The holy month of Ramadan is coming at a difficult time for Muslims everywhere.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims worldwide fast from sunrise to sundown. The timing of Ramadan is set by the lunar calendar.
Imdad Imam, the president of the Al-Fatemah Islamic Center in Colonie, explains what the 30-day observance means.
"Our holy book called the Quran, it describes as one of the essentials, Muslims have to perform, like we have to pray five times a day, that's a must. Similarly, we have to fast 29 or 30 days in the holy month of Ramadan, this is also a must, like we have to go to Hajj in Mecca, once in our lifetime, if you can afford it, that's a must. So, similarly, this is a must. Now, what we do in this month is basically we have to fast around starting about an hour before sunrise. And then at sunset few minutes after sunset, we can drink and eat. So if 14 hours or 15 hours of fasting, depending upon the area you're in," Imam said.
Imam says the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar is a time for prayer and reflection, to avoid quarrels and conflict, and perform acts of charity. "You should not quarrel with anybody. You should not back-bite. You should not hurt anybody. All of these things, either eating or drinking or doing all of these other things will break your fast."
Imam says Muslims are mindful of the conflict thousands of miles away in Gaza: the war that started with October 7th’s Hamas attacks on Israel, which responded with a devastating campaign of its own.
"First of all, all the Muslims are even non-Muslims, they are thinking about Gazans, because, you know, they are being bombarded, they are fasting, they will be fasting either today or tomorrow, and they don't have food, they don't have shelter. So, obviously, people are saddened a little bit. I'm not going to get into the politics of it, but yes, it does affect everyone, especially Muslims," Imam said.
Hamza is an education consultant and assistant Imam in the Albany area.
"Our society has been so materialistic, we forget that we have an interior, internal, you know, manifestation and dimension," Hamza said. "But this year is especially tough, because we see our brothers in faith and in humanity suffering to such a degree, which they themselves don't have food, and children are dying of starvation like we have never seen before. So when we fast today, and for the next 29 or 30 days, the facts will be very heavy on our consciences and our souls."
Imam urges local Muslim community members to empathize with the Palestinians in need. "The minimum you have to do is feel bad, sad about it, then you pray to Almighty God that this conflict is over. And the third thing is you should say something from your town, and this is a demonstration. And I will say the last thing we should do is give some charity for them, " said Imam.
Hamza says the observance is also about inner growth. "We work very, very hard to achieve material wealth, status. But what about the inner workings? compassion, love, mercy, justice, honesty, what about those things? If we focus on those things, the world will change for a much better place and a much safer place for all of us," Hamza said.
