Where is the part for the person who gets up earlier than everyone else to make the food and the one who has to make the food at the end of the day, when they’re all wiped out from not drinking and eating all day? Or does everyone do their own food?
I think OP described the day of the „Muslim MAN“. The poor wife has all the extra work: taking care of the kids, preparing meals in the morning and afternoon…
My friend says she knows about how much water she needs to drink during at night to be ok during the day. You can also break fast for medical reasons (like if you medically have to drink more water due to an illness or to take medication).
I was also told by a Muslim friend from Saudi Arabia, that fasting doesn't apply to women who are on their period or pregnant. And it is optional for children as they are still growing.
Ofc It's possible that I misunderstood something, or that this isn't true for all sects of Islam/muslims
Women aren’t expected to fast while on their period, pregnant, or breastfeeding. Children don’t typically fast until about puberty (although this can vary based on a child’s readiness) Diabetics and people with other health conditions are also exempted from fasting. My husband’s family is Muslim and I typically take part in their religious events but I don’t fast because I’m chronically ill. We do give more money to charity though to make up for me not fasting.
It tracks if you think on it. It's about showing mindfulness and appreciation for the fact you have the things you are fasting from. Donating to worthwhile causes carries a lot of the same "Being aware how well you have it" connotations.
I’ve heard that also! I think it’s more so up to the individual person to decide what’s best and safe for them but there a few specific examples where everyone decides it’s best not to fast
The typical practice is that people that are not able due to medical conditions will not fast. Women who are pregnant or who are on their period are also not expected to fast. However, women will sometimes make up the time they didn’t fast during Ramadan later in the year or month. I don’t think it’s required of them, but I could be wrong.
My dad is diabetic and he don’t hold fasts because he needs to eat every couple of hrs
This for him it’s not obligation but he can denote some amount (which I am not confirmed about) of money per day or can send out food items for needy compensating for each fasts that he left out
Just another reason why religions are clearly made up by people in specific regions. Imagine being muslim and living in Nunavut. Would make no sense when the sun is out 22-24 hours a day
I believe Muslims have the option (I don't know if option is quite the right word, but good enough) to follow Mecca time. Otherwise, yes, communities above/near the Arctic circle would be unlivable due to summer daytime hours.
There is currently a Muslim astronaut on the space station, he said he will be using Greenwich Mean Time for Ramadan, as he sees like 16 sunrises a day on the station.
Jewish astronauts are also permitted to use the same religious calendar as the people at their primary ground station; do Muslims also have that option?
You’re correct. In areas where the sun is out for an extended and unreasonable amount of time for fasting they follow Mecca time. A good example is Longyearbyen in Svalbard that actually has a Muslim population that follows Mecca time.
Wouldn't it not matter as much anyway since it's in the spring and not winter/summer?
Current 'daylight' hours in the [arctic circle are 7:45 AM to 8:17 PM...](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@5870294)
It’s not done by sunrise-sunset. It’s first light and last light which extends it by a little bit more. [People in Greenland would theoretically be fasting for 18 hours a day which is pretty difficult to do.](https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/3/20/ramadan-2023-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world)
Ramadan and the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle so it moves about 10 days sooner on the solar calendar each year. This also means that some years with have more than one Ramadan. There will be a time when the sun is up for months at the extreme northern and southern latitudes so without the Mecca time addendum it would be impossible.
>Just another reason why religions are clearly made up by people in specific regions.
Hinduism is so tied to the geography of the Indian sub-continent that it stops making sense if not within it.
Let's start with the name itself. Hinduism is derived from Hindu, which is derived from the Sanskrit word for the Indus valley "Sindhu".
Hindu literally means the lands between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, and anyone living within those lands. So, technically everyone living on the Indian sub-continent is a Hindu.
All our ancient literature (well, they were orally transmitted for thousands of years before being written down) like the Vedas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata have local geographical features like valleys, plains, rivers (some of them are so old that the rivers themselves have completely disappeared, like the Saraswati), and mountains embedded into them.
Examples:
Mount Kailash in what is now Tibet is the abode of the incarnation of destructive order, Lord Shiva.
The heavenly river that was diverted down to Earth by him, the Ganges.
The river of afterlife, and the sister to the god of death and karmic retribution, the Yamuna.
The point of merging of the three holy rivers (Triveni Sangam, aka the convergence of the three goddesses) in Prayagraj (earlier known as Allahbad. You can see why the name was reverted back). The three rivers are Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical river that dried up somewhere around 3500BCE, the Saraswati.
The list goes on and on, but those are the major ones that I can remember off the top of my head.
Point is, there can be no Hinduism without the land that it originated from. Which is also a reason why it didn't really manage to keep its foothold outside of the subcontinent (at its heights, it extended from Syria to Cambodia, iirc).
[They've already got things worked out in Nunavut](https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/ramadan-in-nunavut-reporter-meral-jamal-shares-her-mothers-samosa-recipe/)
I was raised Catholic and no meat on Fridays during lent was hard! Fasting during the day for a month is a very impressive act of self discipline and commitment that I envy
I don’t regularly eat meat. Maybe once or twice a week but I don’t really think about it. But somehow I would always end up eating meat on Friday during lent! Often the only time I would eat meat that week.
The no meat during lent rule was to promote fasting (different than fasting in Islam) and because there was a meat shortage that the pope at the time wanted to mitigate. Or so I was told growing up. I’m not really Catholic anymore
I see, I thought you meant that you could not go without meat for a day, that seemed quite strange!
It really depends on where you live. When I used to live in Italy and I was younger, no meat on Friday was a rule every Friday of the year, not only during Lent. But it was also easy to remember, because the school canteen was offering fish on Friday (not exclusively), the supermarket had fish specials, the fish market received the fresh fish on Friday morning, etc.
So if you wanted it was very easy to follow.
It's actually so much easier than you think! When my health was better I found myself adapting to the fasts in a few days so the hunger didn't bother me much at all and thirst only in the last couple of hours. Sleeping or having work/entertainment to distract you made the whole thing negligible at most times. It'd probably vary with location but the human body is amazingly adaptive to our world and lifestyles.
And you get delicious food when the sun goes down! My friend invited us to Iftar once. I tried to fast before hand but didn’t do a great job. Dinner was delicious anyway.
