Many people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, with whom I talk about Ramadan always tell me the same. I would never be able to fast.
I’m going through every Ramadan and I thought I’d write you down what it’s like to fast.
The night before
Last night was the last night before Ramadan. My plan was to get up very early and drink some water and smoke a cigarette and go back to sleep to be well prepared for the next day. Later in bed, however, I decided to drink some water and just go to sleep and have tomorrow come to me.
The morning
I woke up this morning and was not hungry or thirsty and also had no need for a cigarette. I started my morning routine and then drove to work.
My biggest problem is the coffee and the cigarette addiction. If I did not drink coffee the time can pass. It doesn’t matter. Without coffee, I just will not wake up. This addiction haunted me all day long. I noticed the cigarette addiction really as i was driving. Again and again i pulled the window down to light a cigarette but then realized that I’m fasting.
Normally if I have not smoked a cigarette for long hours or a few days, I feel some kind of pulling in my veins. But when I fast, it feels like my body is adjusting to it, and I hardly feel a need for a cigarette.
Lack of concentration
During the day, my concentration has decreased more and more. That was not because I fasted but because of my caffeine addiction. At some point it has reached a level where I was not even been able to understand what I was reading because my body has felt so tired.
Factor time
Time passes just as fast as a smoker who counts how many hours he is already smoke free. If you constantly watch the clock, time does not pass. However, if you look for something to do and do not look at the clock, you do not even notice how time goes by.
Thirst and hunger
I did not feel hungry and/or thirsty throughout. From time to time a feeling of hunger came on but then it quickly disappeared. Last year for example, where it was extremely hot, I had a dry mouth all the time and had to rinse my mouth more often.
In such weather conditions as this year, it is very easy to fast.
The fast break
When I sat at my parents’ table in the evening, I felt as if I had not fasted. That’s the amazing thing about the human body. You take so much for this evening and think that you will eat superhumanly but once you sit at the table the feelings are very different.
Conclusion
From my own experience I can say that fasting is as possible today as it was back then. When you adjust spiritually, the body automatically adjusts itself and fasting becomes easier.
Your own body shows completely different behaviors that you didn’t know before and you feel a kind of detoxification of the body.
Apart from the Islamic duty, I think that fasting has many hidden treasures that every human explores only when he fasts himself.
