Fasting and purification: our precious Ramadan

This article is published in issue 14 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until April 5, 2022

Ramadan, which this year falls from April 2 to May 2, is one of the five pillars of Islam and is my favorite month of the year. It may seem strange because it is a month of sacrifices and privations, but we Muslims need it to purify ourselvesto make us rediscover the beauty of faith.

It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendaris the month in which the Quran fell to the Prophet Mohamed (peace and blessing be upon him), and it is the month of fast: one does not “fast” only from eating and drinking, but also from sins in general. In fact, there is no “non-practicing” Muslim, but a Muslim who sins. It is precisely in this that Ramadan finds reason to exist: it allows us to get closer to Allah (God) again and to get us back on the right path. Beyond the food he was born in drinkingan activity that, during this period, is not allowed is the smoke: like any other element that damages the human body, it is illegal for us.

There are many others, examples: bad words, unpleasant behavior, quarrels. In this month, we help those in need, we try to be more with the family. Those who do not usually pray a lot begin to do so with greater intensity; we get even closer to our sacred text, the Koran. Just to be clear: we don’t completely fast from eating and drinking for a consecutive month, it’s not humanly feasible. We do this from sunrise to sunset. And best of all, it’s not required at all. Those who must not or who can choose not to do so are: the elderly, children, pregnant women, women who have just given birth, women during their menstrual cycle, people suffering from psychiatric problems and people in general suffering from diseases due to which they take drugs.

I am 22 years old, I have always lived this time of year in Italy, and if I said that it has always been easy I would be lying. Many do not know when this month falls, because it does not always arrive at the same time of the year. It depends on the moon on the last day of the month of Shaaban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. And it is when someone outside our religion learns of this date that “torture” begins – let me pass the term. I happen to meet people who drink in front of me saying things like: “How good is the water”, as if they had only discovered it at that moment. Or who, in the heat, begins to exclaim the classic phrase: «Uh, how hot! But how do these do !? ». On social media, someone regularly reminds me of how delicious food is. And so on. Each of these negative events always has a positive side, for me. For example, Allah appreciates our effort more, and we accumulate more “Positive points” (hasanat) if we also learn a be patient. Ah, patience, this stranger … In a world always in such a hurry, it’s a wonderful thing. Patience is building, aware that time does not escape, but it is ours. Ramadan teaches me just this: the virtue of patience, which allows me to overcome any difficulty and thanks to which I know that serenity comes, is just around the corner.