# Ask the guy who's fasting for Ramadan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665 "2010-08-27T13:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/41 "2010-08-31T13:51:53Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > Good to see you posting again **Bib**. Long time no see. Ditto. You’re always welcome over at [t’other board](http://nadsters.com/nads/). The place needs livening up anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/42 "2010-08-31T14:19:12Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Will not work with the vast vast majority of muslims who are not Arabs. I greet all my indian muslim friends with " Eid mubarak". Here in India , muslims greet each other also with " Eid mubarak" . ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/43 "2010-08-31T15:00:42Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Bib, when will you want your son to start fasting? Do you expect him to do his best to take part in the other aspects of Ramadan - being more charitable, etc? How do you encourage that in him? Hi Sam! Great question! Well he’s three now and understands the basics - namely that daddy can’t eat or drink anything until night-time. He’s also asked if he could fast but we said no as he’s still far too young for it to be healthy. At the moment we aren’t really expecting to follow any of the tenets of the faith, but I encourage him to stand next to me when I pray, to give thanks after he’s eaten, to come to Friday prayers and see the community pray together, etc. It’s a gradual process and I very deliberately try to make it a warm and agreeable one for him rather than hector him into doing stuff with loads of nagging or finger-wagging. For example he gets a hug when he stands by me during prayers. Extra hugs if he stands quietly and copies my motions. It’s all been about positive rather than negative attention and positive reinforcement. Eventually I want him to be fully practicing but I haven’t set a particular date or deadline in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/44 "2010-08-31T15:08:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@bonzer](#): > > > > Good to see you posting again **Bib**. Long time no see. > > Ditto. You’re always welcome over at [t’other board](http://nadsters.com/nads/). The place needs livening up anyway. Thanks, I really appreciate it! To be honest I have contemplated it, but I was worried that I wouldn’t be welcome anymore due to my shameful habit of dropping by for a while then disappearing off ith the ether for another couple of years. It must have made me look very fickle and a terrible attention-hog to boot. BTW I saw your anti-Islamphobic thread in the pit recently and really appreciated it. It was great to see. Hope you and the family are well. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/45 "2010-08-31T15:22:39Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Bib, when will you want your son to start fasting? Do you expect him to do his best to take part in the other aspects of Ramadan - being more charitable, etc? How do you encourage that in him? Is there an age by which a Muslim is supposed to start fasting for Ramadan? Jews are supposed to start fasting for Yom Kippur by bar/bat mitzvah age, though they often do at least a partial fast before that. Of course, Jewish kids want to imitate what they see the adults in their lives doing, just like all other kids do. Really young kids don’t, though. Once, at Yom Kippur services, I looked in on one of the child care sessions- they were doing motzi (the blessing over bread before eating it). Seemed really weird on Yom Kippur. Are your prayer services or individual daily prayers different in any way during Ramadan? Do Muslim prayer services (not during Ramadan, obviously) usually have food or coffee after the service, the way Jewish and Christian services often do? ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/46 "2010-08-31T16:08:07Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > > [@scifisam2009](#): > > > > Bib, when will you want your son to start fasting? Do you expect him to do his best to take part in the other aspects of Ramadan - being more charitable, etc? How do you encourage that in him? > > Is there an age by which a Muslim is supposed to start fasting for Ramadan? Jews are supposed to start fasting for Yom Kippur by bar/bat mitzvah age, though they often do at least a partial fast before that. Of course, Jewish kids want to imitate what they see the adults in their lives doing, just like all other kids do. Really young kids don’t, though. Once, at Yom Kippur services, I looked in on one of the child care sessions- they were doing motzi (the blessing over bread before eating it). Seemed really weird on Yom Kippur. > > Are your prayer services or individual daily prayers different in any way during Ramadan? > > Do Muslim prayer services (not during Ramadan, obviously) usually have food or coffee after the service, the way Jewish and Christian services often do? They’re expected to start fasting from puberty, so the exact age obviously varies, however they’re encouraged to practice for the proper fast by fasting part of a day or for one day on the weekend. Plus they can also participate in Ramadan in other ways, like helping cook the evening meal or reading or listening to the Qur’an with the family. My personal prayers don’t differ at all except that i’m encouraged to do more of them beyond the standard five daily prayers. Plus I get more diligent about praying on time and not missing any - something I’ve been far too lax about in the past. Group prayers are different in that during Ramadan we have an extra group prayer in the evening called the _Taraweeh._ It’s not obligatory but you’re encouraged to do it. It’s lead by an Imam as usual, but it lasts longer. These days we typically start at 10pm and pray till about midnight. You can pray it at home if you can’t make it to a local mosque or prayer room. Details on Wikipedia are here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraweeh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraweeh) As for food, we don’t normally serve any after prayers - at least we never have in our Sunni community and I’d consider it odd unless it was for a special celebration like Eid. After the prayer is over people tend to either hurry back to work or hang around to chat and catch up with friends and welcome new faces who might be new to the community. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/47 "2010-08-31T17:47:14Z")
Hey **Bib**! Good to see you again, even if I’ve moved to the other side of the Atlantic! ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/48 "2010-08-31T20:51:10Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > > [@rekkah](#): > > > > According to [this GQ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=574202), some muslims at extreme latitudes use the times for Mecca. > > Thanks \*\*rekkah \*\*- that’s really interesting and very much appreciated. Seems to make sense! You’re welcome 🙂 I’ve always thought it was rather unfair that UK muslims have to fast for so much longer than people in places closer to the equator. Though I suppose it comes out in your favour when Ramadan comes in winter, and at least British summers don’t tend to be scorchingly hot. > [@Bibliovore](#): > > The hunger and thirst do get easier - you don’t feel the hunger pangs as much during the day and you soon stop obsessing over food. However the spiritual or mental aspects don’t get any easier. It’s a constant challenge to be the best that you can be - to focus your thoughts on worship, on repentance for past misdeeds, on keeping your temper and being forgiving, etc. All of that is hard to maintain, especially if you’ve been slacking for the rest of the year! 🙂 Wow. I might be able to manage a month of keeping my temper, there’s a chance I could manage a month of fasting during the daylight hours, but both at the same time?! ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/49 "2010-08-31T23:34:34Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > And here’s the article showing all the regional variations: > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid\_ul-Fitr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Fitr) Thanks Bib, I’ve always greeted my (Afghan) buddy with Eid Mubarak, but for the new person, I looked it up on the Wiki linked, checked and noted that for Pakistani/Indians, Eid Mubarak will work just as well for him. Thanks, good sir! ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/50 "2010-09-01T09:30:43Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Hey **Bib**! Good to see you again, even if I’ve moved to the other side of the Atlantic! Hi **Angua**! Great to see you too! 🙂 Where are you living now and how’s it going? ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/51 "2010-09-01T09:43:33Z")
> [@rekkah](#): > > Wow. I might be able to manage a month of keeping my temper, there’s a chance I could manage a month of fasting during the daylight hours, but both at the same time?! Oh pshaw, I’m sure you could do it. It’s not a superhuman feat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/52 "2010-09-01T11:14:35Z")
How true to life is [this advert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1jh7QdrpY)? ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/53 "2010-09-01T11:34:35Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > How true to life is [this advert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1jh7QdrpY)? Sorry, but I can’t watch that clip at work - could you sum it up for me? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/54 "2010-09-01T11:41:07Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > How true to life is [this advert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1jh7QdrpY)? Not at all. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/55 "2010-09-01T22:09:46Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > > [@Angua](#): > > > > Hey **Bib**! Good to see you again, even if I’ve moved to the other side of the Atlantic! > > Hi **Angua**! Great to see you too! 🙂 Where are you living now and how’s it going? Its going well – I’m actually down in Alabama now, working in Huntsville. Things are going pretty well, and I seem to have settled in, made friends and all of that at least! ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/56 "2010-09-01T23:23:29Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > > [@rekkah](#): > > > > Wow. I might be able to manage a month of keeping my temper, there’s a chance I could manage a month of fasting during the daylight hours, but both at the same time?! > > Oh pshaw, I’m sure you could do it. It’s not a superhuman feat. 🙂 There’s a reason that **garius** learned very early on in our relationship that making sure I get fed regularly is very important. A hungry **rekkah** is a grumpy **rekkah**. I actually stamped my foot at him once when I was tired and hungry and he was delaying ordering a take away. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/57 "2010-09-02T11:49:14Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > > [@grimpixie](#): > > > > How true to life is [this advert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1jh7QdrpY)? > > Sorry, but I can’t watch that clip at work - could you sum it up for me? It’s an advert for a Portuguese peri-peri chicken franchise - starts focused on a guy holding a piece of chicken in front of his mouth, staring into the distance, sitting with his mouth open. After a few moments he moistens his lips and then opens his mouth again. After another few moments, you see he is watching the sun set and a notice saying “Ramadan Kareem” appears. IOW - do you _long_ for the sun to set so that you can break your fast? ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/58 "2010-09-02T11:56:00Z")
Hah! Saw that at home last night and it gave me a good chuckle, but no, it’s not really accurate. We don’t sit drooling over our plates with forks poised, literally counting down the seconds until we can break our fast. Most of the time we’re still setting the table or putting the kids to bed or whatever. However there \*are \*some days when you feel the hunger more than others and you do wish the time would pass quickly. The trick is to just occupy yourself with something else and take your mind off food. Or watch food shows on TV and torture yourself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/59 "2010-09-02T12:06:06Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > Hah! Saw that at home last night and it gave me a good chuckle, but no, it’s not really accurate. We don’t sit drooling over our plates with forks poised, literally counting down the seconds until we can break our fast. Most of the time we’re still setting the table or putting the kids to bed or whatever. Of course not - you’re not eating Nando’s Peri-peri Chicken - now only $9.95 - chips not included!! 🙂 P.S. I bet some of the smokers count the seconds - I never realised that smoking was forbidden during Ramadan… ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665/60 "2010-09-02T12:08:59Z")
> [@rekkah](#): > > > [@Bibliovore](#): > > > > Oh pshaw, I’m sure you could do it. It’s not a superhuman feat. 🙂 > > There’s a reason that **garius** learned very early on in our relationship that making sure I get fed regularly is very important. A hungry **rekkah** is a grumpy **rekkah**. I actually stamped my foot at him once when I was tired and hungry and he was delaying ordering a take away. :eek: Heh, I’m dangerous when I’m hungry too - just ask my family. The best time to ask me for any favours is just after I’ve been well-fed. 🙂 However keeping your temper is a big deal in Ramadan. If you blow your top, you’ve blown your fast. The good news though, is that you get extra brownie points for self-control. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-whos-fasting-for-ramadan/551665.md?page=4)