Try some Orthodox rules: there's no animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) on Wednesday and Friday all year and none during lent, which are 4 during the year. Basically, go vegan for half a year.
This is basically, a cult.
If they are to be doing something that risks their health by not drinking water during the day they either prepare by hydrating well in the morning or go ahead and have water. It’s better to break the fast than get dangerously dehydrated. (I coached kids in sports in a hot climate)
I can tell most of these comments have no experience with kidney stones lol. I have heard that if you have medical necessity it’s usually ok to limit your fast in some way.
That's not something I've ever seen/heard of. People In general are sensible at hydrating at iftar and suhoor. Also it's just something you get used to.
Yeah, I didn’t realize before seeing it on this graph that the sleeping hours are shifted around. Which makes sense because the suhoor has to be prepared and eaten during darkness so you gotta sleep some other time
According to this graph they sleep for 5 - 6 hours during the Ramadan. Isn't that a bit too little? Personally I am totally fine with only eating before bed but not getting 7+ hours of sleep hurts.
> Hour by hour access to water is an extremely recent development for humans.
Absolutely false. All notable regions with substantial excavation of early Homo sapiens are (or were) next to fresh water. Olduvai, Nyayangi, etc.
I have always wondered. If you work a full time night schedule, as I did much of my career, does that change your Ramadan obligations?
Up at 5pm and bed at 9am routinely. Come to think of it, when would you say your usual prayers? Shift everything by 12 hours?
>Come to think of it, when would you say your usual prayers? Shift everything by 12 hours?
No the times are fixed based on the position of the sun. I regularly did 8pm to 3 am. Ramadan is easier but you miss out on the rewards of taraweeh and waking for dhuhr and asr was hard at first but eventually it became part of the routine
Resident here, but not Muslim. We often have to work night shift for weeks or a month at a time. I have had Muslim colleagues who request night shift during Ramadan exactly for this loophole.
I am an academic and work from home in Ramadan, so I work at night or even watch videos do random stuff at night, and sleep most of the day. I do have to wake up for prayers so yeah.
This is really misleading... from the size of the sections, it looks like it would take you 1 hour to pray Maghrib? Why? It takes maybe 2-3 mins to wash up and maaaaaybe 5-7 mins to pray. Also, are you really getting this little sleep? You can sleep right after taraweeh and wake up for suhoor, go back to sleep after fajr, and maybe take a nap during the day to total anywhere from 8-12 hours of sleep.
Eta: I'm not trying to be mean, just saying it really does not need to be this hard.
Haha true. A lot of muslims dont take a lot of rules as strict than others.
Recently at a party, see some palestinian dude about to drink straight vodka, "hey bruh thats vodka, youre muslim, no?"
"Nah, not today" 💀 was pretty funny to see him get drunk very fast because he isnt used to it.
By quran you also cant smoke or hookah is what a muslim girl from work told me, but most turks still go hookah regularly where i live.
Also i had a persian woman at work and we also talked alcohol, she said yea sure in iran its "banned" but lots of peoole just brew some at home.
I live in the US and one of the hardest partying dudes I ever knew was Muslim. He drank, smoked, did a *ton* of blow but he was really particular about *never* eating pork. Cracked me up.
Lol yep, when I studied in Egypt I had a lot of Muslim friends who drank alcohol. I remember I was at a party one night and my buddy (who had been drinking red bull and vodka all night) said "better have fun tonight, I have to stop drinking when Ramadan starts next week."
Yeah I had a coworker who would fast and skip happy hour during this time but would show up at parties in the evening and pound drinks. Dude was a fun set of contradictions.
In most situations, you can pray before meetings as it takes like 3 - 5 mins, but if the time comes in during the meeting then you can ask for a washroom break and just pray. In emergency situations you can delay the prayer such as travelling or you're sick. Even then you are allowed to combine prayers and shorten them (even though it was already pretty short). There is a protocol for almost every situation in Islam.
Honestly I'm pretty perplexed by how hours are depicted-- full blocks of every other hour, and I'm not quite sure where the exempted hours fall.
Edit: looking at it for a bit longer, I guess it has to be that each hour matches up to the line preceding it, but there's got to be a better way to depict that.
Honestly as a not-very-pious Muslim, fasting is kinda fun. I don't really pray, but I always fast during Ramadan. It's basically early breakfast and skipping lunch. As a side effect, i start my day earlier, i lose weight, and have time for more activities. Usually after the second day my body already gets used to it. But of course, YMMV, and to each their own i guess.
Oh, and breaking fast can also be a nice social event. Every year there's always one or two non-Muslim friends who want to try fasting so we have a nice big dinner with them and it's all good fun.
I know reddit gets salty when people talk about Islam, but fasting is not as bad as it sounds.
Non Muslim question. Is Iftaar strictly for Muslims? Can they invite non Muslim friends like the token Jew at Christmas or the token Christian at Seder? My woke non Muslim friend implied I was being disrespectful at the culture dipping on Ramadan.
Yep, the plot is he was trying to commit to the fast to be supportive, but had a little snack in the afternoon. The hosts find out at dinner, hilarity ensues
When I was leaving, I thought the lack of discipline aspect might negatively affect me, but I found engagement to my craft to be better for that purpose than something I wasn't enthusiastic about. I also examined whether other people who prayed benefited from the discipline and I just didn't see it in the populace around me.
A belief is generally built upon a foundation of presuppositions.
Islam instills certain presuppositions into you during childhood indoctrination, forbids you from questioning them, and builds the rest of the religion on top of that. At that point, when one is within the cult, what may seem illogical to you from the outside will not seem illogical to the person within the cult, because he's operating from deeply embedded presuppositions which support the faulty logic of the religion. Moreover, your belief is "strong" in that it becomes an emotional part of you, it is a compelling part of your understanding of the world. And it says you'll be punished for not believing. So there's a huge amount of confirmation bias at play. At any given point in a Muslims life or religious discourse, Muslims will be exchanging confirmatory "evidence". Most of it is silly, but it feels good emotionally whereas the opposing evidence feels bad to even consider. It's very rare that a debate on religion can go through the surface level confirmatory evidence and go hit the root underlying assumptions we were programmed with as a child.
