So it's no eating for 18 hours eh?

[Karma168]

Nope, after Sahur (morning meal) there's no eating or driking till nightfall. The first few days of Ramadan are ALWAYS hard no matter how long you've done this so at first you may get light headed and be VERY tired but then you adapt and it becomes easy as pie.

Isn't that rather risky? Since Islam originates in desert countries the daytime would be scorching and you would be dehydrating at an incredible rate, I wouldn't have thought the religious leaders would advocate risking your life like that. Or are you allowed to drink if you start to become unwell?

 

[SillyBear]

I think I could do it. Well, I imagine I could. Eighteen hours isn't a terribly long time. I hope all the Muslims on here enjoy themselves and have a good Ramadan!

My partner had to fast for a while due to an operation and he got through it far easier than he thought he would.

This kind of nonsense is why all religions should burn in hell.

Seriously... this kind of stuff is bad for your health, impacts on your work (how many people are going to be operating at peak efficiency on disturbed sleep while sitting there starving) and, when the multiculturalist retards start screaming that nobody else around can eat because it "might offend" those who are fasting, it's time to pack this rubbish back into the stone age where it belongs.

Personally, you wouldn't catch me dead doing it (and not just because I view religion as a tool of oppression), but because I've had two kidney-stones in the past. I go through in excess of 4 litres of water a day. Not drinking (and therefore not cleaning out the kidneys) would be guaranteed to give me another one.

Find me one (non-religious) health professional that will confirm that starving yourself 18 hours a day for a month is good for your health, and I'll take it back. Until then... I'll stick to my opinion of religion.

You have a disgusting attitude.

There are no serious health concerns with taking part in Ramadan and the percentage of people who actually get seriously sick from it would be next to none. Even if there was serious concerns with it, you have no right to tell other people what they can and can not do with their own bodies. If they want to be of service to their God and not eat or drink for eighteen hours they should be allowed. They aren't forcing you to join in. It's important to them.

I'm willing to wager you do something just an unhealthy. We all do. Live and let live. Be a good person.

 

[Shadow flame master]

So people are fasting this month to get closer to God. I have to hand to you muslims though, not eating AND drinking anything for a month has to be tough. I know I couldn't do it because of where I live. Anybody from the southern or western parts of the US know that it's suicide not drinking water when its 90-150F outside. So I hope that whoever is fasting in those humid and sweltering conditions don't have heat strokes or work in well air-conditioned buildings.

 

[kasperbbs]

That sucks, i'm glad i'm not religious so i can do what i want and i think its pointless and unnecessary, same as telling some bored old man in a wooden box how many times you cursed this week.

 

[DustyDrB]

I went four days without eating once. I'm not gonna downplay it. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't so much the hunger (which I stopped feeling within a day) as much as it was the weakness.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

Nope, after Sahur (morning meal) there's no eating or driking till nightfall. The first few days of Ramadan are ALWAYS hard no matter how long you've done this so at first you may get light headed and be VERY tired but then you adapt and it becomes easy as pie.

Isn't that rather risky? Since Islam originates in desert countries the daytime would be scorching and you would be dehydrating at an incredible rate, I wouldn't have thought the religious leaders would advocate risking your life like that. Or are you allowed to drink if you start to become unwell?

The locals of desert countries are well adapted to handle those conditions so going further and not eating or drinking would feel about the same as it does for me living here in the USA (although it is pretty damn hot here in Texas) or in my home country of Zambia. I met workers in Saudi Arabia who worked with asphalt to build roads during the day but yet they still fasted and did their job just fine; I am not nearly that strong though but i have played in a football/soccer tournament during Ramadan (back home in Zambia). Yes, if your health is at risk then breaking the fast is definitely permitted.

 

[Charli]

Lived in the middle east, had to do it or risk arrest, easy as hell.

Next question.

 

[Stoic raptor]

I am a Muslim, and I have been fasting for quite a few years. The first few days are always pretty hard, but then it gets easy.

It is really hard to do Ramadan in the summer for obvious reasons. The Islamic calender uses the lunar calendar, so Ramadan is always moving back about a week or 2 each year. So Ramadan will just get harder over the years, until it gets back into winter.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Damn and I thought Fridays during Lent were a pain in the ass.

Um, funny thing is that you simply don't eat meat. Everything else is fair game. It's a pain in the ass for ME.

I'm allergic to seafood.

