MyLifeDump

I recently read a very good article by Dr. Farouk Haffejee of Islamic Medical Association of South Africa - Durban that laid out few guidelines Muslims can follow when it comes to eating habits in Ramadan.

I will summarize the article for you because the original article is is loaded with information that is very specific and detailed. I will list the basics and elaborate.

In Ramadan we all encounter food problems as we are not used to the habit of not eating or drinking anything from dawn to dusk. This can sometimes be difficult for people who have medical conditions but most of us can easily adopt to it and make sure the month of Ramadan is one of nourishment as well as soul enrichment.

The whole idea is to maintain weight, neither loose, nor gain. Most people gain weight during Ramadan as it’s so hard to resist the amazing foods you get to see and eat after iftaar, or sometimes you know too many people and when you break your fast with them, you cannot say “NO”.

Still it’s not difficult to maintain regular weight, just watching your calorie intake can help you decide if you can afford to eat more. Consuming slow digesting food and fiber means you can avoid cravings during your fast and in the mean time, also feel nourished and energetic. Fast digesting foods, like the name implies, only last in your system for 3-4 hours whereas slow digesting food can remain in your system for well 7 hours.

Slow-digesting foods contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, millet, semolina, beans, lentils, whole meal flour, unpolished rice, cereal etc. (called complex carbohydrates).

Fast-burning foods contain sugar, white flour, etc. (called refined carbohydrates).

Fiber-containing foods are bran-containing foods, whole wheat, grains and seeds, vegetables like green beans, peas, sem (papry), marrow, mealies, spinach, and other herbs like methie, the leaves of beetroot (iron-rich), fruit with skin, dried fruit especially dried apricots, figs and prunes, almonds, etc.

You should a well balanced diet. This is a diet that includes food from each food group, i.e. fruits, vegetables, meat/chicken/fish, bread/cereals and dairy products. KEEP A BALANCE!

Being a Desi (Indian/Pakistani), it’s really hard to avoid spicy and fried foods. Well, its not good for your health if you excessively feed yourself with chunk of desi ghee and shan masala. In moderation it is still acceptable; not being careful will cause indigestion and heartburn, at least during Ramadan. Long term affects can be numerous, watch out!

Below is the list that you should print and post it with your Ramadan timetable.

AVOID
- Fried and fatty foods.
- Foods containing too much sugar.
- Over-eating especially at suhoor (sehri).
- Too much tea at suhoor. Tea makes you pass more urine taking with it valuable mineral salts that your body would need during the day.
- Smoking cigarettes. If you cannot give up smoking cut down gradually starting a few weeks before Ramadhan. Smoking is unhealthy and one should stop completely.

EAT
- Complex carbohydrates at suhoor so that the food lasts longer making you less hungry.
- Haleem is an excellent source of protein and is a slow-burning food.
- Dates are excellent source of sugar, fiber, carbohydrates, potassium and magnesium.
- Almonds are rich in protein and fiber with less fat.
- Bananas are a good source of potassium, magnesium and carbohydrates.

DRINK
- As much water or fruit juices as possible between iftar and bedtime so that your body may adjust fluid levels in time.

I am no expert on food, I have extensively quoted and summarized the guidelines from Dr. Farouk Haffejee article found on Ramadan.co.uk.

This blog didn’t really look like the way it looks now. I made few changes to CSS and messed with the sidebar little bit to make it look like the way I had in mind. Still not satisfied, I never am, I will live with this layout for atleast few months and then once again when I am bored, I will make changes.

Main colors you can see on this blog now are Pink, Blue, Orange, Black, White and Few shades of Grey. What’s the reason for these colors? I don’t really know… Black used to be my Favorite color until I saw Pink :). Then Blue is what I usually wear with White and other colors. Orange is the odd one out but someone I know really likes it and it looks good on this blog, so thats the story. What about Grey? It’s like a shade of Black so yeah, thats it!

No more changes on the layout for the time being, I will be just updating the blog with Pages like “My Websites” where I will talk about Why I started my websites? then maybe a collection of “My Photos”.

What’s he doing?
Originally uploaded by ZaddY.

Time for some fun people. I understand this man half way down but don’t really see a logic behind what he is doing. What exactly is the point of taking an Image of bunch of women covered from top to bottom?

Does this pic make any sense for the person looking at it? Besides being hilarious!!!!!

This year like every other year, muslims in U.S were very unhappy at the start of the Ramadan as most of them believed that the 1st of Ramadan was decided without the sight of the moon. Moon sighting is a long held religious tradition followed by muslims worldwide. I talked earlier about it and said I will talk more once I have enough news stories and references.

Lets start with the history first, lets see what the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) did. Accordinig to Sahih Bukhari:

Volume 3, Book 31, Number 131:

Narrated Abdullah bin Umar:

Allah’s Apostle said, “The month (can be) 29 nights (i.e. days), and do not fast till you see the moon, and if the sky is overcast, then complete Sha’ban as thirty days.”

So moon sighting, no matter what century you are in, is a must. Period! There is no mention of moon sighting in Qur’an, only Hadith (I did a search in Qur’an on USC’s site). How one should do things are only mentioned in Hadith as they relate to traditions but are as important as Qur’an because Prophet Muhammad received insturctions from Allah (God) itself and what He did was always in line with Allah’s wishes.

