Ramadan Kareem everyone
 

Ramadan Kareem!

This may not be a huge thing in the western world, but tonight at sunset (21st August) marks the start of the holy month of Ramadan in the muslim world. A month of devotion, fasting and charity giving. Muslims the world over will fast from sunrise to sunset for a full month and celebrate the end of the month with family festivities.

so i'd like to wish all my friends here at TFP a Ramadan Kareem (translated a Generous Ramadan).

i've made some good friends here over the years, muslim, christian, jewish, athiest and agnostic alike. so i wish everyone here the best of wishes for this special month. And in all honesty, i wish especially my Jewish friends a happy Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

TFP Rocks!

so i'm guessing you had a big lunch?

not yet...

its 8:30pm here right now. The fast doesnt start till about 4am which is sunrise.

ill get up in the morning and have a massive hearty breakfast at 3am though.:thumbsup:

when do children start observing Ramadan? I'm assuming your new baby isn't going to be skipping feeding times during the next month.

As far as I am aware, children aren't required to fast, but some parents encourage their children to join in for some days or for part of the day as they approach maturity.

I also would like to wish our Muslim friends a happy Ramadhan.

http://i.123g.us/c/edec_ramadan_thanku/card/106152.gif

BTW...
Foods like apples, pine nuts, flax seeds, oatmeal, green-rich salads, high fiber soups, and plums are natural appetite suppressors. Just sayin'.

Have a wonderful Ramadan.

Lucifer, allabout music if right. Fasting is only incumbant on those that have reached maturity. so roughly speaking anywhere between the ages of 10-13.

it is not incumbant on the sick, children, elderly, pregnant women, those with medical conditions etc.

i remember starting around the age of 7-8 fasting till recess, then lunchtime, then end of school and then the full day as i got older.

Thanks will....im going to go have me something to eat now!

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http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/ap/e280...1a.hmedium.jpg

Obama Dates..25 dollars a pound

In Egypt, the best dates in each year are named after politicians. This year, the best dates are named after Obama

The cool thing about Ramadan, for non-Muslims, is all the great food in the markets. Once the sun goes down, there tons of great things to eat that are usually on served during Ramadan.

The feasts at the end of the month are pretty cool too.

i'm going to take my camera out and try and capture the essence of Ramadan here in the UAE and post back here.

i think it would be interesting to see.

in saying that, different parts of the world celebrate it in different ways. Charl, or anyone else for that matter, it would be interesting to see how it is celebrated where you live. so if you have a ramadan picture, post it!

Many blessings.

Back at'cha!

:hearts:

when i was overseas, i would try to be respectful of the people fasting and not eat or drink in front of them...but i'd say a large portion of them didn't seem to be to strict about it...one thing i did notice was that the prayers that came over the loud speakers came far more often and numerous...

What happens if you break the fast? Just curious, is there penance of some kind involved? What happens if a woman is preparing food for her child and gets peanut butter on her fingers, and without thinking licks it off?

Todd, out of curiosity, what country were you in? i have no problem with people eating or drinking in front of me. mostly because i grew up in the West. here in the middle east its a little different. people are iffy about others drinking and eating in public and most food shops close during daylight hours.

lucifer, good question

if you break your fast intentionally, you need to make it up. now there's two sides to this. If you break it intentionally and you have a reason (ie. you are sick for example) then you need to make up the day after the month is over.

If you medically cant fast at all because you're diabetic, or you have stomach ulcers etc then for each day that you cannot fast you need to pay in charity the equivelant of one meal to a poor person, or buy the actual meal itself and give it to the needy. so in the case of a diabetic person who cannot fast, they'll give in charity roughly $300 (30 days x 10 dollars per meal)

If you break it intentionally and you have no excuse, i cant recall exactly, but i think its fasting 30 days for every day you missed intentionally. again if you are unable to do this, a penance to the equivelant of one meal per day. i will need to check the number of days, it may be slightly higher.

if you broke your fast unintentionally, where like you said you licked a spoon or finger, then thats counted as a freebie and you do not need to fast another day.

theres been countless times where as a kid i opened the fridge and drank chilled water till my hearts content because i had forgotten. i'd realise when my brother or mother would ask me what i was doing! this usually happens in the first few days of ramadan, and after that you kind of have it in the back of your mind. but yeah, there no need to repeat any days if you truely forgot!

thanks BG and jewels!

Wait....so you don't eat for the entire month or just sunrise to sunset?

Sunrise to sunset, LoganSnake.

President Obama has sent his Ramadan greetings to the muslim community. I'm liking his tone.

I was in Al Anbar Iraq during Ramadan 2008...