When the underlying assumptions are severed, all the beliefs on top of that come tumbling down. You don't forget them. They just become emotionally deactivated. You no longer get run by the beliefs. The process is akin to a internal conflict, by the end of which one's perception on religion changes so much that one literally cannot believe he didn't see the obvious before. It's like how hallucinogenic drugs make you not just look also feel differently about the very same phenomena. But in this case, you're sober. The belief just de-activates and you can't look at the subject the same anymore. You keep poking it like one keeps poking a scar in one's mouth but that's it.
For Islam, the underlying assumptions are that Muhammad was a perfect human being and was a messenger for the Quran, which is the divine literal word of god.
You aren't allowed to examine these claims in a Muslim country, and are quite literally indoctrinated with them by the time you're 5-10. In my entire adult life, I never heard a criticism of Muhammad or Quran or Islam spoken out loud. But IF you do secretly go against the rules and examine these beliefs, I promise you they'll start to look goofy. The shock of Disillusionment is insane. There is so much valid holes in the logic of these assumptions. So many reasons to doubt. each of them hit hard once they start hitting.
From a scientific, moral, but most importantly simply logical standpoint. For instance, the only evidence that the Quran is divine... Is because it says so? Wtf. That's like a extension cable that plugs into itself. And that's not even the good stuff. Why is Muhammad owning dozens of sex slaves and capturing/buying/selling them why is literal sex slavery of women who's families you slaughtered in the Quran? Why couldn't God outlaw slavery, cause he was afraid of trends at the time? What a cowardly god. Why is Muhammad marrying a 6 year old, making child marriages and child rape legal for all time? Hundreds of millions of young girls will get married as children because Muhammad set that example. Why is the criteria by which God judges you good enough to go to heaven "gullibility"? (I.e. the thing God cares the most about is whether you can believe in his dumb religion, book and especially prophet without any evidence. And doing this is enough to earn eternal rewards, also promised without evidence). Why is Allah such a cringy teenager in the Quran screaming "love me"? Why does the character of the universe that the Quran claims the character Allah created utterly indifferent to the Quran, and unlike the character Allah, it seems as if the Quran is subject to reality falsely claiming reality for itself rather than it's author. And it keeps on going on.
But generally, the indoctrination from childhood is strong enough to make people have a very strong aversion to even hearing basic logic against the Quran.
So for me, becoming disillusioned (or unhypnotized as I like to call it) started with becoming suspicious with the faulty logic at the top. The mullahs, the people who prayed all day and didn't get any more peaceful, how it was a joke that those who went to Hajj came back unchanged, how prayers didn't result in anything, the generally ignorant and hatefulness and backwardness of the religious, and so on.
These things made me think "hang on. Maybe the followers don't represent the religion". So I looked at the underlying religion. The more I looked, the more the underlying assumptions got eroded. And with that religion ended.
I find humor to be a very effective vehicle for exposing the absurdity of untruth:
So, to summarize, you disbelieved because:
- you find no evidence of the divinity of the Qur'an & the prophethood of Muhammad
- you disagree with a lot of the Islamic laws on a moral standpoint
- you think a lot of the religious people are hypocrites
As an ex-Christian, the release of the burden of guilt rings true. I wasted so much of my life worrying about what some fictional guy in the sky thought about trivial stuff I was doing.
I worked with a gal who was Muslim. She would adjust her hours to work early and to be done early during Ramadan. We had some very candid talks. I was very grateful to have had the chance to work with her so that I could ask her all the questions that I would never ask a total stranger!
Each prayer time only takes about five minutes. In general, during normal working days, you only do prayer twice at around lunchtime and in the afternoon. So that's 10 minutes out of 8 hours.
Many work during the day, some only sleep lol
Also: this graph is very optimistic. Believing Muslim also postpone prayers during the day when they need to work and stuff.
OP described the world of a very pious Muslim.
I will never forget the my boy Moe our only ever Muslim hire. Boss observed him praying 3 days in a row and rapidly found cause to shit can him. RIP you were a great rigger Mohammed.
There’s usually some rationale for the rules, even if it’s outdated or not well-understood.
“No water” is pretty extreme. I’m just curious if there was a reason.
One of the points of fasting during Ramadan is to bring into focus some of the things we take for granted. Food and water are both essential things that many of us hardly take the time to be grateful for.
important to know that fasting is actually healthy for the human body, but not the fasting muslims do, fasting with water is scientifically proven to be healthy to do.
It's not just water. muslims (or muslims who actually takes it seriously) must NOT: argue or fight, use curse words, gossip or talk about others badly, have sex or look at intimate stuff.
The goal of fasting is for a couple things. worshipping, self-discipline, compassion for people who are less fortunate than you, and for health benefits.
In Islam, certain actions are deemed disapproved, and during the period of fasting, engaging in them would nullify the fast, which is a great sin. The essence of fasting lies in serving as a month-long reminder to abstain from these actions during the daytime, by imposing a complete prohibition.
I know I‘m supposed to have respect for faiths, but I don’t. I find this equally stupid as all other religious rituals. Voluntary dehydration because some desert monk found out a self proclaimed benevolent deity will torment you forever if you don’t.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I grew up Muslim, and although I’m not really sure I identify as one anymore, fasting during Ramadan was some of the best experiences I had growing up. I felt healthy, almost rejuvenated, I felt like I was doing something meaningful alongside of many other people all over the world who I didn’t even know. I connected more with my community, had interesting and intentional self reflective time, made friends, was probably more patient and kinder to others, and ate good food each night. My family always encouraged me to fast but I never felt forced, and if there were days I didn’t fast, that was okay with everyone, and it was the same for all my friends. I did grow up in a western country, so I know that privileges my situation a little. I’m now what I call a full fledged adult and still try to fast.
I used to think "fasting" for the month of Ramadan actually meant fasting for the month of Ramadan. Like hunger strike type fasting. I thought they must drink of course, but no eating, and that fasting was something only the extremely devout did (like monks). And maybe a "month" was only a couple weeks, not an actual month. It seemed plausible. Then I found out all it means is you skip lunch for a month. In that case, I fast 3 or 4 times a day.
I've been doing 22-2 intermittent fasting this entire time and these guys making not eating/drinking for 13 hours a huge deal.
