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Eating: A Timely Reminder For Ramadhan
By Altaf Husain, MSW, LSW
21/11/2000
Another year has passed. Starting next week, Muslims around the world will begin to observe the month of Ramadhan. An article about eating may seem ironic. Why discuss overeating at a time when Muslims should be focusing on controlling their appetites as they prepare for a month of fasting?
Simple. Ramadhan in North America will be observed this year during the winter months when daylight hours will last between 10-12 hours depending on geographic location. While this will allow plenty of time for spiritual endeavors during the long wintry nights, there is a considerable risk that most of us will not have enough time to work off the suhur meal before eating iftar. Even worse, given the long nights, we face the added risk of eating more than we need to and much later in the night.
Here are some things to look out for and some helpful hints for a more “healthy”
Ramadhan.
What To Look Out For?
North American iftars are taking on a strange twist. All around the world, poverty-stricken Muslims and refugees are suffering, sometimes unable to provide even one full meal a week for their families. Despite the fact that many Muslim families face financial difficulties here in North America as well, a culture of culinary competition has apparently overtaken our community.
Given that, it may be wise for us to entertain the question, “Even if Allah (SWT) has blessed some of us with wealth, is Ramadhan really the time for increased lavishness in our eating?”
I have attended iftars where the gracious hosts had spent a great deal of time and energy preparing no less than three different meat dishes like lamb, chicken, and fish. Add to this sumptuous offering deep fried appetizers, a salad, a rice dish, and two types of dairy-based desserts and you no longer have iftar – what you really have is a feast. Arriving at the host’s house just in time for maghrib and trying to leave just in time to catch the Isha and Tarawih prayers at the masjid leaves one little time to eat and relax a bit. Is partaking in a feast, with the temptation of overeating, really a proper prelude to a night of Tarawih prayers?
For some unknown reason, people feel compelled to go overboard in preparing food for iftar meals. If you are planning to host family and friends for iftar, here are a few things to keep in mind. A well-balanced meal is more important than a meal that offers too much variety and takes way too much effort to prepare. This type of iftar poses difficulties for the host as well as the guests.
Who Bears the Burden of Iftar Preparations?
The family of the host, who no doubt are also fasting, must exert tremendous amounts of energy in preparing the iftar meal. Because days are now much shorter, sometimes iftar preparations start the previous night. Not to mention the time that must be spent shopping for ingredients such as the variety of meats and vegetables.
While some men may assist in the overall preparation of the iftar, it is almost too common that the women of the household bear the ultimate burden.
Then, not only do the women become exhausted from the entire ordeal, but also they often must attend to children afterwards as the men folk go off to become spiritually enriched at the masjid.
Should we then stop extending invitations for iftar? Obviously not. But wouldn’t it be much better for everyone concerned if, instead of focusing on the eating part of the iftar, we gave more attention to each other’s spiritual nourishment? This Ramadhan, try inviting your family and friends for a simple, well-balanced meal. Prepare one meat or vegetable dish, one rice dish, a simple salad and serve some dates for dessert.
Weight Gain in Ramadhan?
Believe it or not, even though we will be fasting in Ramadhan, it is quite possible that we will end up gaining rather than losing weight. Two important things to look out for are overeating and a decrease in physical activity.
There seems to be a myth that we have to make up for not eating all day by eating a lot at suhur or iftar. And, being a college student, I realize that the Ramadhan schedule is not always conducive to late-night studying – which is even more difficult after eating big meals and Tarawih prayers.
It is also interesting to note that the consumption of fruit and vegetables goes down, and meat consumption goes up during Ramadhan.
Unfortunately, many college students (and others) have taken to eating big meals after Tarawih prayers, sometimes as late as midnight, instead of waking up in time for suhur. Among college students particularly, there is also a greater tendency to increase the intake of processed and fast foods during Ramadhan. Hunting campus for all-night drive-thru restaurants becomes all too common. Going to bed immediately after eating big meals poses potential health risks such as heartburn. Perhaps an even bigger risk is unnecessary weight gain.
In addition, physical activity seems to decrease during Ramadhan. There is a misconception that perhaps our bodies cannot withstand physical activity because we are fasting. In reality, during a typical winter day when suhur may end as late as 5:45 am and Maghrib comes in around 4:45 pm, it’s more like missing lunch than it is like fasting! Since we spend most of our days in climate-controlled environments, it is rare that we will burn off many of the calories that we took in the night before. It is recommended, particularly during Ramadhan, that we make a concerted effort to set aside time for light exercising.
Plan Ahead For This Ramadhan
We will be blessed in North America to experience Ramadhan during winter months for a couple more years or so. However, we should take heed and avoid indulging in the preparation of lavish iftars, overeating and eating late at night; we should increase our intake of vegetables and fruit; and we should set aside some time for light exercise.
Ramadhan is an excellent opportunity to emerge with better health and stronger Iman. It is necessary, however, to plan today in order to have a better Ramadhan experience!
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your own thoughts on Ramadhan, please write to
society@islam-online.net
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