First Day of Fasting Ramadan 2009

Ramadan Reflections contributed byWorldly Muslimah

The first day of fasting during the month of Ramadan has always been the hardest. The usual routine is no longer the same. The morning hot drink (typically tea or coffee) - the first item of ingestion into the body - that perks one up from slumber is no longer there.

The lethargy sets in as the body struggles to stay awake unused as it is to the sudden caffeine-deprivation.

The first few hours of the morning are definitely the hardest.

Then the daily activities ensues and you push yourself through the day. And somehow the time flies by.

Before long it is time to break the fast.

But that is not merely what the fast is supposed to be.

We are also supposed to increase remembrance of God through prayer and reflection.

But the hunger pangs of the first day of Ramadan made this near impossible. However, the body will get used to the fasting in a few days and so will be able to focus on the main goal of Ramadan - to further strenghten the relationship between Man and Creator.

"When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me. The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be guided."

~ [al-Baqarah, 2:186]

"O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint."

~ [al-Baqarah, 2:183]