What is Ramadan? Who participates in Ramadan traditions? What are the traditions that take place during Ramadan? What is Eid al-Fitr? Why is Ramadan important to know about? We'll answer these questions and many more in today's episode on the basics of Ramadan. Welcome to Wiser World, a podcast for busy people who need a refresher on all things world.
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So subscribe to The Straighten Nursing Podcast, and I'll see you on Thursday. I'm so excited for today's episode because I have had such a great conversation with my new friend Shanila Ahmad, and she does a beautiful job of explaining the month of Ramadan to us. But before I begin the interview, I think it's helpful to have a foundational knowledge of
Ramadan is so I'm going to give you a quick summary give you a little context for this conversation and in this summary I talk about an important prophet in the religion of Islam and after I say his name I say peace be upon him and I do this as a non-Muslim because I asked Shanila what she would prefer and she said it's most respectful to say it so that's what I did
And this episode also briefly mentions a few things that are not permitted during fasting time, some of which are adult activities. So this is a fair warning if you have little ears around listening. With that said, let's give a short explanation of the religion of Islam so that Ramadan can make some sense to you. The second largest religion in the world is Islam, with nearly 2 billion members. People who practice the religion of Islam are called
Muslims. So the religion name is Islam. The people who practice it are called Muslims. And while the religion of Islam originated in Saudi Arabia in around the 600s AD, the religion has spread throughout the world and today is a very popular throughout the Middle East, North Africa, especially Asia. In fact, the country with the largest Muslim population is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan and India.
But Islam is practiced all over the world, with about 3.5 million Muslims living in the United States. The holy buildings for worship are called mosques, and their holy book of scripture is called the Quran or Quran. Islam has five basic tenets or pillars that practicing Muslims do their best to follow. The first is the belief in one God named Allah and in the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as his prophet.
Second is to pray five times a day. The third is to give alms or a certain amount of their income to help the poor. Another word for this would be charity. The fourth tenet is to fast during the holy month of Ramadan, which is what this episode is about. And the fifth pillar is to at least once in a lifetime make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which is called the Hajj. And we'll talk more about these in future episodes, but that's just the basic, basic.
foundation for the religion of Islam. Today's episode is on that fourth pillar, the month of Ramadan. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. So like we talked about in the Lunar New Year episode, it's based off of the moon cycles and therefore changes year to year a little bit more than the Gregorian calendar that most people around the world use.
And the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is called Ramadan. That's the name of the month. And this one month is dedicated to fasting from any food, drink, including water. sex, or smoking during the daylight hours, so from sunup until sundown every day for the entire month. And Muslims who have gone through puberty are expected to participate.
Those who are exempt from fasting include prepubescent children, the elderly, those with mental illness or specific physical illnesses such as diabetes or breastfeeding or pregnant women or women during their menstruation. And this year, as I'm recording... in 2023, Ramadan's first day begins on Wednesday, March 22nd, coming up, and ends on April 21st. The days change every year again because it's a lunar calendar.
So this should give you a good foundation to understand the next conversation. Before I share this interview with Shanila, Please know that Islam, like all religions, is very complicated with different sects like Shia and Sunni sects, for one thing. And it's a large religion that spans many countries and cultures. So just like we talked about in the Iran 101.
one episodes, not all Muslims practice the same way. So please know that no two Muslims are going to practice their faith the same. And so anything that we talk about today isn't necessarily true for everyone. It's just one person's take, but I hope that it's helpful to you as you learn about this important month for Muslims around the world. So now I'm going to stop talking and let my conversation with Shanila teach you the rest.
