'What? Not even water?' and other questions on Ramadan answered by Safa Miller

A handy and informative article on Ramadan written by Somewhere 's Junior Project Management Intern and Uniform Culture Team member, Safa Miller. The article also features Safa's personal photos and a series of FAQs from her time fasting (alongside her brilliant 0-10 rating for each question).

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan, which is a holy month for Muslims.?

Muslims fast this month, abstaining?from food and water during daylight?hours. If you're ill, pregnant, young or old, you don't need to fast.?

It's also a month when Muslims are encouraged?to invite people over to break fast and engage in acts of worship.?

Muslims also give money to charity more this month, with an?estimated ￡100 million raised in Ramadan in the UK.?That's ￡38 a second!?

Ramadan lasts between 29-30 days and is based on the Lunar Calendar, so will end with the sighting of the New Moon (around April 10th 2024). This changes year to year.

In 2016, Ramadan was in June and July, but by 2031, it'll be in December.?

Muslims usually have a pre-dawn meal called Suhoor or Sehri, go about their day, then break their fast after sunset with a meal called Iftar.?

You're encouraged to break your fast with a date and water, but I've broken my fast with M&M's in Wallasey Tunnel before.?

It's a fun time of the year when people will usually get together with family, pray more or run charity events. It ends with Eid Al-Fitr, where people will dress up, pray together at the mosque, eat a lot and exchange gifts.?

The entire Muslim world observes Ramadan, so a large majority of our clients at Somewhere will be too.

They may have shorter working hours or be a bit more tired, so we bear this in mind when trying to book client calls at Iftar time.

Below are a few FAQs from my time fasting, plus my ratings of them:

01. “What? Not even water?”

No, not even water!?

0/10: Boring, old, dated.?Need to find a new top-asked question, I suggest: ‘Wow you're doing amazing, can I give you money?’

02. “Why do Muslims fast?”

Muslims fast for a few different reasons.

The main one is to have an awareness of God, when you abstain from food and water, it helps you place your reliance on something other than Kokoro for spiritual sustenance.

It also helps you empathise with people who may not be able to eat or drink due to poverty, famine or war, making you more grateful for what you have.

It teaches?discipline because if you can not eat or drink all day, you can definitely go to the?gym when you don't want to.

There are also health benefits, a lot of people stop smoking during Ramadan, but?fasting is also great for various health conditions.?

9/10: This is a good question, I like answering this one.

03. “Can I fast even if I'm not Muslim?”

Yes! Islam isn't the only religion that fasts, but even if you're not religious it's fun to take part in and see how other people live.

A lot of my non-Muslim friends have fasted along with me and all of them said it was enjoyable and not as hard as they thought it would be.?

10/10: This is a nice question.

04. “Do you not eat or drink for the whole month??“

It's okay when kids ask this because they're kids, but when you have a 37-year-old teacher in your school asking you it gets worrying.

The saving grace is when you say "No duh" it's funny to see their face.

2/10: Using your brain is free and encouraged.?

05. “Do you get tired?”

Yes is the short answer.

Not having caffeine and little snacks takes it out of you.

This year's fasts aren't that long, but in 2016 when I was doing my GCSE's, the fasts were 19 hours. Still secured those A*-A's though!

7/10: This is a sensible question.

06. “Do you mind if I eat or drink in front of you?”

No! Munch away.

If you have something particularly tasty you want to share, most people will save it for iftar.?

10/10: Nice question, very sweet.

I hope this has been informative – if anyone has any questions, please leave a comment below. Ramadan Mubarak from all of us Uniform Group!