Beep, Beep, Beep

So, fasting the month of Ramadan has Alhamdulilah (praise be to Allah!) so far been quite easy.

I thought I would give you all a snap shot of a typical (or not-so-typical) morning of a fasting day (during the month of Ramadan), in the life of yours truly:

3.30am:
Setting: My bedroom
Situation: Beep, beep, beep. This is the sound of my alarm! It is NOT the sound of me swearing and the ‘beep’ censoring the swearing out

3.31am: Consider how my stomach feels so full from the feast from the night before, that I possibly might not be able to fit in a Ramadan breakfast (called ‘sahoor’ in Arabic)

3.31am and 20 seconds: Convince myself that no, I need to eat, otherwise I might get too hungry throughout the day

3.31am and 30 seconds: Knock something over in the dark

3.31am and 50 seconds: "Ouch" (yes, my pain receptors are delayed at this time in the morning)

3.33am:
Setting: Bedrooms of siblings/parents
Situation: In a croaky voice, wake up the family to come and join me for sahoor

3.35am:
Setting: Kitchen
Situation: Sit down at the table with eyes glazed over, trying to decide in a half-asleep state what I feel like consuming at such an early hour

3.36am: My brother and sister enter the kitchen, followed by my father

3.37am: My brother, sister, father and I sit there, wondering what we should eat. I decide to do the unthinkable, and open our overly-packed-with-Ramadan-food refrigerator

3.40am: Wet my whistle with a glass of cold milk. The milk has to be ice cold!

3.50am: Consume a light breakfast of 2 toasts with either honey, peanut butter or Nutella.

3.51am: Find the secret stash of chocolate that we are hiding from my father. Devour chocolate when dad isn’t looking.

3.55am: Realise that my mother is still asleep!

3.55am and 20 seconds: Run upstairs in a frantic state

3.55am and 30 seconds:
Setting: Parent’s bedroom
Situation: Tell my mum to "get up!"

4.00am:
Setting: Bathroom
Situation: Brush teeth

4.02am: Scull some water just in case I die of thirst during the day! (Yeah right! It would be a bit hard dying of thirst sitting down in an office all day!)

4.03am: Make the intention that I am going to fast for the day, asking Allah to make it easy for all Muslims and myself. Ask Allah that He accepts this fast of mine and all of my fellow Muslims

4.05am:
Setting: Kitchen
Situation: Tidy up food and wash dishes (or just place dishes in sink if we are feeling lazy)

4.06am:
Setting: Bathroom
Situation: Wash up for the morning prayer Fajr by performing ablution (called ‘wudu’ in Arabic)

4.10am:
Setting: My bedroom
Situation: Upon hearing the prayer alarm-clock go off with the beautiful sound of the ‘call to prayer’ (called ‘athan’ in Arabic), I commence praying

4.15am: Fall back asleep (it doesn't take too long). Tummy is happy. My belly button smiles.

6.30am: Beep, beep, beep. Censored out swear words at the thought of going to work. Kidding! This is the sound of my alarm going off. I am one slightly groggy young lady wondering what the day will bring.

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It has been reported by the way of Abu Hurairah (raa) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) reported that Allah (SWT) said in a Hadith Al-Qudsi: "All services of the son of Adam are for him except fasting. It is for Me, and I will reward him for it. Fasting is a shield. On the day you fast, do not use obscenity, nor yell at others, nor act ignorantly towards them. However, if anyone abuses you verbally or attempts to draw you to fight with him, say 'I am fasting' two times. The Prophet (saas) then states: I swore by the One (Allah) in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the faster is sweeter to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the scent of musk. The faster experiences enjoyment twice: he is pleased when he breaks his fast, and he is pleased when he meets his Maker" (Muslim)