If anything, the hardest part of ramadan is not even the hunger/thirst temptation, but maintaining purity of your mind and action.
To be honest, this is also stupid because you're only exempted from doing 'bad things' during fasting period (which is like what, 13-14 hours at most) then you're free to do whatever you want during this 'holy' month. lol.
I always find that funny.
Honest question: What is the difference between this and a sect, a cult? If someone tells me that you have to repeat certain words five times a day and practice funny submissive gestures in order to be happy, then something is wrong.
Is it really a fast if you stuff yourself with food right before the sun rises? This appears to be at conflict with the kinds of fasting that we see Jesus and others doing.
You are 100% looney if you dedicate this much to some made up sky daddy. I literally instantly know your critical thinking skills are not strong if you are religious. Hate me all you want but religious people are out here trying to force their views on me it’s time to shame them for it.
I’m a Muslim (not Sunni or Shiite so maybe my experience is a bit different) and I find the month incredibly fulfilling mentally and spiritually. Tell a redditor about mindfulness and meditation and they’ll lose their minds how profound it is but somebody dedicating one month a year to a more minimalist, self reflective and spiritual way and they’re called idiots and barbarians.
Original the time from carnaval to Easter is spend without meat or alcohol and as a time of reflection. It is mostly practiced by more orthodox Christians in the Greece/Balkan area now.
In this time dry January / vegan January is a thing, which has the same practical implications but not the social or spiritual. People tend to like periods of minimizing, apparently.
Ehh, idk if I'd say "as prevalent as ever." Sheer numbers wise, definitely. However, the percentage of religious people is dropping pretty significantly in the vast majority of countries.
Well I need to come up with a religious ritual then. Look at all that free time cause some desert person said something that no one could verify. Meanwhile every other person working picking up their slack.
One of the many reasons I enjoy being an ex Muslim or atheist.
What a bunch of rules that were made up centuries ago, that we still need to follow?
The worst part is how much gluttony goes on during Iftar.. The amount of food they eat when they break fast is just insane.
Which is okay right ? Why should we be extremists and judge them? Let the do their thing, as long as they don’t hypocritically talk about their religion all the time.
Where is the part for the person who gets up earlier than everyone else to make the food and the one who has to make the food at the end of the day, when they’re all wiped out from not drinking and eating all day? Or does everyone do their own food?
Yep.. the mothers/sisters in our community works the hardest especially during Ramadan.
Absolutely true for homes but in the masjid it’s always the old uncle crew hard at work cooking iftar and dinner
I think OP described the day of the „Muslim MAN“. The poor wife has all the extra work: taking care of the kids, preparing meals in the morning and afternoon…
But if she's menstruating she is exempt from fasting
Haha, you think women are persons? Silly atheists
Do Muslims have a higher rate of kidney stones during Ramadan? I can't imagine not drinking water for 10-12 hours.
My friend says she knows about how much water she needs to drink during at night to be ok during the day. You can also break fast for medical reasons (like if you medically have to drink more water due to an illness or to take medication).
I was also told by a Muslim friend from Saudi Arabia, that fasting doesn't apply to women who are on their period or pregnant. And it is optional for children as they are still growing. Ofc It's possible that I misunderstood something, or that this isn't true for all sects of Islam/muslims
Women aren’t expected to fast while on their period, pregnant, or breastfeeding. Children don’t typically fast until about puberty (although this can vary based on a child’s readiness) Diabetics and people with other health conditions are also exempted from fasting. My husband’s family is Muslim and I typically take part in their religious events but I don’t fast because I’m chronically ill. We do give more money to charity though to make up for me not fasting.
> We do give more money to charity though to make up for me not fasting. real mfin calvinball hours
It tracks if you think on it. It's about showing mindfulness and appreciation for the fact you have the things you are fasting from. Donating to worthwhile causes carries a lot of the same "Being aware how well you have it" connotations.
I like this, this is very nice thank you for explaining
Thank you for the clarification!
>Women aren’t expected to fast while on their period, pregnant, or breastfeeding Not not expected to. They're not allowed to
I’ve heard that also! I think it’s more so up to the individual person to decide what’s best and safe for them but there a few specific examples where everyone decides it’s best not to fast
Every Muslim knows a number of people who cannot fast for any number of reasons
The typical practice is that people that are not able due to medical conditions will not fast. Women who are pregnant or who are on their period are also not expected to fast. However, women will sometimes make up the time they didn’t fast during Ramadan later in the year or month. I don’t think it’s required of them, but I could be wrong.
My dad is diabetic and he don’t hold fasts because he needs to eat every couple of hrs This for him it’s not obligation but he can denote some amount (which I am not confirmed about) of money per day or can send out food items for needy compensating for each fasts that he left out
Crazy that a religion from the desert developed the tradition to fast from even water while the sun is out for a whole month!
Yes but remember that near the equator the days are about the same length all year. So super long day light hours weren't part of the design.
Just another reason why religions are clearly made up by people in specific regions. Imagine being muslim and living in Nunavut. Would make no sense when the sun is out 22-24 hours a day
I believe Muslims have the option (I don't know if option is quite the right word, but good enough) to follow Mecca time. Otherwise, yes, communities above/near the Arctic circle would be unlivable due to summer daytime hours.
There is currently a Muslim astronaut on the space station, he said he will be using Greenwich Mean Time for Ramadan, as he sees like 16 sunrises a day on the station.
Lol. Just for shits and giggles, he should try following the sunset and sundown rules for 24 hours up there.
He could fast for 7 days (sunrises) straight and be done with Ramadan in a few hours.
Jewish astronauts are also permitted to use the same religious calendar as the people at their primary ground station; do Muslims also have that option?
Snacking 16 times a day would be funnier.
Oh wow! I hear they are very, very busy when they're up there. Though perhaps things have improved in the 40 years since the strike?
You’re correct. In areas where the sun is out for an extended and unreasonable amount of time for fasting they follow Mecca time. A good example is Longyearbyen in Svalbard that actually has a Muslim population that follows Mecca time.
