Science teacher shares Ramadan experiences

Henry Boland Sports Editor

Every year, most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims participate in the holiest Islamic holiday of the year during the ninth month, Ramadan. Muslims follow the Islamic lunar calendar, consisting of 12 months based on moon sightings.

Ramadan is known as the month of remembrance and the celebration of angel Gabriel revealing the Qur’an (The Muslim Holy Book) to the Prophet Muhammed. Muhammed received the teachings of Allah and spread the Islamic faith after the Qur’an was revealed to him. Starting in the seventh century, Muslims grow their bond with Allah during this month by fasting, reciting the Qur’an, and doing good deeds.

For Muslims, participating in this holiday is one of the most important facets of their beliefs. This is because it is one of the five pillars of Islam. This list of five practices are obligatory for Muslims, fasting is one of the most important pillars.

Participating science teacher Kyle Lockos said, “It’s one of the five pillars of Islam. It’s a recognition where you fast, fasting means you’re not eating or drinking, nothing passes your lips from sunup to sundown.”

Lockos spoke about to the broader relevance of Ramadan fasting, “It’s for obeying Allah. It’s for a cleansing of your physical being, spiritual being, and it gives you a great appreciation for the less fortunate.”

Lockos participates in Ramadan every year with his family. Lockos said, “My wife, she’s a stickler. She makes us get up and we do what we’re supposed to do.”

Lockos participates with his wife and two children. Although they are older, with their own children now, the Lockos’ children have been participating their entire lives.

About the effects of fasting on him, Lockos reflected on times of participating in Ramadan when his children were young. “I feel a lot of guilt. When they were little, my kids were doing fasting. They were doing Ramadan, and I would be grumpy and crabby about it, so I felt a lot of guilt because here these little kids can do this and some grown man is having trouble doing this.”

Lockos spoke of how proud he was of his children for completing this task. “Man there’s nothing they couldn’t do, and I felt so proud of them.”

Before Muslim children reach puberty, fasting during Ramadan is not mandatory. Although many children will participate before this because they see everyone around them abstaining from food and drink and they want to participate.

Whether or not children participate, anyone who is past the understood age is required to fast. Every day, Muslims wake up well before dawn to make sure they can eat enough food to supplement them throughout the day. During Ramadan, Muslims won’t eat or drink for around 13 hours every day. Muslims follow a strict morning schedule to maximize their fuel for the day.

When discussing his family’s routine, Lockos said “We do our morning prayers and then you eat and drink as much as you can before 5:30, and then you pray again after that, and then you basically try and conserve as much energy as possible.”

Lockos said work and school keep him and his family distracted from their hunger. Regarding free time, Lockos said “We hunker down, watch a lot of movies, do a lot of day sleeping.”

Towards the end of the long 30 days of Ramadan, lots of Muslims experience tiredness, dizziness, headaches and sometimes even insomnia.

Lockos said, “You feel lighter, but you can also feel sluggish.” Lockos admitted there were many years that fasting was a great challenge to him. The sacrifice Muslims have to make to grow closer to Allah is taxing on the body but well worth it in the end.

Another Islamic holiday falls at the end of the month Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr meaning “festival of breaking fast” in Arabic is the celebration of the end of Ramadan.

Starting on April 20, this year, many Muslims gather to celebrate accomplishing the month-long fast.

Lockos said he and his family participate in Eid al-Fitr. “We go to a mosque, and we celebrate the end of Ramadan with everyone at the mosque.”

The original purpose of this fast is to sacrifice to Allah and grow closer to the Islamic higher power. Despite reaping these benefits,Lockos spoke to the positives he notices within himself. He said, “If and when you can do the full Ramadan, the full fasting, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish mentally.”