The First Fast

Saleha Mallick was raised in Chicago by her Pakistani parents. She attends Northwestern University in Illinois and is an officer in the Interfaith Residence Hall on campus.

Every year Ramadan seems to arrive faster and faster. It brings with it a mixture of emotions: hope for the feelings of renewed faith, nervousness for the long fasts, and excitement for the month of my mom’s delicious iftar food.

As I get ready to head into another month of fasting I think back to the first fast I ever kept (or roza, as we call it in Urdu). I was 8, and my family was visiting my relatives in Pakistan over winter break. We were in Islamabad at the time, and we would come together every night, about 20 of us in all, to have iftar. My family told me we would have a party in the evening, a roza kushai, in celebration of my first fast. The most difficult part of that day for me was preparing the food. There I was, only a few hours away from the end of the fast, willingly torturing myself with the aromas of the meal that seemed eternally far.

Somehow, I got through. Opening my first official roza with my family watching is a moment I will always remember. Everyone was so proud of me and delighted to share in my milestone. We all performed Maghrib prayers together, then my aunts and uncles gave me little presents, and finally everyone partook of the special iftar.

During this occasion, we ate the same foods we eat every Ramadan:

• A date, the universal fast opener among Muslims.
• Samosas filled with ground beef, a family favorite.
• Pakoras, vegetables dipped in flour made from ground lentils.
• Fruit chat, a Pakistani twist on fruit salad.
• Chickpeas with tomatoes, potatoes and tamarind sauce.
• Gulgula, a dessert from my grandmother’s childhood in northern India.

These Pakistani foods have inherently become associated with Ramadan. My brother always wonders why we never eat these foods at other times. I respond that we could but they wouldn’t be as satisfying.

For the last three years, all or most of Ramadan has occurred while I was at school. I would just grab dinner in the dining hall at iftar time, eating whatever was on the menu. To me it isn’t Ramadan without home, and this year I will spend it there. I’m looking forward to the daily sehris with my family, the prayers together, and the iftar parties with friends. I can hardly wait for the Chaand Raat, or the night of the moon, the last night of Ramadan and the eve of the Eid-ul Fitr holiday when friends and family gather to spot the moon, apply mehndi, and finish all the last-minute preparations for the next day’s festivities. Let the anticipation begin!

The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or any other agency in the federal government.

Readers’ comments:

14 September 2009
01:45:44-0400
it is very nice and it was remember my childhood

10 September 2009
23:15:29-0400
ASSALAM-O-ALAKUM,
I musht say WELL WRITTEN. Keep it up.
ALLAH HAFIZ.
Sincerely,
ASMA.

10 September 2009
20:37:21-0400
asalaamualaiykum ...
it is the sisters intention whetha she wears a hijaab or not may allaah guide her ishallaah ameen .. also i would like to add that it isn’t just about food food food .. it is about worshiping our lord ALLAAH the almighty lord of this world and the hearafter,in this month the reward is massive also that we should try harder in fulfilling righteous deeeds such as giving charity etcc ... inshallaah x x x ;) sister inislam,
wasalaam

10 September 2009
11:00:46-0400
Very interesting and insightful write up. Looks like the basic emotions towards Ramadan are the same worldwide only the physical ingredients, the meals and people differ.

Ramadan kareem to all muslima from Nigeria.

10 September 2009
10:17:36-0400
THIS A WONDERFUL CULTURAL DISPLAY. IT REMINDS ME OF MY FIRST FAST SOME 34 YEARS AGO IN A VILLLAGE WHERE WE HADLY GET COOL WATER TO DRINK UNDER A HARSH WEATHER CONDITION. NOW THINGS ARE IMPROVING, ONE CAN BREAK HIS FAST AT WORK OR ON A TRAFFICK TRYING TO GET HOME. IS REALLY CHALLENGING BUT AS GOD DIRECT WE FAST IN THE MONTH OF RAMADAN ASKING GOD FOR HIS MARCIES. ALIYU ABUJA, NIGERIA

09 September 2009
13:31:27-0400
A.O.L I read your article for ramdan very intrsted I pray to GOD for your health&long life happy ramzan with best wishes.

08 September 2009
02:15:19 -0400
nice to hear from you all.

07 September 2009
17:53:48 -0400
Salam aleykoum. You speak about Ramadan whitout Hijab on your head and you think that Muslim will listen to you? Don't be shame of your Religion and put a Hijab before you give us advice, follow the Shari'a at first,thank you

Salam aleykoum

(Editor’s note: Please see our Facebook page for a discussion of diverse opinions on the veil.)

07 September 2009
06:34:29-0400
Its nice to see that the things are more or less quite similar to what we follow here in India, during Ramzan. The writer stays successful in producing a smile on readers' face. Thanks for the article.

Farhan

07 September 2009
03:25:29-0400
Nicely written.

07 September 2009
01:46:53-0400
it took me back to the day when i had first fasted.i can recall my beautiful dress (frock -shalwar and dupatta) tailored by my expert mother. i am married now but miss my parents home rather more badly during the month of ramadan.

06 September 2009
12:29:25-0400
as indian we really got a nice discription from a young american muslim for the holy monnth of ramdan ad the iftar which we wait for the whole day and the EID

04 September 2009
07:02:04-0400
That was a brilliant article. I actually learned some few things from it.

03 September 2009
01:24:26-0400
salaam this is v. good and interstesting article. i have got lot of informations. about the culture. thanx

02 September 2009
11:04:40-0400
the article is a very cool one because it spell out what MUSLIM (ISLAM) is all about and what people are saying or the notion that people have about the religion. finally, it is the term which is closely linked to the notions of what it means to be a faithfull muslim.

30 August 2009
20:57:15-0400
as a muslim lives in egypt. it is good to know other muslims habits in ramadan.

29 August 2009
20:58:25–0400
The text very cool. For it provides a social participation of the Muslim American, it indicates that affection and love and tolerance between religions.

24 August 2009
11:49:49-0400
Hi, An interesting and well written article with all the discriptions and details of Ramadan. That also hinted the begining of the festiveties of Eid at the end of Ramadan on Chaand raat (the moon night). please congratulate the young writer for producing such a cultural article.

source:www.america.gov