Muslims Go 'From Trepidation to Transformation' During Ramadan 2013

Written by Pam DeFiglio

The sun set at 8:29 p.m. Thursday.

Muslims who gathered at the Muslim Community Center in Morton Grove, Illinois marked the moment by eating a date and drinking a glass of water or orange juice--their first food and drink in 17 hours, since the sun peeked over the horizon at 3:30 a.m.

It was the second day of fasting during Ramadan, the month when Muslims worldwide forego food, drink and cigarettes from daybreak to sunset. The Morton Grove mosque invited some community leaders of other faiths to an interfaith iftar, or evening meal that breaks the fast.

"You have to spiritually prepare yourself for Ramadan by praying more, being patient and asking for forgiveness from God," said Khaula Chaudry, who attended the iftar with her sister.

From trepidation to transformation

Omer Mozaffer, an adjunct professor of theology at Loyola University of Chicago, who serves as a counselor to Muslim students, acknowledged that he enters Ramadan with trepidation every year.
 
"I wonder if I can make it through it," said Mozaffer, of Orland Park. "But once I begin, I focus on clarity--of thought and purpose--and the connection to community and the divine. That's usually my experience of the first few days -- then I focus on personal transformation."

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Rizwan Kadir, a former president of the MCC's Full-Time School and a Glenview resident, explained that someone could choose, each Ramadan, to improve something about themselves--such as becoming more patient or slower to anger. Then the following Ramadan, they can continue to work on it, or choose a new goal.

Fighting hunger and thirst

But for many, it's a challenge to get through the long days with no sustenance. 

"It's hard when I see people at work who are eating," said Nazma Godil, of Morton Grove. The first days are the hardest, and it gets easier after that, she said. 

Earlier: Fast Creates Empathy for Impoverised, Participant Says

Though children are not expected to fast, her 8-year-old twins and 11-year-old fast on weekends, when they're not at summer camp. 

Sense of community camaraderie

"When Ramadan comes in summer, it's the hardest, but nobody dreads it. There's an excitement in the community--mentally and spiritually," observed Mohammed Kaiseruddin, the chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, one of the founding members of the Morton Grove mosque, and a Wilmette resident.

Besides the lack of food and drink, there is the lack of sleep. 

"By the time we get done with taraweeh (a special nighttime prayer for Ramadan) it's midnight, and then we have to wake up at 2:30 a.m. to eat (breakfast) because dawn is at 3:30," said Nadia Sindhu, of Skokie. She also has to prepare food for her family, including children aged 9, 14 and 17.

Often, Ramadan observers go back to sleep until 7 or 8 a.m., and then nap after work until sunset, said Kadir.

Carrying over virtue to the rest of the year

But the focus is on spirituality--with two emphases, said Kaiseruddin.

"There's the fasting--the sense of 'I'm doing it for God'--and it's the month of the Koran," he said. Muslims read parts of it daily, and think about what values or virtues they want to carry over into the rest of the year.

"As the months go by, the battery gets discharged a little bit," he quipped.

Evil is locked up, goodness emerges

Chaudry said it's easier to stay focused on good during Ramadan. "Evil is locked up for the month," she observed.

Kadir echoed that thought, saying the de-emphasis on worldly things "lets the goodness come out." One form it takes is that Muslims donate to charity, or zakat, during Ramadan. 

And Mozaffer said that after the first few days of Ramadan, he usually feels empowered that he doesn't have to eat and drink at the typical pace. 
"There's a sense of confidence, and increased hope," he said. "By the end of Ramadan, I usually have a heightened sense of energy."

Around 10 p.m. Thursday, the interfaith iftar--which included Morton Grove elected officials as well as clergy from other faiths as invited guests of the MCC community--began to disperse, just as other Muslims began to arrive for nighttime prayers. 

"At other times, the mosques are a quarter full or half full, but at Ramadan, they are full," said Kaiseruddin. "It's a time of camaraderie, and the main focus is on connecting with God."

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