 

[PrimroseFrost]

I would find it challenging, given that I live in Tucson, Arizona. Not being able to eat wouldn't be so bad; I'd just need to find something to distract myself from any hunger pains until my body was used to it. Work, video games, and hanging out with friends all qualify, so I think that wouldn't go too badly.

Going without water, though, is dangerous here. I guess I'd have to stay inside as much as possible, get a humidifier (dry air + dehydration = bloody nose), and gulp down a ton of water as soon as I was possibly allowed.

 

[SsilverR]

As a Muslim, I can honestly say it's really not that hard; I've been doing it for years.

Actually we get up at 4 or 4:30 am and we have a morning meal called Sahur and then at 5ish is our morning prayer (Fajr) which is when we have to stop eating and do our prayer and then go back to bed if we wish (which I always do lol). Then no eating or drinking till the time of our evening prayer (magrib) which after we finish it will be around 9 during this summer time.

what do you guys have for sahur?

I remember staying with a muslim family for a while and they cous cous with this sour kind of milk stuff i think they called leben before that fajr prayer you were talking about

I fasted with them, I was inspired when my friends dad told me that one of the reason you guys do it is to experience what the poor have to go through every day and that will always help you to remember to be thankful for what you have, gotta admit that's kinda deep.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE MUSLIMS FASTING THIS YEAR! 18 hours this time huh .. might fast this year too .. i didn't even know it started, do you know when it ends?? and the exact time you have to break your fast?? .. might go over to Tariqs house over the weekend to stay over, his mum loves it when I take interest in islam.. and they have some epic meals when they're finished fasting.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

As a Muslim, I can honestly say it's really not that hard; I've been doing it for years.

Actually we get up at 4 or 4:30 am and we have a morning meal called Sahur and then at 5ish is our morning prayer (Fajr) which is when we have to stop eating and do our prayer and then go back to bed if we wish (which I always do lol). Then no eating or drinking till the time of our evening prayer (magrib) which after we finish it will be around 9 during this summer time.

what do you guys have for sahur?

I remember staying with a muslim family for a while and they cous cous with this sour kind of milk stuff i think they called leben before that fajr prayer you were talking about

I fasted with them, I was inspired when my friends dad told me that one of the reason you guys do it is to experience what the poor have to go through every day and that will always help you to remember to be thankful for what you have, gotta admit that's kinda deep.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE MUSLIMS FASTING THIS YEAR! 18 hours this time huh .. might fast this year too .. i didn't even know it started, do you know when it ends?? and the exact time you have to break your fast?? .. might go over to Tariqs house over the weekend to stay over, his mum loves it when I take interest in islam.. and they have some epic meals when they're finished fasting.

Well friend, what we Muslims eat all depends on what culture we are from and what specifc cultural traditions we follow (obviously). I am from an Indian/Pakistani/Khoja and Mexican/Native American family so we eat pretty interesting stuff. Curiously, what culture/ethnicity is your friend?

Also leben? Don't know of prayer called Leben but the optional early prayer before Fajr is called Tahajut (my dad does but I don't, too early).

If you want specifics on what my family eats:

We may have mexican stuff like Rancheros or chalupas. Or we go full Indian and have heavy dishes like haleem or biryani which are useful for keeping you well fed throughout ramadan. We break fast at 9ish.

It started yesterday and just like all islamic months it will have either 29 or 30 days so it depends on the moon. Also, thanks

 

[THE_NAMSU]

1st: the length of time is dependent on latitude, so it won't always be 18 hours. It sure as fuck isn't 18 hours where I live, it's prolly closer to 14 or 15 right now.

I already know that, but in the UK it is 18, and I'm asking how others (non-muslims) would feel if they had to do the same as me and many other Muslims in the UK.

 

[THE_NAMSU]

same as telling some bored old man in a wooden box how many times you cursed this week.

Thanks for the compliment on our belief =/.

 

[Thistlehart]

If I weren't doing much of anything during that time, I probably wouldn't have too much trouble. Especially if I was able to have a big meal before sun-up.

If I were having to do a hard day's work on top of that, though, I would probably have some issues.

I work interline baggage at the airport, and have several Muslim co-workers. I've noticed that they tend to get lethargic and have trouble keeping up with the busy hours during Ramadan. I likely wouldn't do any better.

 

[Slayer_2]

One of the pharmacists at my work has it easy, we work night-shift, so he just eats a ton during most of his shift, goes home at 8am, and sleeps till dusk. Since I also work that shift, if I was Muslim, I'd have an easy time of it, as it is, I haven't eaten anything for 14 hours (it's currently 4:30pm).