A lot of us really look forward to Ramadan; the food, the decorations, the outings. It’s even more fun when you have to spend it with non-Muslims and see all the looks they’re giving you because you can’t eat or drink.
It’s understandable that non-Muslims don’t really know how fasting works, or even why we do it at all. When you’re friends with non-Muslims, you’ll basically become Google and answer all the questions they wanted to ask but didn’t know who to ask (Google?).
Don’t forget if you’re living abroad, everything will be multiplied by a 100! I remember seeing a video from a friend who lives in the US showing how sad he was while his co-workers opened boxes and boxes of pizza while he was fasting. Torture!
Then comes all the questions: “Why?” “How about eating in a dark place?” “Can you eat in secret? No one will know.” “You can’t eat anything?” And the ever most famous “Not even water?”
I have a non-Muslim friend who’s actually fasting, not because it’s Ramadan but because it’s healthy, and only drinks water. I kind of wish we could do that too in this heat.
A lot of non-Muslims don’t know that in Ramadan we don’t stop food and drink only. We “fast” from all bad deeds like gossip or being mean to others. So it’s not just about food. It’s a time to better ourselves. If we don’t pray, we pray. If we don’t help the poor, this is the time to do it.
Another question we constantly get is “Isn’t it hard?” or “Isn’t it mean?” Yes and no. It’s hard but we learn so much during this time. It isn’t mean; there’s a purpose. It’s been scientifically proven that fasting is actually healthy for us; God will never ask us to do something that harms us.