Shanila, I'm so glad you're here on the podcast. Thank you so much for talking with me today. I'm so excited. Let's start. Yeah, let's go for it. Okay. I want to hear a little bit about your background and just would you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. Right now I live in Southern California and I'm a mama for children and I'm a parent coach, but I was actually born.
in India and I immigrated here when I was maybe four or five and I started kindergarten here and I lived in Michigan for the majority of half of my life. And then maybe about 20 years ago is when I moved to Southern California. But my family is practicing Muslim, Sunni Muslim. And it's just the tradition of Ramadan has always been.
there since my childhood. Muslims come from so many different parts of the world. So even like the mosque that I attend, there's so much diversity. There are people from India or like, you know, China, Indonesia. in the Middle East. So it's a really big melting pot, even within our mosque. For sure. I feel like that's one misconception that's sometimes made about Muslims, that it's only the Middle East. And I think that's actually...
completely false. I was researching that a little bit and it showed that the majority of Muslims live in Asia, Indonesia in particular. And so it's nice to hear that. Lots of diversity within your mosque in Southern California. That's wonderful. All right. Well, let's start a little bit about Ramadan. I'm excited to talk about this. Would you tell us a little bit about the purpose of Ramadan? Why is Ramadan this month of the Islamic calendar so important?
Well, in our holy Quran, which is our holy book, God tells us that fasting has been prescribed to us as it has been prescribed to us. prescribed to those before us so we may gain righteousness consciousness and you know to me personally we live in such a busy world It doesn't matter what faith you are, what color you are. It's hustle, hustle. And we need to slow down and just do a reset. And for me, Ramadan is a time where you can do a hard reset.
where we are contemplating and really being intentional and purposeful of like, what are we spending our days doing? Are we in this rat race? How do we slow down? What do we really want? You know, and just really assessing life. Ramadan is a time that we not only fast from the time that the sun comes up to sunset. But it's also a time at that to contemplate, to reflect, to pray, and to connect with God. Because the rest of the year, we are just in the rat race.
And so this is a hard reset of just realigning ourselves with our real purpose. Oh, that's beautiful. It's like you want food, our bodies want food, but it's almost like a signal. to god that you want something more than food just to distinguish ourselves like as humans from animals is that when they have an urge they just you know they want to eat they eat they want to do something they do it they don't
think and pause and they don't have that delayed gratification, but we do. So it's a lot of self-discipline to be like, oh, you know, this is the time that it's, even though it's totally okay to do it, but this time I'm going to stop myself.
And. growing up as someone who's fasting and kids usually start fasting because they see their parents doing and they see everyone and they I remember begging my mom like I want to fast and she would be like no you know you're too young you can do half day fast and I would be like no that's not fair that's not a real fast and so we would just be having this fight you know where my mom's like no I want you to work your way up to a full day.
And the kids would be so they were, they were so excited that they would want to fast. So eventually, though. It's prescribed like you have to do it from the time you reach puberty. There's a lot of younger kids do it, too, just because they're excited and they want to participate. And it takes a lot of self-discipline, obviously. And sometimes kids may forget.
And that's one of the things is that, you know, maybe you can go into the room or into hide somewhere and eat, right? Right, right. You'll know, but no one will know. But we know that God knows. And so that's something that I feel like all kids and growing up, we're conscious of that. So when you're fasting, we're really fasting because we know that we know the truth.
And it's really a way for us to connect to our community, our family, our parents, and God. It sounds like it's a full family affair. Yeah. And are there other parts of Ramadan too? to Ramadan other than fasting, or is it mostly the fasting part that's the focus? The fasting is the major part, but the other things that happens every night is the nightly prayer. It's optional prayer.
at the prayer they recite parts of the quran and by the end of the 39th they've recited the whole quran and a lot of families go all together sometimes just the parents go but If you live near a mosque during Ramadan, you're going to see the parking lot full. And by the time you're done with Ramadan, you have listened to the whole Quran. Yes. And that's not a small book. Yeah.
So there's 30 chapters and they usually do one chapter a night. And it could take around an hour and a half to do. And do only adults do this or do the children go as well? Children can participate too. And they can go there and listen. And a lot of times there'll be a kid's room or like a mommy and me room. Sometimes the kids will be falling asleep and not to disrupt the adults. And sometimes moms will just stay home with their babies.
