How Muslims cope with hunger, thirst during Ramadan fast

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the ninth in the Hijri calendar, is a time for Muslims to practice self-restraint in keeping with Saum (“to refrain”).

But just how do Muslims effectively observe the 30-day Ramadan fast in which eating and drinking are prohibited from dawn to dusk? This is a question that many people ask.

Ramadan is largely interpreted as the obligation to refrain from eating, drinking, and sexual activity between dawn and dusk. A Muslim is also obligated to refrain from all forms of immoral behaviour, including impure or unkind thoughts. This is normally taught from a very early age.

Although Muslim children are not required to fast during Ramadan until they reach the age of maturity (puberty), most enjoy participating in the fast and are encouraged to practice their fasting in a way that is appropriate for their age.

It is common for young people to fast for part of the day or one day during the weekend. This way, they enjoy the Saum they are participating in and also become accustomed to the full fasting which they will one day practice when they grow up.

It is not common for young children to fast for more than a couple of hours — for example until mid-day — but some older children may push themselves to try fasting for longer hours.

As they grow up, the children may fast for one day and skip the next as they try to cope with hunger and thirst. Parents usually adopt one of these approaches to help young people get accustomed to fasting.

Additionally, children also participate in Ramadan in other ways besides the daily fast. They are taught to collect money to give to the less fortunate, help cook meals for breaking the day's fast, or read the Quran together with the rest of the family in the evening.

This makes the young Muslims adapt to these habits whenever the holy month of Ramadan approaches.

By teaching them about the importance of Ramadan from an early age, children get a sense of pride and love for the holy month.

When children feel a strong cultural connection to their religion, it increases their self-esteem and sense of belonging and they grow up practicing it very easily.

This makes Muslims get used to refraining from food and water for a whole day from a tender age.

Apart from being nurtured from childhood, fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam (the five basic tenets of the Islamic religion), along with the testimony of faith, prayer, charitable giving and making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

All Muslims are required to participate in Ramadan every year. But those who are ill, pregnant or nursing babies, menstruating or traveling, children and the elderly are exempted from this rule.

Furthermore, a Muslim usually manages to fast for the whole month and observe the guidelines for fasting because the practice serves several spiritual and social purposes.

It reminds someone of their human weakness and their dependence on God for sustenance, shows them what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty so that they feel compassion for the less fortunate, and reduces the distractions in life so that one can more clearly focus on their relationship with God. Thus, it is a way to learn patience and break bad habits.

Finally, Muslims stay without eating or drinking anything for the stipulated time of fasting because the Quran prescribes it for all Muslims who are mature and healthy enough to do so for the whole day.

Muslims believe that God forgives people of their past sins when they observe the holy month with fasting, prayer and faithful intention.If one does not properly fear God, he or she may lack the strength to be humble, to eliminate evil through good, to speak well at all times and to behave virtuously.

But when one has a deep fear of God, then he or she will have the perfect set of moral values.