage prayers for our brothers and sisters, our neighbours on the island of St. Vincent. And whatever we can do to assist let us play our part.
Suleiman Bulbulia is a Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association; Muslim Chaplain at the U.W.I, Cave Hill Campus and Chair, Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Email: suleimanbulbulia@hotmail.com
