By Shantelle Gondo
Leicester Muslim Society members are carrying on with another journey in fasting during Ramadan.
Their spiritual journey of Ramadan began on Monday, April 12, and will be ending on Wednesday, May 12.
Ramadan is the Arabic name for the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, which is considered one of the holiest Islamic months.
One university student who is from Leicester but is studying at the University of Kent, who is also observing Ramadan is Fatimah Oseni.
The 21-year-old said: “For me personally, Ramadan is a month for reflection, withdrawing from eating and from doing things that you are not allowed to do on a daily basis and doing your best to avoid those things.
“As it is a month of reflection, if you have bad habits then you can reflect on those habits and reflect on things that you did that you shouldn’t do and making a plan of how you can stop the habit, especially after Ramadan is over.
“Most of the time people think of Ramadan as not eating and drinking, but it’s more than that, it’s also a path to your relationship with God, making your relationship stronger and better.
“Also looking at the people around you to see the connections you have, if you have any problems, you can find people close to you to help you solve them.
“For some people if you smoke or don’t wear the hijab, you could use that time to change those things.”
The fasting during Ramadan normally occurs during sunrise to sunset, for example for Fatimah, fasting starts at 4.20 am, lasting until 8pm.
She added: “This month is an individualistic month where I have to take a step back from everything, as well as planning what I want to take on board. It’s not something that I have to think about, I always make a plan of the things I want to achieve by the end of the day as well spending time reading the Quran.”