So when my kids were little, I just stayed home. And now it's just like being able to tune in. And there's just so much information and access to all of that. And you can pray at home too. So after the prayer at the mosque, some people may only stay there for like a little bit part of the time, and then they'll come home and pray on their own. And besides that, the nightly prayer.
Sometimes they also want to finish the whole Qur'an maybe one time during the whole month or a couple times. So it's up to them. So one of the main things is that you are reconnecting with the book. So not only are you fasting, but you're reconnecting with the book too. And the other thing is that we have our own personal goals. What are bad habits that we want to get rid of? What are new habits that we want to instill?
So one of the other pillars of our faith is prayer, praying five times. So are we praying five times? So maybe somebody is only praying three or four. So during Ramadan, we're going to pray all five times.
hope that it's going to instill and become a habit become a habit okay i have so many questions just from that one statement so at the end of the daily fast you it's an optional it's optional to go to the mosque yeah is this after you eat or is this before you eat so it's after we but let me give you a day in the life of like of my life i guess in ramadan it was it's different obviously when i was a
kid but and was versus me being a mom you know because we still have work or other sports activities and things like that during Ramadan but I'll tell you before and after growing up what we would do is that in the morning before Before the sun comes up, we have a meal. It's called suhur, and it is optional, but it's a time where we're eating, we're making sure we're drinking a lot of water, eating things that are going to nourish us, and we're not going to dehydrate.
So that's important. And then we have the morning prayer. So we finished eating. Then we have our morning prayer. And from then on that we're fasting. And then there comes two prayers in the day. And after that, the fourth prayer is at sunset. So that's the time where, you know, around that time is when we're setting the table. And a lot of people, they will open their fast with date or water.
Or some kind of a cultural drink that they're used to in their country. But in my house, it was usually water and then dates. Okay. And we'll have a date and then... Each culture has their own kind of food. You know, some people have soups. Some people have just a regular dinner. They might have burgers and fries. Some people may have, you know, appetizers. And obviously, if we're all fasting, it's usually like something special.
Right. It's got to be a big enough meal to fill you after a full day, right? Yeah. But, you know, surprisingly, we will just eat. So at that time, we'll eat and then we'll pray that prayer that we pray at sunset. And then we'll eat again. Sometimes we'll have the appetizer. You know, some families are like, well, we're just going to, you know, have an appetizer first and then we're going to pray and then we'll eat dinner.
And like personally, we would get full off the appetizer. So then my mom was like, no, we're only going to have one meal. We're just going to have dinner. Right. And sometimes we'll just have water and pray and then have our meal. So basically that time and then we'll rest a little. And I have memories of like my parents just sitting, having tea. And then the last prayer is when we go to the mosque. So you get ready, go to the mosque.
And that's after the meal. It's dark. It's late. That's why you say you can stay home with babies because sometimes it's bedtime. Yeah, exactly. And depending on the time of year, right? So because it's a lunar, it's changing. Ramadan and the summers were really long because the days are long and hot. Yes. And so then if it was like at 8 p.m., then you're going to the mosque at like 930 and you're coming home almost midnight.
every night and then when it's short like winters i remember when i first started fasting when i was a teenager it was short it was like winter so you're done by like four or five o'clock and then you then you can go to the mosque at seven and be home by like 10 before that In my understanding, I always thought Ramadan was in the springtime, but it's not because it's changing. I think it shifts 14 days every year, right?
So not thinking, I had not thought about that, that that really would mean you'd have Ramadan during all seasons. Yes, exactly. We've talked about the day, an average day of Ramadan. But are there traditions associated with kicking off Ramadan, like beginning on that first day? Are there any special traditions?
a lot of the mosques they start the reading of the quran the day before it starts so the first day of fasting would be like the second day that you go to the mosque and actually our days start during the night the sunset so Let's say Ramadan starts on the 22nd, but we'll fast on the 22nd, but it officially starts at sunset of the 21st. I see.
