I was travelling today, so I did not fast. I considered fasting anyway, because I wanted to be part of the community, at least virtually – my Whatsapp right now is a constant scroll of friends and family checking in with each other, asking what everyone is having for iftar, sending both cheesy and/or moving […]

After a health setback a few years ago, I was under medical instructions not to fast for Ramadan.  In the years since, I kept thinking “maybe I can fast next year.”  I wrote about this in 2016.  It is now 2018 and it doesn’t look like I will be fasting again any time soon. Although […]

Another Ramadan. It’s hard to believe there’s little over a week left. It’s been yet another blur of a month with 17 hour rozas: sehri, work, nap, make, iftaar, sleep, with prayers and reading Quran interspersed throughout the day. Repeat. It’s been another year of not making it to the evening tarawih prayers and little […]

I moved from India to the USA two months back, and my life has completely changed, as expected. Before Ramadan started, because of the very long days and the fact that I was the primary caretaker of my 1 year old (like most mothers are), I worried if I would be able to fast. With […]

Having spent two Ramadans in the Netherlands now, I still can’t get used to the lonely and isolating experience of fasting without an extended network of family and friends. But I must count my blessings. I have a wonderful husband who doesn’t think twice about helping to cook sahur and iftar, and I have amazing […]

This post was written by guest contributor Nicole Hunter Mostafa. My non-Muslim friends and family may have a hard time understanding why, but Ramadan is a wonderful time of year for me. Of course, it’s difficult to fast, especially during the summer months, but regardless of the time of year, it’s always lovely when Ramadan […]

Every Ramadan, there are delicious food articles and recipe ideas published on various sites and magazines. They are often inspired by peoples’ lived experience with food, memories of traditions and practical ideas for meal preparation in Ramadan. A delicious chutney accompanying a home-cooked samosa, fresh juices, Rooh Azfa cocktails, traditional rice dishes, divinely prepared meats […]

As a child, I once visited my aunt in her husband’s house during Ramadan. She had dark circles around her eyes due to lack of sleep, and she was haggard and toiling in the kitchen. She told us that her husband and his brothers all had “varied” food habits when it came to breaking the […]

Ramadan for me personally has always been a month of compassion, congregation and contemplation. However, last year in Ramadan, my entire days and nights revolved around caring for my then-one-month-old twins. Time passed by like a whirlwind; I have vague memories of feeding, burping, changing, and rocking babies to sleep – all the while trying […]

I am usually not good at taking pictures of food because I tend to have eaten halfway through before remembering to take a photo. Therefore, this is a rare photo of a typical iftar at home, that is, at my mother’s. Starting from the cup of water, which is at the bottom right, and moving […]