Less than a week to go- oh my!

Ramadan is scheduled to start this Saturday, insha'Allah. It feels odd, as I won't be fasting and I know this in advance. I tried to fast last year, but early pregnancy and fasting in the desert don't mix very well. As Zak nurses about every two hours, going for fourteen hours without food or water is a bit much. That leaves me wondering how to honor a time for fasting when I must eat several times a day.

Ramadan is also the month of the Qur'an- time to read and reflect. I hope to read Qur'an to Zak- he gets excited when I read to him. Also, for me, Ramadan is the month of tears and joy, of repentance gladly sought, of the fear of being alienated from God, and the hope of growing closer to the Divine. I'm not sure how to share that with Zak at this point, but perhaps one day I will.

Oddly, for a month of fasting, it's also about food. Rich stews, sugary desserts, and all sorts of delicacies will be prepared for the fasting. I'm going to skip those, for the most part, but I do plan to whip up Ramadan muffins for my sister's boss. They are an oatmeal-date-nut type of muffin, the kind that sticks to your ribs and is quite tasty. We'll see how well they go over- the guy I'm baking for isn't exactly a health nut.

Oh, and of course, Rumi on Ramadan:


Fasting

There's a hidden sweetness

in the stomach's emptiness.

We are all lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox

is stuffed full of anything, no music.

If the brain and the belly are burning clean

with fasting, every moment a new song comes

out of the fire. The fog clears, and a new energy

makes you run up the steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.

Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.

When you're full of food and drink, Satan sits

where your spirit should, an ugly metal statue

in place of the Kaaba. When you fast,

good habits gather like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Solomon's ring. Don't give it

to some illusion and lose your power.

But even if you've lost all will and control,

they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing

out of the ground, pennants flying above them.


A table descends to your tents,

Jesus' table.

Expect to see it, when you fast, this table

spread with other food better

than the broth of cabbages.