So that's considered Ramadan, and we go to the mosque that day. So we don't really have anything religious that you have to do that you're supposed to do. But traditionally, in the past, people used to prepare six months before. And they would just prepare little by little by making up any fast. So one of the things that I say about making up fast is that if you get sick, if you're traveling, or if you're pregnant or nursing, you don't have to fast.
But some of those when you make it up or like if you're if it's that time of month, if you're on your period, you don't have you know, you're not you can't fast. Right. You know, your body needs to rest and you need, you know, the food and nourishment. So. You can't fast, but you have to make that up.
Making sure that before Ramadan, I've made up all my fast. If I was sick or traveling or it was that time of month, that's one of the things. And then reconnecting to like, hey, did I fall off the wagon? And just kind of starting those things again. So if people haven't, maybe they haven't, they've been so busy that they're not connected to the Quran and they're not reading. And so they can start reading it. They can start reading and kind of getting into the...
mood you know so then when it comes time for ramadan then they're ready it's not like this is the first day so practicing you know it's almost like getting ready for a marathon you're going to practice you're not going to just come on the day For Ramadan, you don't just like start cold turkey. You need to kind of be thinking it through sometimes up to months in advance. Is that right? That's really the best way to do it. And are there times where, you know, you have a busy year and then...
Ramadan comes and you're not ready. Well, now this is your time to get ready. And it also forces us almost, like personally me, it kind of forces me to slow down because I couldn't. You know, and so some other things that I do as a mom now to prep for Ramadan is that, you know, I'll just make sure we have things in the house where I don't have to go out of the store, you know, to get something like, you know, toilet paper and just things like that household.
you know items things that I can keep in the freezer other things like let's say I'm gonna make soup or I just want meats that I've already made that it just makes cooking easier so I can prep that And so a lot of people will just prep meals, meal prep for the whole month. So then they don't have to do it as much, especially when Ramadan was in the summers. Like, I don't want to go. I don't want to go grocery shopping in the heat. And also.
when you're hungry you're not supposed to go anywhere right you'll buy everything if you go to the grocery store hungry so like some traditions that we have that my kids love is that we make fruit salad and my kids love that and they look forward to that where even though if they're not fasting and they've already had dinner, but they'll have the fruit salad or like some chickpea salad with us that I make.
And that's something that they look forward to. So I, you know, fruit, fresh fruit, you want to go and get, you know, you can't prep that beforehand. So sometimes I'll just go ahead and get those things for the couple days and then I'll go back again. Just whatever I can prep beforehand, I do. So I like to do a decluttering beforehand. So then...
You know, I'm not sitting there like in the middle of a mess and things are kind of set in order. So that's something that I personally like to do. And I think everybody has their own little. list of things that they want to do. One of the things that I've done more now is that after the Ramadan, the last day is a big celebration, Eid al-Fitr. And we wear new clothes and I make sure that...
Before Ramadan, I have all my kids' clothes ironed, ready to go, so then I don't have to go running around shopping and get clothes. So that's one of the things that I do to make sure that I can maximize my time of worship and connection and really slow down where I'm not running around and also. If we get gifts for family members, things that I have to mail out, I try to make sure I do all my shopping before Ramadan starts so then I can really just have a peaceful Ramadan.
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I'm astonished at how much forethought and organization it takes to really make the month meaningful for you and your family. I think that's really beautiful. I do have a question for you going back to the idea of making up fast. So let's say that you're pregnant during the month of Ramadan. Do you have to kind of have a separate Ramadan, a whole month of fasting, another time of the year to make up for that? Or is it mostly the makeup faster?
for smaller amounts of time that you missed during Ramadan? Well, there are different schools of thought in this. The ruling for this is different for each case. So some moms may be sick and they're dealing with nausea. And that's why they're not fasting. And in the end, and then, you know, then you have multiple kids and then you have so much. So they may go to the Sheikh and give them their reasoning, their personal reasoning, and it might be best for them to just pay.
