COLUMN: "Breakfast Before Sunrise, Break Fast After Sunset"

From Reshma Yaqub's "Text, Translation and Commentary," Spring '92. Fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is one of the five pillars of Islam. This is the month in which the revelation of the Holy Qur'an was completed. When you drag yourself out of bed at four in the morning to pray and to share a meal with other Muslims, it is truly a bonding experience. It makes you realize there is something more important in this world than your immediate desires. Ramadan is a month ideally devoted to reflection and prayer. It's a time for the community to draw closer . . . for families to sit down at the dinner table together. Fasting during Ramadan has immeasurable benefits. Healthwise, it provides a much needed rest to your digestive system. You try to give up all of your bad habits, and you really find yourself being nicer to other people. The three monotheistic religions all share this tradition of external and internal fasting. In Christianity it is manifested in Lent; in Judaism, Passover. Abstaining from food and water engraves the gnawing pangs of hunger into your mind, making you sympathize with those who face poverty and starvation on a regular basis. With this firsthand knowledge, you become more charitable in donations, and more understanding of those less fortunate. Feeling unable to concentrate on your work once in a while when you're fasting quickly dispels any misconception that poor people don't work because they're lazy. It makes you realize that all the bums lying around sleeping when they could be looking for work -- if they were decent citizens like us -- in fact have no fuel in their bodies to function. Alas, as human nature goes, empathy is ephemeral. Nine or ten months after Ramadan, you've forgotten what it was like, and you're back to wasting food, being rude to your roommate, kicking the dog and avoiding the eyes of the homeless. God, in his infinite wisdom, knows that humans, his creations, need to be reminded regularly to do good. Therefore Ramadan, and with it, fasting, come around once a year. From the first streak of light in the morning sky to the setting of the sun, Muslims each day abstain from food, drink and "pleasures of the flesh." After sunset, all these are allowed (except, of course, within the normal restrictions that apply to them). In addition to these physical sacrifices, Muslims are forbidden to engage in any immoral, unethical or unjust behavior. Lying, cheating, stealing, annoying someone on purpose, getting angry and backbiting -- that is, gossiping -- are all examples of sins that can break your fast. Muslims must strive to avoid such pitfalls, for the atonement of one broken fast is the completion of sixty consecutive fasts! This harsh condition is embraced as a means of ensuring that Muslims are not just on their best behavior in public, but also in private where it really counts. The Prophet Muhammad once approached a person who was fasting and told him to eat. He declared, "You were backbiting, and that broke your fast, so you might as well eat now." According to Islam, God never places a burden on you that you cannot handle. Therefore, certain groups of people are excused from this rigorous physical and mental exercise: menstruating, pregnant or nursing women, children, the elderly or anyone who is sick. If possible, once the physical need has passed, Muslims should make up the fasts they missed. If unable, as in the case of the elderly or the permanently disabled, finances permitting, one should feed a poor person for every day of fasting missed. But just because a person cannot physically refrain from food and water does not mean he or she is excused from the spiritual and moral aspects of fasting: doing good deeds and striving to be closer to God. The University community should be aware of what over 300 students and faculty are experiencing. University of Pennsylvania Dining Services is a pioneer in recognizing the needs of Muslims during Ramadan. For the past three years, Dining Service has offered compensation for meals missed due to fasting. The Muslim community applauds Dining Service and Provost Michael Aiken, who was instrumental in creating this program. So if you hear me humming on Locust Walk, "Big Mac, filet of fish, quarter pounder, french fries, icy coke, thick shake, sundaes and apple pies," don't think I'm crazy. I'm just making a list of things I'll be having for dinner tonight. Reshma Yaqub is a senior Political Science major from Potomac, Maryland. Text, Translation and Commentary appears alternate Wednesdays.