Ramadan Kareem !
 

And this year it is in the height of summer ! ENJOY !!!! Sometimes I rejoice in the fact that I have retired to "Dar Al Harb" with the rest of the unbelievers ! Ramadan is a difficult time to be in KSA, Avoid especailly the roads in that period of about an hour before Sunset.Crazed drivers with low blood sugar in a hurry to get home and break the fast with Fatima and the children.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

I LOVE Ramadan. My favorite time of the year. Dubai is empty as everyone is on hols, work is quiet and no one expects to much, out of the office by 2pm = WICKED!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Yes but getting out of the office at 2pm is no good when the pub doesn't open until 8pm :p

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Having to be in the office at 8am as you can only get anthing official done in the morning, yes I get 7 hours off in the afternoon but I then have to open up at 8pm until 12+.......... A truly awful time of the year - And All the bars/restaurants are dry here 24/7. Its like living in KSA for 1 month a year.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Isnt Ramadan in (early) July ?

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

That's fine with me - work, head home, mid afternoon snooze, pub, snooze and repeat.

Also maybe substitute snooze at home for snooze on the beach.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

You've missed out trying to pull the head off it:

Eat, Beat, Sleep, Repeat.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Ha ha ha! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Ramadan in 2013 will start on Tuesday, the 9th of July and will continue for 30 days until Wednesday, the 7th of August.

Depending on the sighting of the Moon of course !! At least in KSA. In more benighted countries like the UAE they may rely on innovations like calendars and astronomer's predictions !!!:):):):):):)

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

In July?
You would look like the sacrificial offering......

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Actually, for a Muslim who have spent all his adulthood life doing fasting in Ramadan, fasting in July is not really that difficult. However, without the Islamic faith It is near impossible to fast the month of Ramdan in summer. Once, a non-Muslim friend of mine who was intrigued by the way Muslims do their fasting actually tried to do it with me. The first two days he barely managed to go through them; by the third day he was completely consumed by fatigue and headache and just gave it up.

Ramadan for Muslim is a story of multiple disciplines; Food intake regulation is just one part of that story. The moral of the story is to teach patience, a vital human characteristc that is quite difficult to teach in words.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Nonsense. Maintaining a fast, like giving up cigarettes, is a matter of willpower not of religious belief.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

From what I've seen, there's very little regulation once the fast is broken with mountains of food through the hours of darkness - I understand many people put on weight during Ramadan.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

You're right. On the 1st day of Ramadan last year, there were over 800 people reported to the emergency department at Hamad hospital in Doha, due to the effects of over eating!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

And admissions to hospital because they stuff their faces after iftar. http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...r-ramadan-fast

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

This doesn't extend to driving in mid to late afternoon though clearly.

Also, it always struck me that the point of fasting was to demonstrate abstinence and the self-control to avoid temptations. Surely by taking away the temptations (forcing restaurants to close) or forcing them to be hidden (not allowing non-Muslims to eat or drink in public) does away with much of what is being avoided and thus means less self-control or proof of faith is required.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Rubbish Mikewot - these guys are special. You knows it. If (Fergal) Sharkey's friend would have converted after day 2 his body would have been able to cope with fasting. Have faith. Innit. :amen::blink::confused::starsmile:

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

:goodpost: Sorry, you're absolutely correct, I'm exhibiting my ignorance as an infidel.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Bahahahaha. Hilarious Red, as always. I have a lesson for patience out here. Make them save pocket money or get a job and buy their own 1st landcruiser. Don't give them whatever they want whenever they want? Do you think staying awake a few daylight hours before feasting all night is a sacrifice?

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Massively agree. All this no smoking, drinking and eating in public pish is just that - pish! They are the ones giving it up to show their devotion to their faith etc etc or whatever, I'm not fasting so why should I stop.

