My Ramadan Fast

The smell of food wafted into my room and I stared at my phone’s screen. Only 7:45 pm. I slumped back into my pillow with a groan. I still had 45 minutes to wait before I could break my fast, and the tempting aromas coming from the kitchen were not helping. But instead of letting the delicious smell of food get to me, I began to think of why I was fasting in the first place. I thought about all the rewards Allah (God) promises Muslims for fasting. I also thought about the most important reason to fast--to understand the situation of others and to help them with open hearts.

In celebration of my first fast this year, my mom was cooking up a feast and ordering all kinds of my favorite food. I could hear the distant voice of my mom ordering sushi. While waiting for iftaari (the time I could end the day’s fast), I quickly grabbed my computer before I could think about the treats waiting outside my room’s walls. I typed in YouTube and gritted my teeth when a picture of a hamburger popped up along with a recipe for macrons. “Seriously!” I muttered under my breath. I yanked out my headphones and heard my brother’s laughter and the soft thud of a ball hitting a wall. I longed to go and play soccer with him to take my mind off of my ridiculous cravings, but I thought the better of it, so I looked up some verses from the Quran and started reading.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims believe they can earn 70 times the amount of good deeds than in any other month of the year, and I was planning to take full advantage. I kept reading until I heard my mom call out to me. At first I didn’t want to get up, so I lay there, in my little cocoon of blankets, but I knew I would have to get up anyway. So I threw off the blanket and marched out of my dark room. Outside, I was immediately met with a warm breeze, a contrast to my almost-too-cool room. Yet, even though the day had been sunny, it hadn’t been very hot. I liked to think that God had done that to make it easier for those of us who were fasting.