By Abdullahi Jamaa
My journey of fasting just like millions of Muslim around the globe started with an intention to fast steadfastly for the next thirty days. I am nursing a brimming hope that Insha’Allah this Ramadan will herald a new Islamic synergy, a fresh experience of fasting with spanking new daily goals and targets.
Having fallen short of my previous Ramadan target, I am more eager to chart a new roadmap to redeem myself. I know from the back of my mind that Ramadan comes with a golden opportunity, it comes with that rare chance to grasp and seize. That chance that all of us have been waiting for.
Wednesday evening, precisely the 16th of May 2018, I viewed the firmament above with ecstasy as Ramadan crescent appeared in Mombasa’s sunset glow behind the bluish coastal horizon. The beautiful baby-moon reminded me of my late grandmother’s dedicated practice of praying every time when she observed a new crescent. My grandma used to address the moon asking her to come with beauty, peace and blessings.
Just after Maghrib prayers, goodwill messages intensified with many prayerful texts hitting my inbox from Muslims and non-Muslims alike. My Indian non-Muslim neighbor made an extra effort to view the crescent on our behalf as we were still in the mosque for Maghrib.
He later posted on the estates’ whatsup group like this: “Sighting of the moon marks the starting of the month of Ramadan. The crescent is visible right now in the sky. Have a look at it before it gets behind the clouds. Wishing all Muslim brothers & sisters Ramadan mubarak”
And yes that marked the beginning of thirty days of consecutive fasting. It will be a tough journey but only if Allah makes it easy for me and you. Mombasa’s capricious weather is no longer teeming with heat this first night of the holy month. A few weeks of heavy downpour meant a cooler environment for fasting. Thanks to the creator.
At 8.00pm, our neighborhood mosque was unusually jam-packed, new rejuvenated faces have apparently joined our congregation, a powerful indictment that Ramadan is an extra ordinary month with extraordinary acts of worship. Everybody is up for that battle to gain rewards, mercy and forgiveness.
And so after Isha, we did our Taraweeh prayers in an invigorated atmosphere, men, women, the aged and the young alike. We prayed, prayed and prayed culminating into a long dua from our Imam. Taraweeh is an important tenet of fasting, whoever observes night prayer in Ramadan his previous sins will be blotted out. May Allah accept our Taraweeh.
I was up for suhoor at around 4.am, had a light meal and proceeded to mosque for morning prayers. The Imam at Nyali’s Omar Faruuq mosque gave us a dose of spiritual nourishment; he spoke of how Ramadan is conditionally obligatory to Muslims.
He said fasting has been made obligatory through the fine dictates of the Glorious Quran, supported by the Sunnah of our beloved prophet (SAW) and also through Ijmaa, a consensus of religious scholars. Fasting is obligatory upon a sane, sound and healthy Muslim.
He recited this verse from the glorious Qur’an “Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness” (Q 2:183).
After that he recalled the famous ‘Buniyal Islam hadith “Islam is built upon five: to worship Allah and to disbelieve in what is worshiped besides him, to establish prayer, to give charity, to perform Hajj pilgrimage to the house, and to fast the month of Ramadan.”
I prayed dhuhr at Mombasa’s downtown expansive TSS mosque where another round of spiritual enlightenment echoed through its tall minarets. It was another talk about the importance of fasting. And here we said Ramadan zikr in chorus reminding me about Wajir’s Masjid Noor.
As Asr time approached my energy sapped. Back in the days of primary school, this is the time when we used to compare the day with the speed of hare or tortoise. The first day is seemingly slower and so it is a tortoise’s day. Eleven non-fasting months is still fresh in the body of many people and so headaches and hunger pangs are common experiences in the beginning .
My first day of Ramadan ended at Masjid Rahman where I joined hundreds of faithfuls in a spectacular iftar session that brought together Muslims from all background. The poor, the rich, the young and the old who all shared a meal.
The iftar food was particularly amazing, composed of a mixture of Islamic and coastal cuisine. There was something special about iftar time, It’s therapeutic for the fasting Muslim an excuse to smile, to talk and to reflect on the day. it is invariably one of the happiest moments.
Abdullahi jamaa is the founder of The Plu Media, a former journalist with Daily Nation, a former correspondent of aboutislam.net.
You can send your Ramadan experience to the editor@theplu.co.ke for publishing .