Wouldn't it not matter as much anyway since it's in the spring and not winter/summer? Current 'daylight' hours in the [arctic circle are 7:45 AM to 8:17 PM...](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@5870294)
It’s not done by sunrise-sunset. It’s first light and last light which extends it by a little bit more. [People in Greenland would theoretically be fasting for 18 hours a day which is pretty difficult to do.](https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/3/20/ramadan-2023-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world)
It’s actually first light to sunset, not last light.
Ramadan and the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle so it moves about 10 days sooner on the solar calendar each year. This also means that some years with have more than one Ramadan. There will be a time when the sun is up for months at the extreme northern and southern latitudes so without the Mecca time addendum it would be impossible.
OTOH, living up near the Arctic Circle when Ramadan happens to fall during the winter months would be a breeze.
>Just another reason why religions are clearly made up by people in specific regions. Hinduism is so tied to the geography of the Indian sub-continent that it stops making sense if not within it.
What are some examples of that? Would love to hear them!
Let's start with the name itself. Hinduism is derived from Hindu, which is derived from the Sanskrit word for the Indus valley "Sindhu". Hindu literally means the lands between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, and anyone living within those lands. So, technically everyone living on the Indian sub-continent is a Hindu. All our ancient literature (well, they were orally transmitted for thousands of years before being written down) like the Vedas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata have local geographical features like valleys, plains, rivers (some of them are so old that the rivers themselves have completely disappeared, like the Saraswati), and mountains embedded into them. Examples: Mount Kailash in what is now Tibet is the abode of the incarnation of destructive order, Lord Shiva. The heavenly river that was diverted down to Earth by him, the Ganges. The river of afterlife, and the sister to the god of death and karmic retribution, the Yamuna. The point of merging of the three holy rivers (Triveni Sangam, aka the convergence of the three goddesses) in Prayagraj (earlier known as Allahbad. You can see why the name was reverted back). The three rivers are Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical river that dried up somewhere around 3500BCE, the Saraswati. The list goes on and on, but those are the major ones that I can remember off the top of my head. Point is, there can be no Hinduism without the land that it originated from. Which is also a reason why it didn't really manage to keep its foothold outside of the subcontinent (at its heights, it extended from Syria to Cambodia, iirc).
[They've already got things worked out in Nunavut](https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/ramadan-in-nunavut-reporter-meral-jamal-shares-her-mothers-samosa-recipe/)
The difficulty is the point though, It's supposed to help you empathize for those without.
It's a great way to ~~get religious experiences~~ induce hallucinations though
I was raised Catholic and no meat on Fridays during lent was hard! Fasting during the day for a month is a very impressive act of self discipline and commitment that I envy
No meat on Friday is hard?? I always considered just a fake rule, basically an excuse to eat fish regularly.
I don’t regularly eat meat. Maybe once or twice a week but I don’t really think about it. But somehow I would always end up eating meat on Friday during lent! Often the only time I would eat meat that week. The no meat during lent rule was to promote fasting (different than fasting in Islam) and because there was a meat shortage that the pope at the time wanted to mitigate. Or so I was told growing up. I’m not really Catholic anymore
I see, I thought you meant that you could not go without meat for a day, that seemed quite strange! It really depends on where you live. When I used to live in Italy and I was younger, no meat on Friday was a rule every Friday of the year, not only during Lent. But it was also easy to remember, because the school canteen was offering fish on Friday (not exclusively), the supermarket had fish specials, the fish market received the fresh fish on Friday morning, etc. So if you wanted it was very easy to follow.
It's actually so much easier than you think! When my health was better I found myself adapting to the fasts in a few days so the hunger didn't bother me much at all and thirst only in the last couple of hours. Sleeping or having work/entertainment to distract you made the whole thing negligible at most times. It'd probably vary with location but the human body is amazingly adaptive to our world and lifestyles.
And you get delicious food when the sun goes down! My friend invited us to Iftar once. I tried to fast before hand but didn’t do a great job. Dinner was delicious anyway.
Try some Orthodox rules: there's no animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) on Wednesday and Friday all year and none during lent, which are 4 during the year. Basically, go vegan for half a year. This is basically, a cult.
Ecologically we should all probably do that
As a doctor, I have never seen this. I've seen several people majorly screw up their diabetes during Ramadan though.
If they are to be doing something that risks their health by not drinking water during the day they either prepare by hydrating well in the morning or go ahead and have water. It’s better to break the fast than get dangerously dehydrated. (I coached kids in sports in a hot climate)
I can tell most of these comments have no experience with kidney stones lol. I have heard that if you have medical necessity it’s usually ok to limit your fast in some way.
That's not something I've ever seen/heard of. People In general are sensible at hydrating at iftar and suhoor. Also it's just something you get used to.
I think if you hydrate properly 10-12 hours isn't a huge deal. Doing that in a hot as kitchen during that time, now that's how you get kidney stones
Not hydrating during a night’s sleep is fine but not drinking water during a hot day can be bad.
You do it every night when you sleep, I can't imagine it's much of a problem.
Yeah, I didn’t realize before seeing it on this graph that the sleeping hours are shifted around. Which makes sense because the suhoor has to be prepared and eaten during darkness so you gotta sleep some other time
According to this graph they sleep for 5 - 6 hours during the Ramadan. Isn't that a bit too little? Personally I am totally fine with only eating before bed but not getting 7+ hours of sleep hurts.
I noticed that too, seems like less sleep overall. But when you’re taking naps throughout the day maybe it’s not so bad?
I mean, according to the chart its 6 *with* the hour during the day. Being split up in 3 chunks probably doesn't help either.
Probably slightly higher, but it’s not medically necessary. Hour by hour access to water is an extremely recent development for humans.
> Hour by hour access to water is an extremely recent development for humans. Absolutely false. All notable regions with substantial excavation of early Homo sapiens are (or were) next to fresh water. Olduvai, Nyayangi, etc.
No. If you look at oldest civilisations - all were settled near rivers/coastal areas.
Civilization is also an extremely recent development for humans
Ok then, so is recording our incidence of kidney stones and reliably living past 50.
I have always wondered. If you work a full time night schedule, as I did much of my career, does that change your Ramadan obligations? Up at 5pm and bed at 9am routinely. Come to think of it, when would you say your usual prayers? Shift everything by 12 hours?
