Source: The New Haven Register (nhregister.com), Serving New Haven, CT

By Sohail Z Husain MD

I’m really looking forward to the midst of summer. But I won’t be sipping tea during the day or basking in the midday sun. Instead, I’ll be immersed – along with about a billion other Muslims – in Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting which began in the second week of July.

Ramadan is one of the 12 months of the Islamic calendar. Because this particular calendar follows a lunar cycle, Ramadan moves up about 10 days every year with respect to the Gregorian (or solar) calendar we commonly use today.
Let me first clear up a few myths about fasting during Ramadan. It is true that Muslims abstain from food and water. But the fast happens only during daylight hours, not during the entire month. As a physician, I can tell you there wouldn’t be too many who could survive the latter. Another fact check is that not everyone is permitted to fast. You can’t be a child. You can’t be pregnant or nursing. You can’t be ill. You can’t even be travelling. In general, fasting is a privilege for only the physically able. But the consolation is that if you can’t fast, you can provide food for someone else in need – and you both get the blessing of the fast.

The worshipper who gets the green light to fast is at the same time banned from binging. I recall being innocently asked by a close friend whether I would “pig out” at night during Ramadan. Amused, I assured my uninformed buddy that the Prophet Muhammad told us we could neither overeat nor consider pork on the menu.

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