According to Hilal Sighting Committee:

The Hilal* for the month of Ramadan was sighted tonight, Saturday 23, 2006, in Dallas, TX and San Diego, CA. Therefore, the first day of Ramadan will be tomorrow Sunday, September 24, 2006.

*Hilal is Arabic for Moon

For people in the U.S, first Ramadan was on September 24, 2006 (according to the moon). I am not going to talk about what went wrong with people who unanimously agreed and declared 1st Ramadan to be on Saturday 23, 2006. In a nutshell, they based their calculation on scientific positioning of the moon.

More Information:
Hilal Sighting Committee

I wrote this Film Analysis for my Humanities 319 class after watching a feature film at Arab Film Festival 2006. Got an “A” grade for my effort. Feel free to quote me, but don’t steal my words. I have enhanced this post with pictures from the movie, hope you like the pictures and the analysis.

Name of the Film: Zozo

Director: Josef Fares

Production notes: Shot in Lebanon/Sweden in the year 2005. Starring Imad Creidias as Zozo.

Synopsis from the Festival
“With nothing but a red suitcase, passport and fuzzy yellow chick in hand, a boy named Zozo flees war-torn Beirut circa 1987 for safety in Sweden. Plagued by survivor’s guilt, his days are fraught with recurring visions of family, destruction and the supernatural, but his happiness comes through hard-earned trials.”

Additional Information
The Film vividly portrays the heartfelt story of a young boy who lost his family to the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s. 11-year-old Zozo is preparing to leave war torn Lebanon for Sweden with his family, when a misfortunate bombing takes place on his apartment building, causing him to loose his entire family. But even when all seems lost for this young boy, there is still some comfort in the fact that he is able to go live with his grandparents in Sweden.

For Zozo, Sweden was always a thought of peace, a place where there are no conflicts, and where nature is in harmony. Being able to go to Sweden was not only a great opportunity, but also a strong hope at life again. Just when all seemed dark, this opportunity brought a new light into Zozo’s life. Only after landing in Sweden did Zozo face the harsh reality of adjusting in a new and completely foreign place. No doubt in the end it all proved good for him, but in the beginning, he was an outcast and dealing with all the social problems that he faces was really admirable. And to add to that, he has to face his own young and yet confused subconscious which is full of questions and searching desperately for answers.

I believe the main point that the director, Josef Fares, is trying to illustrate is the immense power of human determination and will power. Life is basically full of hope, and it is up to us to take advantage of everything coming our way and turn into something profitable. The film also demonstrates the importance of overcoming the hurdles and obstacles in life so that we can make the most of our short but beautiful stay on earth. Fares cleverly through the tragic story gives important lessons along the way. The film shows that there is humor, that there is a voice of hope, and that there are pleasures in even the little wonders of life. This movie is given from a perspective of a young 11 year old kid, it is given from a viewpoint from a child who has seen things naturally that no kid should ever face. But what is so enlightening is how these trials and hardships from childhood prepare Zozo to face and conquer anything and everything that comes along his way. Fares, is amazingly talented when it comes to telling a story and he does this with excellent music and cinematography that compliments every scene and makes it stand out from the rest. In a dramatic story when the story wants to give you hope, it will do it in a form we all imagine but in reality it is highly improbable. You can evidently see this when Zozo finds comfort in talking to a chick. After he looses his parents, the chick is still there, then he meets this girl and they fall in love, she helps him but then he loses her too, this time to the girl’s father. There is tragedy but there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you gather the courage to stand up and face life, then that’s all it takes to change things around. Jokes are essential when you are trying to recover from a tragic incident and you see that in this movie both visually and in characterization. Zozo’s grandfather shows tremendous courage, pretends nothing can harm him and wants to teach this lesson to Zozo but at the same time is very humorous and just wants everyone around him to smile and have a good time. He teaches Zozo that there is solution to every problem and that life can be made perfect after struggle and effort.

Culturally speaking, the movie talks about the average Lebanese family trying to live life the best they can in a country marred by bloodshed and grief. It’s not so much a universal phenomenon because most countries don’t have civil wars. Another interesting point the movie makes is that Zozo is in total denial when it comes to the fact that there is a civil war going on. He lives his normal life, goes to school, and hangs out with friends and talks about what kids his age talk about all over the world. Topics of interest include girls, sex, and sports, soccer in particular. You can see the universality when it comes to living for better life, going places to provide good for you and your family. Zozo’s family wanted to escape to Sweden so that they could live in peace and where everyday life is not impossible to get on with.

There was nothing Islamic about this movie other than the fact that Lebanon is a Muslim country and in some way or the other, people refer to God. Something that caught my interest was that Zozo’s grandmother is a Christian and grandfather is a Muslim. He made references to Allah but grandmother was only seen once or twice with the Christian cross necklace.

Like every other culture, Islamic teachings strongly emphasize that one should live life to its fullest, try to fulfill the meaning of our purpose in society, and to work hard for good. God helps you if you really want to help yourself and want to overcome any hardships in life. Be it Islam or any other culture, all promote happiness and advise people to live life in a fashion that’s pleasing to God and beneficent for the greater good of the humanity.

Personally I was very touched by this movie. I don’t usually like to watch movies with subtitles but this one was worth every second. It was truly inspiring in terms of the storyline and at the same time made me emotional seeing the plight of a boy who is too young to be going through the horrors of war. It was a moving experience and I feel very grateful that I had an opportunity to watch this movie. I’m waiting for the DVD to be released so that I can share it with others around me.