>Come to think of it, when would you say your usual prayers? Shift everything by 12 hours? No the times are fixed based on the position of the sun. I regularly did 8pm to 3 am. Ramadan is easier but you miss out on the rewards of taraweeh and waking for dhuhr and asr was hard at first but eventually it became part of the routine
Resident here, but not Muslim. We often have to work night shift for weeks or a month at a time. I have had Muslim colleagues who request night shift during Ramadan exactly for this loophole.
Nope. You are punished enough by working night shift, so you get an easier Ramadan.
I think you just discovered a loophole kind friend. Spread the word
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>flip their fast to match their schedule Where the heck did you get this from 🥴
literally no muslim does this lol. Stop making shit up.
I am an academic and work from home in Ramadan, so I work at night or even watch videos do random stuff at night, and sleep most of the day. I do have to wake up for prayers so yeah.
Probably better suited for something like r/coolguides. There really isn't any quant data collected here.
Nice /r/Infographics but not a [qualifying data visualization](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/wiki/rules/rule1).
Which Muslim takes ONE HOUR each for shalat maghrib and isha?
Maybe they do dua/read quean a lot in that time span. Everyone's prayer is 'different'
Can confirm. My mother usually spends time after praying reading the Quran
This is really misleading... from the size of the sections, it looks like it would take you 1 hour to pray Maghrib? Why? It takes maybe 2-3 mins to wash up and maaaaaybe 5-7 mins to pray. Also, are you really getting this little sleep? You can sleep right after taraweeh and wake up for suhoor, go back to sleep after fajr, and maybe take a nap during the day to total anywhere from 8-12 hours of sleep. Eta: I'm not trying to be mean, just saying it really does not need to be this hard.
For real, is bro reciting al-baqara in each rkat or something? Each prayer takes less than 5 minutes, it wouldn't even be visible in a chart.
Some people are religious, some people are *very* religious
Nice name btw I love biryani made by moms !
Day in a Life of your fasting* Muslim Colleagues. I have enough Muslim friends who couldn't give less of a shit
Haha true. A lot of muslims dont take a lot of rules as strict than others. Recently at a party, see some palestinian dude about to drink straight vodka, "hey bruh thats vodka, youre muslim, no?" "Nah, not today" 💀 was pretty funny to see him get drunk very fast because he isnt used to it. By quran you also cant smoke or hookah is what a muslim girl from work told me, but most turks still go hookah regularly where i live. Also i had a persian woman at work and we also talked alcohol, she said yea sure in iran its "banned" but lots of peoole just brew some at home.
I live in the US and one of the hardest partying dudes I ever knew was Muslim. He drank, smoked, did a *ton* of blow but he was really particular about *never* eating pork. Cracked me up.
This is called „the full Dubai“
Lol yep, when I studied in Egypt I had a lot of Muslim friends who drank alcohol. I remember I was at a party one night and my buddy (who had been drinking red bull and vodka all night) said "better have fun tonight, I have to stop drinking when Ramadan starts next week."
Which is weird, because 2 months before ramadan are considered holy months as well. But not that some would care 😂
I feel like the people who observe those months are not the type to consume alcohol even outside of the holy months lmao
Yeah I had a coworker who would fast and skip happy hour during this time but would show up at parties in the evening and pound drinks. Dude was a fun set of contradictions.
I have several Muslim friends and only one isn’t religious. None of them pray.
What happens if you absolutely cannot pray, like in the middle of a business meeting or emergency situations?
generally, you put it off a little bit.
Thanks, just curious.
In most situations, you can pray before meetings as it takes like 3 - 5 mins, but if the time comes in during the meeting then you can ask for a washroom break and just pray. In emergency situations you can delay the prayer such as travelling or you're sick. Even then you are allowed to combine prayers and shorten them (even though it was already pretty short). There is a protocol for almost every situation in Islam.
They don’t call it “organized” religion for nothing.
Honestly I'm pretty perplexed by how hours are depicted-- full blocks of every other hour, and I'm not quite sure where the exempted hours fall. Edit: looking at it for a bit longer, I guess it has to be that each hour matches up to the line preceding it, but there's got to be a better way to depict that.
Imagine how much time spent on praying over a lifetime you couldve spent shitposting on the internet.
1.5 years of my life well spent
I knew this guy, not very religious muslim, but he fasted through Ramadan. I thought it was odd that otherwise secular dude put in the work.
Honestly as a not-very-pious Muslim, fasting is kinda fun. I don't really pray, but I always fast during Ramadan. It's basically early breakfast and skipping lunch. As a side effect, i start my day earlier, i lose weight, and have time for more activities. Usually after the second day my body already gets used to it. But of course, YMMV, and to each their own i guess. Oh, and breaking fast can also be a nice social event. Every year there's always one or two non-Muslim friends who want to try fasting so we have a nice big dinner with them and it's all good fun. I know reddit gets salty when people talk about Islam, but fasting is not as bad as it sounds.
Ex-muslim here. I noticed I gained a lot of free time with a lot less guilt after I stopped praying.
Non Muslim question. Is Iftaar strictly for Muslims? Can they invite non Muslim friends like the token Jew at Christmas or the token Christian at Seder? My woke non Muslim friend implied I was being disrespectful at the culture dipping on Ramadan.
You absolutely can go, it’s not strictly for Muslims at all
I'm a non muslim living in a muslim country and been to so many Iftar with friends, It's for everyone.
That has a Curb Your Enthusiasm bit written all over it. Larry David going for the free food.
Yep, the plot is he was trying to commit to the fast to be supportive, but had a little snack in the afternoon. The hosts find out at dinner, hilarity ensues
Nope. Back when I still had lots of friends, we would all have iftar together, including my non muslim friends. Everyone is very much welcome.
I cant think of any reason why not. Its just a meal
My friend invited me to Iftaar this year and I'm not Muslim, so I'm gonna say no.
You’re going to miss out on a feast
Oh, to be clear I was saying no to the question "Is Iftaar strictly for Muslims."
My first thought in seeing this was “wow, so much wasted time that could be used for activities”
When I was leaving, I thought the lack of discipline aspect might negatively affect me, but I found engagement to my craft to be better for that purpose than something I wasn't enthusiastic about. I also examined whether other people who prayed benefited from the discipline and I just didn't see it in the populace around me.