So they could pay, like basically you're feeding one person who's fasting. So, you know, sending money to overseas or sending money to sending it to the mosque. And you can just basically clear yourself from fasting because you're excused. Oh, okay. That makes sense. And is it giving alms or giving donations and charity part of Ramadan, especially at the end? Yeah. Well, it's throughout the month.
Everything that you do is kind of multiplied. The good deeds that you do is multiplied. So a lot of people like to do it during Ramadan because they get, you know, maximize their reward. And anything that you do is maximized.
So that's a time where a lot of people like to give. All right. So here's another question for you. Does your family have any other traditions that they do that are special and not related to fasting or prayer? Do they have any other traditions that you follow during Ramadan? Well, some things that I want to do to instill the love of Ramadan and our faith and our values with my kids is that what we started doing a couple of years ago was.
Having a little family tradition. So maybe before our prayer, before our opening of the fast, we're going to come together and each person has. an area that they want to cover. So maybe one of the stories about the prophet or maybe somebody else wants to read part of the Quran. And the translation, maybe they're memorizing a small verse that they want to show us or tell us. That's something that we come together and we just share with each other what we're learning.
So that's something that we've started to do that we really benefit from. And also, there's a lot of videos that a lot of scholars have put together on YouTube, whether from different mosques, that they actually, like there's some that will take you, maybe they'll give you 10 minutes and they'll give you a summary of that chapter that you're going to be reading tonight at the prayer.
So that's one of the things that they may have online that we listen to. So there are so many different scholars and speakers who talk about different aspects of Ramadan. They have talks. They have inspirational talks. So we pick one that we're going to do that year. And we as a family listen to it. It's probably like five to 10 minutes. So something bite-sized, but we all benefit from it. Something that I did with my kids was having goals for the month.
So what's something that you want to do? So they may set their own goals and we're just going to check with each other how it's going. Got it. I love that. So you talked a little bit about Edel Fitcher ending Ramadan. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? What is involved? What are the traditions? So it's like the greatest day and celebration of the whole month of effort, self-control, working on our goals and habits.
And this is the day to celebrate all of that. And, you know, just in general, when we do something that we're making an effort for, we should celebrate the small wins and the big wins. So this is a huge win for us. So this is a day that, you know, where it's bittersweet because this whole month of reflection is ending and you just want to. live there and you just want it to be forever but then the celebration comes of our celebrating that so basically we wake up in the morning and we
have our morning prayer that we do, but then we get ready and go to the mosque. And around, you know, depending on what city you're in or what the mosque decides, we have a special prayer at the mosque between 8 or 9 a.m. And that's where everybody comes in. They're wearing their best clothes and we have one big prayer. And it's a little bit different. It's a different kind of prayer, but we pray and then there's a short sermon.
afterwards, and then we greet one another. And after that, usually every family will go to their, maybe to their relative's house or they have plans at their own home. And so we go and spend time with our family and friends. and that's when you know personally for me we'll go to my parents house and then that's when some will there'll be some gift exchanges or whatever the tradition is for that family and then we'll take pictures and then
Throughout the day, we may be invited to other things or we may be hosting something. So we just coordinate all that with family and friends. And so it's a whole day of us just celebrating. Giving our family gifts and just being there with them. It's really, really wonderful. And it sounds like it feels like it's so community based. And I imagine that by meeting every night at the mosque.
You come together as a community and as a faith group. Am I right in thinking that? Yeah, yeah. And there's, you know, some places there's so many. you know, so many people, there's thousands of people and other places there's hundreds or maybe less than that. And they prayed next to each other every night, night after night. And this is a way to just celebrate each other as well. Right.
