Thread: Any Muslims on here?

I want to ask a question but don't want to be offensive.

Feel free to PM me as I will be PM'ing you with the question before I post.

Go ahead and ask what you wish Sir.


Fadi.

Hey Fadi,

I kind of got my answer in PMs but I am happy to ask out here as well.

A Muslim lady was on the radio giving a nerighbourhood announcement about a fair being held for the end of Ramadan. She said what Ramadan was about. I have since heard different views but what she said (and what I read in Wikipedia) was based on spiritual awareness. In part by taking the time you would normally use to eat and prepare food and use that time for quiet reflection and prayer. The other part being a focus on what it is like to be poor and not have food to eat during the day. As well as the more well known daytime fasting there is also a huge emphasis on giving to the poor, feeding the poor, etc.

There was more detail but I don't have the time to type it all out here. And I know very little but plan on learning.

I am a Christian and not a Muslim - no thought to change or anything - but it sounded like a good experience in and of itself and another way to share the experience of another culture. So I was thinking about observing Ramadan next year. Not because I believe the same things as a Muslim but because it sounded like something anybody can use to grow in themselves.

My belief of christianity holds that as long as God doesn't say not to do it - there is no harm in showing respect and adhering to another's traditions. An example would be not eating pork while in the house of a Jewish person - God doesn;t say though shall eat pork at every meal so you pay respect and don't bring bacon to a Jewish person's bbq.

My initial hesitancy to post was just so that nobody thought I was insulting or showing disregard for a vitally important muslim tradition but I did think I would open it for discussion.

I think we (general) honour many religious ceremonies and traditions that don't belong to our own belief system and /or culture and it's not seen as insulting. Christmas/Easter being the biggies.

ClownBoy, there's nothing in what you've said that could be construed as being remotely insulting or offending to a Muslim. Observing the holy month of Ramadan can not hurt but does in fact help add to one's personal growth. Unlike other ways of fasting though, the Ramadan fast as far as the physical goes involves one to have absolutely no food, water, sex, (no smoking if you happen to be a weak Muslim who does do so), and to carry on normally with your daily life. These physical aspects take place between dawn and sunset. Ramadan is one of five pillars of Islam and all have to be observed.

I was actually contemplating on writing an article on Ramadan and bodybuilding. I think it would be a first of its kind since I have not seen such an article been written. It's fascinating how the body changes in Ramadan as far as a bodybuilder is concerned.

I'll leave it here for now and please feel free to ask whatever is on your mind. Like you, I'm not here to change anyone's mind about what they believe and do respect one and all for who they are irrespective of our differences.

God Bless.


Fadi.

Interesting topic
Hard to train when your body is depleted
could train later at night i suppose?
a bit of an enforced cut?

Originally Posted by Fadi

ClownBoy, there's nothing in what you've said that could be construed as being remotely insulting or offending to a Muslim. Observing the holy month of Ramadan can not hurt but does in fact help add to one's personal growth. Unlike other ways of fasting though, the Ramadan fast as far as the physical goes involves one to have absolutely no food, water, sex, (no smoking if you happen to be a weak Muslim who does do so), and to carry on normally with your daily life. These physical aspects take place between dawn and sunset. Ramadan is one of five pillars of Islam and all have to be observed.

I was actually contemplating on writing an article on Ramadan and bodybuilding. I think it would be a first of its kind since I have not seen such an article been written. It's fascinating how the body changes in Ramadan as far as a bodybuilder is concerned.

Cool - the article will be interesting. My original concern comes from a misguided person when I was younger. I am a Christian and went to a catholic school (but am not catholic). Staying at a friends houseo ne night I went to his catholic church with him and partook in communion - which I normally did at my own church. I got in trouble for taking communion in a Catholic church without undergoing confirmation. The catholics believe you have to have confirmation to take communion.

So by accident I partook in a religious activity when I shouldn;t of. Was just making sure there was no Muslim requirement to observing Ramadan.

I am interested by the bit about going about your normal physical activities. Does that mean you are not suppossed to tailor what you do based on lack of food\liquid? I knew the rest but figured I would have to keep starting my training at 4am but stop when the sun comes up as I could not drink (and cannot run 30km without water so to speak). Am I suppossed to train, etc, as per normal?

I was told ages ago that the best time for training would be about 40 mins before iftar (dinner at sunset which is the breaking of the fast) which gives time for a workout and then ready to replenish at the dinner.