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Ex Muslim here, too. Let's be honest : Fasting gives a happiness! You know what gives more happiness than that? : not fasting!
Congrats on getting out, I imagine it must be tough. Good luck to you!
You should feel guilt! you will burn in hell fire at the hands of the most merciful creator if you don't pray /s
I was ready to downvote you 😅 Those words could be actual arguments by hardcore believers. I am glad it's satire.
I can imagine, I think my more religious Muslim coworkers uses around three months per year just for the faith.
What made you leave, out of curiosity?
A belief is generally built upon a foundation of presuppositions. Islam instills certain presuppositions into you during childhood indoctrination, forbids you from questioning them, and builds the rest of the religion on top of that. At that point, when one is within the cult, what may seem illogical to you from the outside will not seem illogical to the person within the cult, because he's operating from deeply embedded presuppositions which support the faulty logic of the religion. Moreover, your belief is "strong" in that it becomes an emotional part of you, it is a compelling part of your understanding of the world. And it says you'll be punished for not believing. So there's a huge amount of confirmation bias at play. At any given point in a Muslims life or religious discourse, Muslims will be exchanging confirmatory "evidence". Most of it is silly, but it feels good emotionally whereas the opposing evidence feels bad to even consider. It's very rare that a debate on religion can go through the surface level confirmatory evidence and go hit the root underlying assumptions we were programmed with as a child. When the underlying assumptions are severed, all the beliefs on top of that come tumbling down. You don't forget them. They just become emotionally deactivated. You no longer get run by the beliefs. The process is akin to a internal conflict, by the end of which one's perception on religion changes so much that one literally cannot believe he didn't see the obvious before. It's like how hallucinogenic drugs make you not just look also feel differently about the very same phenomena. But in this case, you're sober. The belief just de-activates and you can't look at the subject the same anymore. You keep poking it like one keeps poking a scar in one's mouth but that's it. For Islam, the underlying assumptions are that Muhammad was a perfect human being and was a messenger for the Quran, which is the divine literal word of god. You aren't allowed to examine these claims in a Muslim country, and are quite literally indoctrinated with them by the time you're 5-10. In my entire adult life, I never heard a criticism of Muhammad or Quran or Islam spoken out loud. But IF you do secretly go against the rules and examine these beliefs, I promise you they'll start to look goofy. The shock of Disillusionment is insane. There is so much valid holes in the logic of these assumptions. So many reasons to doubt. each of them hit hard once they start hitting. From a scientific, moral, but most importantly simply logical standpoint. For instance, the only evidence that the Quran is divine... Is because it says so? Wtf. That's like a extension cable that plugs into itself. And that's not even the good stuff. Why is Muhammad owning dozens of sex slaves and capturing/buying/selling them why is literal sex slavery of women who's families you slaughtered in the Quran? Why couldn't God outlaw slavery, cause he was afraid of trends at the time? What a cowardly god. Why is Muhammad marrying a 6 year old, making child marriages and child rape legal for all time? Hundreds of millions of young girls will get married as children because Muhammad set that example. Why is the criteria by which God judges you good enough to go to heaven "gullibility"? (I.e. the thing God cares the most about is whether you can believe in his dumb religion, book and especially prophet without any evidence. And doing this is enough to earn eternal rewards, also promised without evidence). Why is Allah such a cringy teenager in the Quran screaming "love me"? Why does the character of the universe that the Quran claims the character Allah created utterly indifferent to the Quran, and unlike the character Allah, it seems as if the Quran is subject to reality falsely claiming reality for itself rather than it's author. And it keeps on going on. But generally, the indoctrination from childhood is strong enough to make people have a very strong aversion to even hearing basic logic against the Quran. So for me, becoming disillusioned (or unhypnotized as I like to call it) started with becoming suspicious with the faulty logic at the top. The mullahs, the people who prayed all day and didn't get any more peaceful, how it was a joke that those who went to Hajj came back unchanged, how prayers didn't result in anything, the generally ignorant and hatefulness and backwardness of the religious, and so on. These things made me think "hang on. Maybe the followers don't represent the religion". So I looked at the underlying religion. The more I looked, the more the underlying assumptions got eroded. And with that religion ended. I find humor to be a very effective vehicle for exposing the absurdity of untruth:
So, to summarize, you disbelieved because: - you find no evidence of the divinity of the Qur'an & the prophethood of Muhammad - you disagree with a lot of the Islamic laws on a moral standpoint - you think a lot of the religious people are hypocrites
As an ex-Christian, the release of the burden of guilt rings true. I wasted so much of my life worrying about what some fictional guy in the sky thought about trivial stuff I was doing.
I worked with a gal who was Muslim. She would adjust her hours to work early and to be done early during Ramadan. We had some very candid talks. I was very grateful to have had the chance to work with her so that I could ask her all the questions that I would never ask a total stranger!
Being religious seems like a chore.
How do they get any work done?
Each prayer time only takes about five minutes. In general, during normal working days, you only do prayer twice at around lunchtime and in the afternoon. So that's 10 minutes out of 8 hours.
Many work during the day, some only sleep lol Also: this graph is very optimistic. Believing Muslim also postpone prayers during the day when they need to work and stuff. OP described the world of a very pious Muslim.
Can also do the prayer during lunch in your car.
Why do people do this? Never properly researched Ramadan so forgive the ignorance pls lol
If you replace prayer with meditation, you can find these type of schedules on r/intermittentfasting.
I will never forget the my boy Moe our only ever Muslim hire. Boss observed him praying 3 days in a row and rapidly found cause to shit can him. RIP you were a great rigger Mohammed.
Damn, your boss is a douchebag
moe shoulda sued and made bank
Comments are gonna be something
I came in with low expectations and was still disappointed.
...Yep, it's the expected outcome.
I know Ramadan has started because of the dates in the supermarket!
Praise Jesus I’m an atheist!
Yeah I don't have a lot of empathy for this self imposed suffering. Just eat and drink, you are a human being with physiological needs.
Praise the Lord I don't follow stone age religions designed to control people!
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I don’t understand the reason for no water during the day. Is there a rationale for that? Or is it just “because that’s what the rules say”?
Isnt most religion just what the rules say anymore?