I have one more question for you about the fasting. When teenagers begin their fast and they go the whole day, I just imagine that they get quite cranky. Does that happen for your kids? Do they do really well with the discipline or is it a process that they build up every day? Do they sometimes quit earlier in the day, just depending on what happened at school or what have you? I'm just curious the actual practicality for.
younger kids and teenagers on how fasting works for them, if that makes sense. Yeah, that's a really good question. It reminds me of me being in ninth grade, where I'm fasting and During lunch, I get a hall pass to go to the library because I don't want to be in the cafeteria. But some people, it doesn't matter. But I figured I'm like, you know, I'm fasting. So why not just go to the library and use that time to do my homework?
So then when I get home, I can just rest. And crankiness, I don't remember getting cranky, but I feel like as a mom, I get more cranky when I'm fasting than being a student. I would get excused from PE if I wanted to. So just like if there's a, you know, you have to run the mile today. And I can tell my teacher that, you know, my mom can send a note saying that she's fasting. So we could have an alternative project for me to do.
I see. Okay. That makes sense. But there's also something really wonderful that can happen when your body goes through a fasting process, spiritually, physically. And I'm sure that as the days go by, your body kind of adjusts to it. Yes. Yes. And you know what? Another factor is that I didn't realize how important it was until I started making up my fast throughout the year by myself.
In Ramadan, it's easier because everybody's doing it. You have that community support. You're not fasting alone. Whereas throughout the year, if I was just making up my fast, it just seems so much harder. The days are so much longer. And there's not as much of a buildup to it or the, you know, the party at the end. It probably is. I can see what would be a lonelier experience. So what.
Are your favorite parts about Ramadan personally to you? Though it's changed throughout the year, but right now what it really is, is that me connecting with my creator, just doing a reset to everything. and being intentional about my priorities. What do I want for myself? Where am I going? What are my goals? Like, what are my goals for my kids? How do I want to contribute and show up in the world?
What kind of neighbor do I want to be? Am I being that type of neighbor? If I was gone, would anybody miss me? And why would my community miss me? So it's really about how relevant am I being to my surroundings, my community, my city? How am I showing up? So I think for me, building habits that actually... fulfill my purpose and my goals and my values. That's something that I really value to do during Ramadan, to do like a cleanse and also being mindful of what I'm eating.
And this is the time where you're fasting, but making sure that, okay, am I drinking enough water when I'm not fasting? That's becoming important to me in the last. you know, five, six years is to really, you know, when I'm fasting, when you break your fast, you want to eat everything. But what am I putting into my body? And is that serving me? So those are some things that...
I feel like that's important. And like just connecting, you know, when you read something and then you read it again and then you get something else out of it. And I feel like it's the... holy book the quran is talking to me and there's wisdom and gems that i haven't uncovered yet so then when it hits me and you just feel so you feel like okay this makes sense to me and how can i implement this in my life
How can I be a better person? And disconnecting with the Quran during this month. And then thinking about, in the end of the day, every day I know that at sunset, I'm going to eat. I know that for sure, and my kids know that for sure. But there are people in the world that aren't going to eat at sunset. There are people who are not going to have clean water at sunset.
And to just reflect on that is that how blessed we are. And sometimes, you know, we don't realize how entitled we are. So that's another aspect that, you know, I talk to my kids about and just think about myself.
is that the blessings that we have, you know, sometimes we're so busy that we don't have time to even reflect on what we have. And we're... looking for instant gratification like we get mad because our amazon package didn't get here because it said it's supposed to get here at 2 p.m and it's like 10 p.m and it didn't get here and we can't wait right right and we get frustrated but in reality
Like we don't realize that we're like living in the top 10% of the world, you know? Oh, yeah. Oh, I feel that. You gave me goosebumps as you were talking. It sounds to me like a supercharged experience of connection with your body. You have to become very in tune with your body's needs. And then... spiritually it's a connector a connection experience as well but gosh if the world if we all stopped for a little bit and we're able to do some self-connection some connection with a higher power
connection with our body, what would the world look like? It's a beautiful thought we would probably become much less entitled, much more giving to our communities.