I agree with Fadi, the benefits are immense and I always miss it and look forward to it, year after year. There are many dimensions to the fast, food restriction is one of them. And you're free to fast Clownboy, I know quite a few people who were not Muslim and have fasted for quite a few years at each Ramadan before they became Muslim.

Originally Posted by ClownBoy

I am interested by the bit about going about your normal physical activities. Does that mean you are not suppossed to tailor what you do based on lack of food\liquid?

To a practising Muslim, (or to one who is somewhat falling short of his Islamic duties and obligations), Ramadan arrives and brings with it an opportunity for change. This is the time when the whole Muslim world is united into observing this holy month. Bad habits are broken and are replaced by beneficial ones instead. Attitudes change from being mainly temporal focused to ones where the desire for the spiritual is embraced.

The desire of the bellies and the aim to build muscles takes a back seat to one of muscle maintenance. Having said that, experience has taught me that what ever muscle is lost during the month of Ramadan is swiftly regained back within two weeks after Ramadan’s departure.

So what physiological changes take place as one begins to fast?

The human body has an astonishing ability to adapt, and once the first headaches and slight feelings of hunger are over, the body adapts pretty quickly to its new physiological clock.

After about two days of fasting, (without having prepared for it at all), one’s metabolism quickly slows down. This is not a new phenomenon but an old one that the body utilises to increase its chances of survival. An example is in order at this point I believe:

Say you and I are both bricklayers. You’re a none Muslim and I’m a Muslim. We’ve always done the same thing as far as taking a smoko here and a lunch break there etc. We wear hats when it’s sunny to keep cool in the hot sun but we also drink plenty to prevent dehydration. Suddenly, I’m fasting!

After two days of fasting, I loose my desire to drink or eat. My perspiration is virtually none existent whilst you are still perspiring profusely in the hot sun. My body has slowed right down in burning anything and now has gone into a preservation mode. At a time other than Ramadan, one would be feeling hunger pangs and dizziness etc if there was a prolonged (say 14 hours) of no food or liquid intake; not in Ramadan!

No sane Muslim is going to run a marathon or go to the gym and have a blast of a workout when he’s fasting. That can wait till after sunset when he can break his daily fast.

Again, it’s important to keep two points in mind here. The first is one may desire to go to the mosque and pray with the large Muslim crowd instead of going to the gym or going for a run after observing the fast all day long. Priorities do change in this holy month and they change unconsciously without too much of a conscious effort by that person. It’s as if one is suddenly instinctively driven.

Finally for now, it’s important to realise that Ramadan did no arrive to make life miserably for the fasting Muslim on the contrary, it came to strengthen him and make him a better person on all levels: physically, psychologically ,and of course spiritually.

There are always exceptions. An example might be a person who is suffering with some chronic diseases such as hypertension or asthma, could simply adjust his medication/s to Ramadan after consulting with his doctor. Another serious case may be of a person suffering from a gastric ulcer which may perforate due to fasting, while in this instance the person may be exempt from fasting by both medicine and Islam.


Fadi.

One thing Ive seen that I really like about Ramadan is the celebration of family and food over a shared meal at the end of each day of fasting. The family dinner is something we seem to sadly lack in modern western society. I see fasting as a bit like meditation in many ways: meditation is about controlling and stilling the mind, whilst fasting is about controlling and stilling the physical impulses. Both are healthy within reason.

great post Fadi
I teach multiculturalism at TAFE to Enrolled Nursing students and your answer gives me a little more understanding that i can pass on

That was a really good post Fadi. And yes, definitely those changes that just take place instinctively are things that I look forward to the most. As for the main meal, its great simply because of the regularity that it brings to the home.

Originally Posted by jojoamethyst

great post Fadi
I teach multiculturalism at TAFE to Enrolled Nursing students and your answer gives me a little more understanding that i can pass on

Thank you very much; your kind words are truly humbling Jojo.


Fadi.

Originally Posted by shamrock

That was a really good post Fadi. And yes, definitely those changes that just take place instinctively are things that I look forward to the most. As for the main meal, its great simply because of the regularity that it brings to the home.

As-Salāmu `Alaykum Brother,

Thank you for your kind words Shamrock. Let me be the first to wish you and your family eid mubarak for Eid al-Adha which is about two months from now, now that I know you're a Muslim too.


Fadi.

Wa alaikum salaam,

Here I am browsing, and came across this - I'm sister to you :) thank you for the well wishes, and a belated eid mubarak to you too - and make that 2x for the upcoming eid, God willing.