ERAM GILL During Ramadan, good intentions matter the most

The countdown is under way ... 20, 15, 8, 2 ... Every year we do it; and yet, each year's countdown brings the same anxiety, "Will we be able to do it?" "All day without eating" "A month is such a long time!" and "How will I do my work?"
And with each year's anxiety, the month of Ramadan, the ninth in the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims all over the world are ordained to fast, commences.
Waking during the wee hours of the mornings with sunrise over an hour away, we turn on our kitchen lights and set a pot of tea to boil. Usually we are not very hungry so early and would rather be sleeping, but we also need to nourish ourselves until sunset, when our fast will be broken.
Hot omelets and crisp homemade flatbread is our usual suhoor, or breakfast, during Ramadan, although many of our friends make do with cereal, coffee or just water!
But we like to take advantage of these mornings of Ramadan since we don't usually get to sit down and eat a hot breakfast (my husband usually runs out the door for work.)
After suhoor, the fast, or saum, begins and we wash up for the pre-sunrise prayer, or fajr, as prescribed in Islam for our daily routine.
The first few days of Ramadan are always the hardest; after all, when one is so used to a midmorning snack, lunch, the afternoon caffeine high, and then dinner, one's body is programmed to the clock and a sugar rush. But with the first day of Ramadan, the routine has to change.
What people asked
Born and reared here in Canfield, going to public schools and being Muslim always brought a lot of questions, especially during this month.
"You have to fast for a whole month?" "You mean you never get to eat?" "What about water? What about gum? What about Tylenol?" and "Can't you sneak something in the bathroom ... who'll find out?" The questions were endless, but I loved answering them, as I still do.
To Muslims, the problem is not usually the food, drink, anything to ingest, or conjugal relations from which we abstain from dawn to dusk each day for 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the new moon of the following month.
The question is more about the moral vices from which we are to fast as well, such as becoming angry, lying or being disrespectful to others -- the spiritual aspect of fasting which is as important as the physical aspect. It is this spiritual control for which we are truly aiming.
Of course, there have been times when I have not fasted despite this basic injunction in Islam. After all, one who is ill and has to take medications, is traveling, or is elderly or very young, may not be able to fulfill the physical part of fasting.
Last year, I was expecting my first child and although I fasted for a few days, friends and relatives as well as my own body advised me not to fast. I could always make up the missed days at a later time.
What counts
Furthermore, in Islam we understand that Allah is not interested so much in our hungry bodies, but more in our good intentions, and does not want to overburden those unable to fast.
In fact, there is a saying of our Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) that if one inadvertently eats something during the fast, then that person can accept it as a gift from Allah, or God, and should continue with the fast as normal.
Nevertheless, there is something so special and awesome about Ramadan itself which pervades the body, mind and soul of every Muslim. Maybe it is the humility one feels, even if only for a few hours, that one is hungry, not just unsatiated, but truly hungry.
For the love of this religion and respect for Allah's commandant, we patiently withstand that hunger, as do the people who live with hunger everyday without choice.
Perhaps it is the aura of this holy month since it was during this month over 1,400 years ago that the Koran, the holy book and guide to every aspect of this life for Muslims, was first revealed.
But try as we will to fast on other days and months of the year, it will be much more difficult to get through those days. But the specialness of Ramadan and the unity among Muslims when they are fasting allows for the long hours of the day to pass without too much effort.
So as we reach the evening hours, with the clock's hands ticking toward iftar, or fast-breaking time, and the sweet dates are on hand that are traditionally eaten by Muslims to fill our bodies with the initial rush of glucose, Muslims unite in marking off a day in the next countdown toward Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival which immediately follows the month of Ramadan.
New questions arise, similar in content, but whose answers, God-willing, grow more certain every year: "Will I be able to control my hunger during a regular day of the year like in Ramadan? What about my anger?"
"Can I withhold from smoking, as during the fast?" "Will I stick to my five daily prayers as vigilantly as in Ramadan?" and "Can I be as good every day as I was during the holy month called Ramadan?"
Consequently with a little bit of will power, and a lot of iman, or faith, we can help to make every day a countdown to goodness, a countdown to success, as we do for Ramadan.
XEram Gill is a member of Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown. She has a bachelor of science degree and a teaching certificate from Youngstown State University, and is a wife and mother of one.