I've never thought of it that way, but it's like a supercharged month. Yeah. And something that you reminded me of when you said it would be more giving is that people are usually more giving. And one of the things that's... important is to you get you get a lot of reward for feeding someone who's hungry so if there's somebody else who's fasting then you take a meal for them then you know that's something that a lot of people like to do so
Nowadays, people will just make a couple of boxes of food or dessert or anything, you know, an appetizer plate, and they'll go ahead and give it to their neighbors. Or their relatives who live close by, they may just... stop by and give it to them before the time to eat comes. So that's something that people do that, you know, it's just like a nice gesture and it's full of reward to actually think, be thoughtful.
go out and not just feed your family, but you're, you know, helping to feed other people too. And when you say reward, just so that people understand what that means, is that like reward from God or Allah? Okay. So it's like a personal reward inside of you. Exactly. All right. Is there anything that you wish that non-Muslims knew about Ramadan that you haven't already spoken about?
any misconceptions or misperceptions that you've noticed people have that you would like to correct? Well, sometimes people think that you're fasting the whole month. No, no, it's only, you know, from dawn to dusk, that's when you're fasting. And even though that may seem really long, but, you know, the rest of the time you can actually eat. And the other thing is that especially for, you know, people who are going to school or in the workplace.
to be mindful and let's say your team at work or let's say the staff, they're going to have a potluck. You know, and if they know, if you know beforehand that, oh, it's going to be Ramadan, maybe ask the co-workers who are Muslim, like, hey, are you going to be fasting? Oh, maybe we can switch it to this month or maybe you could switch it at this time. That would be nice, you know, or like there's a major.
field trip going on like the whole class of you know the whole class is going somewhere for a field trip and it's an all-day outside thing. But if you know beforehand that, oh, let me just check to make sure that it's not during Ramadan, that would be nice. Right. And be just respectful and generous in the planning of things. Oh, that's great advice. And from now on.
What do you want people to think of when they think of Ramadan? Like if there's a word or a phrase that you want to have come to their minds when they think Ramadan, what would that be? Probably a time where Muslims around the world. are trying to better themselves are trying to be giving and connect to god connect to their purpose and work on their habits and build good habits so they can be
great citizens, and contributor globally. If people wanted to learn more about Ramadan, are there any other resources that you would send them to? Definitely find your local mosque and go there. You know, our mosque, for example, we actually have a open mosque day where we have a fast opening day where the city officials and the community are.
coming together and they break fast with us so that's the time that's the one place that i would urge people to go to is the to find their local mosque and see what they're doing for ramadan to like bring your family and go and just participate and be part of it Oh, you are so great at explaining this. I have learned so much talking with you and you're just a delight to talk to. You're just a wonderful person. So thank you for inspiring me. I'm sure that.
anyone listening has new thoughts and perceptions and perspectives on Ramadan that they probably didn't have before i know i i definitely do so thank you so so much no thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my heart and something that's so dear to me and all the muslims in the world this is our favorite time of the year And we would love to have other friends to join us in our local mosques. Honestly, after this conversation with Shanila, I can absolutely understand.
why Ramadan would be such a special time of the year for Muslims everywhere. What an awesome conversation with her. She did a fantastic job, and I'm so glad I could share her on this podcast. If you're interested in following Shanila, her Instagram is bravemuslimparents.
I've been following her for a few years, and she's a great follow for parenting. She also shared with me a few resources that you can look into if you're interested in studying or participating in Ramadan further, and those are in my show notes now.
Imagine what the world would be like if we could all understand each other's cultures and traditions and why we participate in them and why we celebrate them. What we could do for the world, what good we could do if we could understand each other a little bit better. And I hope that you learned something new in this podcast today. And if you did, please share it. And let's go out and make the world a little wiser.