Ramadan & Focus.
The aim of this piece is to provide a glimpse into the last few days of this holy month for Muslims living in the UK. Some people are exempt from the following and others choose not to observe Ramadan but, for those of us who do, this article is a glimpse into our world. Fellow Muslims, if I've missed bits, please forgive me - I'm fasting.
We’re into the last and holiest ten days of Ramadan…
Firstly, if you’ve got colleagues who are on leave right now, they may have gone into isolation/seclusion (itikaf) to deepen their spiritual observance during the last few days of this month. During this time people also spend more time deepening their connection with the message of the Quran. This, our holy book, was revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the Night of Power (Lailat-ul-Qadr) which falls within the last ten days of Ramadan.
We’re just over two thirds into this month and although we never admit it (because there’s always people with far heavier loads to shoulder), the last 20 or so days have not been without their challenges. The excitement of the initial few days of Ramadan is now a distant memory as we’re very much established in our Ramadan routine. This routine can look something like this (times vary by region - showing times according to my nearest Mosque):
It all starts before dawn.....
3-4:something in the morning - wake up, prepare and eat/drink your pre-dawn meal (Suhoor)
4 something in the morning - do your ablutions (wudhu) and tend to the first prayer of the day (fajr)
A little after 5am: Back to bed / stay up and read Quran.
SUNRISE
7am - up and get ready for the day
1pm: ablutions and tend to the second prayer of the day (Dhuhur or Zuhur)*
3 something in the afternoon- ablutions and tend to the third prayer of the day (Asr) *
5 something in the afternoon: prepare for fast opening
7 something: SUNSET! fast opens, make ablutions and tend to the fourth prayer of the day (Maghrib)
8 something: make ablutions and tend to the fifth prayer of the day (Isha)
After prayers, more reading, reflection and worship.
All of the above is integrated into our normal daily lives including household and family duties. Ramadan is a time of visiting family and friends for Iftar (opening the fast) so you have to take that into account too, especially if hosting.
Once fasts are open, attention turns to the evening prayers. If people have gone to evening prayers at a mosque these may run until 11pm or later.
Once all prayers are tended to, there my be some evening recitation and then sleep and get up at 3 or 4 something O’Clock again.
Do this for around 30 days and you've observed Ramadan. There's no medal.
Some people don’t do the whole getting up at 3 or 4 something in the morning. They just have a meal around midnight and then sleep until the morning.
One thing is for certain though - for the folks for whom the routine looks something like the above, they won’t complain of being tired or hungry. They’ll just push on, functioning as best as they can, trading on 4-5 hours of broken sleep a night. The impact of this plus the abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours means that for most, fasting is like a bit of a bleep test. Doable in the early stages and incrementally gets tougher. We carry on our work regardless of this. The challenge harbours blessings as we’re all doing it for one reason - worship of, and, to be closer to, God.
So - how does it impact our focus: well it’s a mixed picture. Sleep deprivation isn’t great for focus and the drop in energy levels from no food or water for nearly 14ish hours a day doesn’t help much either. Our performance however remains stable. Sometimes we may even experience a little spike.
How? Well you might say that there’s something spiritual at work. Or somehow, we’re dialling into a deeper reserve of human perseverance. Among this scarcity, our bodies and minds find another gear. Most people observing Ramadan find that they have more clarity, deeper reflection and on the whole deeper connection with others, in less fortunate conditions across the world.
As a result, first world problems tend to feature much less in our focus and we’re much more driven to give more and do more good during our time. Charity and giving are at their peak during this holy month. There’s a deeper sense of community. Work, as important as it is, becomes slightly less so.
That all sounds wonderful right? The reality is that no matter how well you’re doing with your Ramadan routine, it is common to get to 3pm and feel the urge to sleep. Most of us might even have a nap. Some people even stop work at 2pm, sleep and then carry on at 8pm, once rested and replenished.
Whatever the Ramadan routine looks like, in the last 10 days, although we won’t ever admit it, we’re all a bit cranky (so no nonsense please). The upside is that we all also enjoy moments of sagacity, clarity and being tuned into each other’s shared experience. Not just locally but globally - as one, incrementally more tired, super-massive mind, focused on something bigger than all of us, during this holy month.
*if there’s sufficient provision in terms of time and prayer space to do so.