There’s usually some rationale for the rules, even if it’s outdated or not well-understood. “No water” is pretty extreme. I’m just curious if there was a reason.
One of the points of fasting during Ramadan is to bring into focus some of the things we take for granted. Food and water are both essential things that many of us hardly take the time to be grateful for.
Thanks for the answer.
important to know that fasting is actually healthy for the human body, but not the fasting muslims do, fasting with water is scientifically proven to be healthy to do.
It's not just water. muslims (or muslims who actually takes it seriously) must NOT: argue or fight, use curse words, gossip or talk about others badly, have sex or look at intimate stuff. The goal of fasting is for a couple things. worshipping, self-discipline, compassion for people who are less fortunate than you, and for health benefits. In Islam, certain actions are deemed disapproved, and during the period of fasting, engaging in them would nullify the fast, which is a great sin. The essence of fasting lies in serving as a month-long reminder to abstain from these actions during the daytime, by imposing a complete prohibition.
I know I‘m supposed to have respect for faiths, but I don’t. I find this equally stupid as all other religious rituals. Voluntary dehydration because some desert monk found out a self proclaimed benevolent deity will torment you forever if you don’t.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I grew up Muslim, and although I’m not really sure I identify as one anymore, fasting during Ramadan was some of the best experiences I had growing up. I felt healthy, almost rejuvenated, I felt like I was doing something meaningful alongside of many other people all over the world who I didn’t even know. I connected more with my community, had interesting and intentional self reflective time, made friends, was probably more patient and kinder to others, and ate good food each night. My family always encouraged me to fast but I never felt forced, and if there were days I didn’t fast, that was okay with everyone, and it was the same for all my friends. I did grow up in a western country, so I know that privileges my situation a little. I’m now what I call a full fledged adult and still try to fast.
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I used to think "fasting" for the month of Ramadan actually meant fasting for the month of Ramadan. Like hunger strike type fasting. I thought they must drink of course, but no eating, and that fasting was something only the extremely devout did (like monks). And maybe a "month" was only a couple weeks, not an actual month. It seemed plausible. Then I found out all it means is you skip lunch for a month. In that case, I fast 3 or 4 times a day.
You skip lunch 4 times a day?
That is because you do not know about Second Breakfast, Elevensie, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper, and Midnight Snack.
Checkmate strider
I've been doing 22-2 intermittent fasting this entire time and these guys making not eating/drinking for 13 hours a huge deal. If anything, the hardest part of ramadan is not even the hunger/thirst temptation, but maintaining purity of your mind and action. To be honest, this is also stupid because you're only exempted from doing 'bad things' during fasting period (which is like what, 13-14 hours at most) then you're free to do whatever you want during this 'holy' month. lol. I always find that funny.
Many muslims don’t eat during the morning and just do the same diet as you (essentially OMAD)
Some rituals at least are certainly beautiful, but this is just a pain in the ass. I wonder how it originated.
Don't see how this even fits this sub. It's just explaining what fasting muslims do during ramadan.
Once you understand the vastness of the universe and world history up to this point it all seems kind of pointless.
As an atheist, that looks like a lot of wasted time each day.
Compound this over a lifetime. Yikes
As opposed to watching esports and playing grinding soloq?
Eat Sleep Pray Fortnite
Honest question: What is the difference between this and a sect, a cult? If someone tells me that you have to repeat certain words five times a day and practice funny submissive gestures in order to be happy, then something is wrong.
Is it really a fast if you stuff yourself with food right before the sun rises? This appears to be at conflict with the kinds of fasting that we see Jesus and others doing.
as a muslim, most of this is true however, it doesnt take us an hour for prayer around 10 - 15 minutes, max some far less
Holy shit I think I just discovered what breakfast means.
You are 100% looney if you dedicate this much to some made up sky daddy. I literally instantly know your critical thinking skills are not strong if you are religious. Hate me all you want but religious people are out here trying to force their views on me it’s time to shame them for it.
What's so beautiful abt this?
How do they have so much time to hate gay people and women?
This was really informative, thank you for sharing this. And Ramadan Mubarak!
Can someone explain what the axis is supposed to be? Each block is an hour, but each block is two hours apart?
This is showing like 2 hrs every single day for praying? Uh... How?
...Can OP explain what is going on?
Sounds like a really shitty holiday
I have always been curious if Muslims have less back problems due to daily prayers and bending forward.
I’m a Muslim (not Sunni or Shiite so maybe my experience is a bit different) and I find the month incredibly fulfilling mentally and spiritually. Tell a redditor about mindfulness and meditation and they’ll lose their minds how profound it is but somebody dedicating one month a year to a more minimalist, self reflective and spiritual way and they’re called idiots and barbarians.
Original the time from carnaval to Easter is spend without meat or alcohol and as a time of reflection. It is mostly practiced by more orthodox Christians in the Greece/Balkan area now. In this time dry January / vegan January is a thing, which has the same practical implications but not the social or spiritual. People tend to like periods of minimizing, apparently.
Damn, that's like Reddit-levels of wasted time.
This is missing the "is beautiful" part. \[also I'm a None\]
The no water part is just dumb
Be an atheist. Religion has only started, extended, and perverted war since the dawn of time. And i mean ALL religions. Useless beyond understanding
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Ehh, idk if I'd say "as prevalent as ever." Sheer numbers wise, definitely. However, the percentage of religious people is dropping pretty significantly in the vast majority of countries.
Well I need to come up with a religious ritual then. Look at all that free time cause some desert person said something that no one could verify. Meanwhile every other person working picking up their slack.
Yeah that’s about five times too many for the whole prayer thing
Leaves very little time to work, eh?
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I see a lot of wasted space in green
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One of the many reasons I enjoy being an ex Muslim or atheist. What a bunch of rules that were made up centuries ago, that we still need to follow? The worst part is how much gluttony goes on during Iftar.. The amount of food they eat when they break fast is just insane.
Sounds awful, glad didn’t get brainwashed into this one as a child..
I know a lot of muslims, and I can say for certain that they are all much more likely to hit the pub five times a day than a mosque.
Which is okay right ? Why should we be extremists and judge them? Let the do their thing, as long as they don’t hypocritically talk about their religion all the time.