My ex used to fast when we lived in Scotland which in my eyes would be 10 x worse. Really long days with no one hiding their Greggs steak bakes away. She used to get up at 4am for breakfast and break her fast at 11pm..... hardcore!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

On the flip side to that it amazes me how many muslims become sick leading up to ramadan and can't fast due to taking medicine............

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

The correct way to go about ramazan is NOT to feast all night and NOT to over-eat. I have always managed to shed a few unwanted pounds and yes patience is a self-taught acquired art which most lemmings will never get unfortunately.
The concept behind it all, if I may for a second, is that hundreds of years ago (much much before Islam came about) there were the haves and the have-nots, much like today I guess. The havenots, living in difficult conditions would only have SO much of earnings / savings to afford a meal once a day, so they would eat just once in the night (Iftar time) and then save some from that to eat again in the morning (Sehri time) before heading out at the crack of dawn to work all day long so they could afford to buy their one meal by the end of the day. Now I am not saying that there was a certain example of this happening which made the ramazan come about (since the practice of fasting has been there since the time of Moses or even before that I am sure), I am saying the concept of knowing hunger for a whole month so that you may know the hunger a poor man goes through all year long. And the way things are going in this unbalanced world, hunger is a real problem, especially in the have-nots part of the world. If done right, by the end of the month one is barely making it through the day and yes true hunger does bring out a level of spirituality I guess but for myself, it is all about thanking God that I was blessed to be born with enough to never to know true hunger and to try and feed / help out anyone I feel deserves it and not just in that particular month but make it a way of life.
/end of rant :)

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Totally agree, I have never had problems with anyone eating / drinking / smoking in front of me and 4am to 11 pm?? man I am impressed with a capital I, true hardcore indeed...respect! :thumbsup:

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Ha, from what I can remember there are so many get out clauses that you could miss the whole month and easily not use the same excuse twice. I seem to remember one is along the lines of 'if travelling over 12Km (or similar) you're exempt'. Probably not so valid in the age of the Landcrusier!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

But you're still supposed to make the missed days up afterwards, aren't you? You're not completely exempted from fasting at all that year.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Is the correct answer. Though non I know do.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

This is not the first time for me to discuss fasting with non-Muslims. I have heard before some interesting ideas and viewpoints about it; Not necessarily that they sounded logical to me. Interestingly, however, I have also developed a conviction about this particular debate and that is, discussing fasting with some one with a problem of drinking is a complete waste of time.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Love Ramadan! Home by 2 and get to save a bit of cash as I'm not in the pub all month

Now, I've been known to overeat on occasion, but how much do you actually have to consume to become hospitalised?!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

I feel much the same way about discussing anything to do with religion with someone who is utterly blinded by religious idealism, as so many ‘religious’ people are. However, if those people want to live their lives led by religion I have absolutely no objection, unless they try to invoke their beliefs on others in a way which impinges on their lives.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

totally agreed!

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Can you elucidate further on what you mean by this statement?

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

I suspect redShark means that anyone who drinks any alcohol has a drink problem, and therefore cannot have an opinion on anything else, but would welcome confirmation on this.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Bit like saying every Muslim is going to blow themselves up.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Frankly I find the whole thing here to be a farce. Forcing everyone to comply means it isn't a real test. Also the sleeping all day and stuffing your face all night defeats the object.

Should be easier for me as a non-smoker this year as I used to get really annoyed at not being able to smoke in the car whilst the idiots on the road were apparently trying to kill me.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

You know Muslims aren't the only theists who fast.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

I fast virtually every day between around 11pm and 7am.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

That was an example to the some whom I have discussed human and religious values with before in life. They struck me as being people whose human worldly instincts are always in the way of their sense of logic

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Where is the logic in your statement? Can you explain?

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

Mike, a cat with a machine gun chasing a three legged mouse isn't really a fair fight.

Re: Ramadan Kareem !
 

In my humble experience, I have never managed before to convince a person whom alcohol is an important player in his life that fasting has a virtue. Don't know really why.. may be because my argument is weak!!