BISMILLAH Al-Rahman Al-Rahim. It is this time of the year again; it is Ramadan, the holiest of months in the Muslim world. Ramadan is the name of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar (which is based on the lunar cycle and changes by about 10-12 days from the seasons of the Solar/Western Calendar) and is also the month of religious observance. During the month, all able and willing adults embark on a period of abstinence, reflection and purification.

In other words, Ramadan is a special month in the lives of every individual. Whether one is Muslim or a foreigner, like me, it is a special time. When you have lived in Kuwait as long as I have it becomes a part of you, and you become part of it. I have lived in Kuwait for the past 30 years and have seen it change and grow and I have grown and changed with it.
Everything has changed, including Ramadan. I remember my first Ramadan as a chubby, wide-eyed girl of 11, enjoying the baklawas, the kataif, and all the sweets and savouries, drinking sweet tamarind juice, Vimto, laban after the drying heat of the hot day. The memories have stayed, more have been made, and along with them came the realisation of what Ramadan really is, what it stands for ... which is so much more than the amazing sweets and the gifts and Girgi’an.

It’s a time when all of us should pause, be still and look inside. Inside into our very soul and see what is there really. Do we like what we see? Do we like the person we see in the mirror every day, or could we do better, by being true to the real purpose of our lives, which is really well summarised by the five pillars of Islam.

Fasting or ‘Suum’ is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam:

1. Declaration of Faith or ‘Shahada,’ which is the confession of one’s belief in God and in his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). La Il’Allah Illahhal wa Mohammad Rasullu la — There is no God but God and Mohammad (PBUH) is his Prophet/Messenger. This is the basic, most fundamental pillar of Islam. Faith keeps us all alive, for with the knowledge that there is a power greater than ourselves, a power that is just, merciful, caring, gentle, loving, gracious, omnipotent and omnipresent, the ultimate power that is God, we can face any difficulty.

2. Prayer or ‘Salat.’ The faithful should observe the five times of salat or prayer each day: before sunrise, after midday, at mid-afternoon, shortly after sunset, and in within the fullness of night. All Muslims face the Holy City of Makkah during prayers, where the ancient and holy Ka’aba stands.

3. Charity or ‘Zakkat,’ is done by all Muslims for the benefit of the poor and needy, regardless if they are kin or strangers. Zakkat can also be given anonymously (which I think is the real Zakkat).

4. Fasting or ‘Suum,’ observed during the Holy Month of Ramadan, is the practice of abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking or having sexual relations from sunrise to sunset.

5. Pilgrimage or ‘Hajj.’ Every Muslim who is of sound body, mind and can afford the journey should make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah at least once in their lifetime.
If we have no faith, we are nothing but an empty shell, that is being washed to and fro by the ocean of life, drifting aimlessly between car loans and parties, between new iPhones and the next Gucci bag.....a shell without purpose, without aim. When we get all those empty wishes, what next? Faith is the belief in the power of something pure, beautiful and absolute.

Faith can make us happy, not the car or the iPhone, for with faith comes understanding, and with this understanding comes purity, an aim which is worthwhile. Faith requires prayer, which in itself is a look into our soul as well, and with that look and the decision of whether we are all we want and can be comes the part when we ask Him, The All-Mighty to give us the inner wisdom, the freedom to be all that.
We ask Him in our humble prayer to guide us and give us strength to do what we know in our heart of hearts to be right, to hurt no one, and to treat all equally, regardless of who they are.

Ramadan is also a time to forgive, for forgiveness is one of the greatest powers on earth. We are not God, therefore who are we to judge anyone. We can only judge ourselves and we can only aim to change ourselves. We should love, appreciate and be grateful for everyone and everything, for as much as we may complain, we are so much better off than most of the world. We have a lot to be grateful for.
Charity is in a way a kind of gratitude too. Look around you, from the street cleaner to the starving children in third world countries. Poverty there is a way of life, yet the child with flies on her eyelids is managing a smile as well as the cleaner on the street who greets you every morning and goes about his work. They are grateful for the little almost next to nothing they have, yet look at us, with all our luxuries, we are glum and unhappy.
They have faith, they believe, therefore they are happy with the little they have because to them it is a lot. We can make a difference in so many lives in so many ways, and Zakkat during the Holy Month of Ramadan is just the beginning.

Fasting, aaaa, fasting! The real idea of fasting seems to be somewhat lost in the last years. It is meant to make us understand what those less fortunate than us in any way feel. What does it mean to have no food, no water and no necessities? Sadly, from what I have seen lately, fasting has turned into somewhat of a feeding frenzy. Fasting during the day and eating like there’s no tomorrow in the night defeats the whole purpose of the fast.
As it says in Chapter 20, Verse 81 of The Holy Qur’an : ‘Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on whom descends My Wrath do perish indeed!’

Furthermore, a lot of supplies are wasted during Ramadan, and not even given to the poor, contrary as it says in Chapter 7, Verse 31 of The Holy Qur’an: ‘O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters.’
Also in Ramadan, breaking the fast gives us the chance to spend time with our families, friends and other people close to us with whom we have no chance to see during normal times because of work, etc. It’s also a way to celebrate family values, togetherness, sharing that special time of breaking the fast.
Pilgrimage, the last but not least important pillar of Islam, the one that gives us the chance to get that much closer to the Creator, and join the thousands of other faithful, some of who have continuously saved their whole life just for that one trip. Those are the real people of faith, those and the little old men you see, who’ve stopped on the side of the road in the desert and prayed. There is no one to see him but God!

I was brought up Greek Orthodox, but have studied all religions, and have discovered a trait, a path, where they all meet, where they all agree. In Islam: ‘Nothing is said to you (Mohammad PBUH) except what was said to the messengers who came before you: that thy lord has at his Command (all) forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty.’ (Chapter 41, Verse 43 of The Holy Qur’an)
All religions have one common message: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’
Live your religion feel it, respect it, love it and do what it says every day of your life. The Holy Month of Ramadan is the perfect time for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to look inside and look around and go back to our values, go back to what matters and what heals us and those around us, go back to faith with all its beauty and power and wisdom. Enough said except Ramadan Kareem and may the blessings, wisdom and strength of Allah be with each and everyone of you during this month and always.

By Madlena Krusheva
Spiritual Healer