East Lansing resident Abdullah Sallman, 9, prays Aug. 6, 2010, at the Islamic Society of Greater Lansing, 920 S. Harrison Road. Members of the mosque and Muslims across the world are preparing for the month of Ramadan.
At about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, mechanical engineering sophomore Rami Janoudi will wake up before sunrise to eat breakfast with his family.
Although it is an early time to eat breakfast, it will be his only option when he begins a month of fasting.
Janoudi, like many other Muslim students and community members at MSU and in East Lansing, will fast for the entire month of Ramadan, an Islamic holy month which starts Wednesday and ends Sept. 9.
The month is not limited to fasting, but to improving communication between family and friends, Janoudi said.
“Culturally, it’s (also a) community gathering and a cultural gathering among all the Muslims,” Janoudi said. “It really brings the community closer when it wasn’t before. … That’s from a cultural perspective. Religiously, it is inner cleansing and trying to purify yourself as much as possible.”
A new day
Ramadan, a month on the Islamic calendar, is a holy time requiring Muslims to fast and refrain from various activities from sunrise to sunset.
Refraining from these activities during the day motivates inspiration for positive self-changes, said Sani Abbas, an East Lansing resident and practicing Muslim.
Abbas said the month is a time to abstain from a variety of things, including eating, drinking, sexual relationships and speaking ill of others.
“(The) aspect of fasting with your eyes, your ears and your mouth, that’s something you should observe through the course of your life, but importantly (during) the month of the Ramadan,” Abbas said.
Abstaining from such recreations will open up more time for Muslims to make favorable influences while fasting, Abbas said.
Ramadan also is a time of reflection and charity, he said.
The aspect of abstaining from harmful things and humbling oneself is meant to invoke a sense of goodwill.
“It can be (change of) any aspect, whether it is giving charity or helping others, and (that means) any human being, any creature of God that we look on this earth that deserves to live,” Abbas said.
Breaking the fast
After the sun sets, the day ends with the daily Iftar, or fast-breaking, among family and close friends, Abbas said.
“It is a time we bring (the) community together, it is the time that we visit others, it is (the) time that you sit down and share a special meal with your family — not that you are not doing it during the year — but it has a special meaning because the ritual is a blessed time, so you try to embrace everybody,” Abbas said.
The Islamic Society of Greater Lansing, 920 S. Harrison Road, will provide a daily Iftar for those who are fasting, said Iffat Sumbal, president of the Women’s Committee at the center.
As well as providing dinners for families, there are dinners for students or people in the area without family, Sumbal said.
“We try to accommodate everyone’s needs,” Sumbal said.
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“We also have singles’ Iftar (for those away from family); they are welcome to eat here. … Whoever is fasting is welcome to join us.”
Breaking a daily fast and then starting over the following morning is a cleansing process of mentality and of one’s physical body, a time that provides a chance for Muslims to start over and begin with a new slate into the year until the following Ramadan, Janoudi said.
“This month gives you a motivation to really (get a fresh start),” Janoudi said. “There is a lot of different incentives which makes this month more meaningful to go into that direction than any other month of the year.
“For me personally, (it is) things to improve myself and my character, and image and my image of my religion to those around me.”
