Longer Ramadan sacrifice, greater blessings

Short, easy and breezy fasts that started late and ended early are over for Muslims.

For the next decade or so, fasts -- which begin at sunrise, end at sunset and continue for about 30 consecutive days during the Islamic month of Ramadan -- are going to get longer with the earlier arrival of the holy month on the calendar.

Despite that, Muslims are excited about its start, which began at sunset Wednesday.

Alizey Azmi said she'll fast no matter what.

"It's getting tougher and tougher, but it's all right," the 15-year-old Carpentersville resident said. "It's part of your religion. It's part of your belief."

A pillar of Islam

When fasting begins this morning, Muslims around the world will make an extra effort to focus on self-control, patience and empathy for the poor.

Fasting is the fourth pillar of Islam. During daylight hours, Muslims can't eat, drink liquids, smoke or have sex.

Because the Islamic calendar runs on lunar cycles, Ramadan begins 10 days earlier each year, and the month rotates through all four seasons every 33 years, said Ibrahim Mohamed, an Imam, or leader of prayers, at Islamic Foundation North in Libertyville.

When the month of Ramadan landed in winter, fasts lasted about 12 hours, said Muzammil Siddiqi, chairman of the Islamic Law Council of North America.

Now that Ramadan's slowly moving closer to summer months, this year's fasts will be up to 15 hours long.

Mohamed and Siddiqi said people get used to the concept of fasting, regardless of its length.

"People have been practicing it for the past 1,400 years in all kinds of climates," Siddiqi said. "So this is not the first time. It takes time, but our body can adjust to it."

Time of renewal

While some first-generation Muslims will experience their primary set of longer fasts this month, older residents will take part in their second cycle of extensive fasts.

Asim Farooq, 24, of Streamwood, said when fasts were short and ended about 4:30 p.m., it basically was like skipping lunch.

Now that Muslims will break their fasts about 7 p.m., Farooq's routine of working out at 5 p.m. daily will take a monthlong break because he won't be able to quench his thirst while exercising.

"Once they start getting longer, you actually have to change your schedule to accommodate everything," Farooq said. "You can't do some of the things that you'd normally do during the day."

Meanwhile, Shahnawaz Basha still remembers when there were longer fasts about three decades ago.

"For people who don't work, it's fine," the 62-year-old Oak Brook woman said. "But for students and people who work, it's kind of hard. I think it's the faith that keeps them moving."

Farooq said he believes the lengthier fasts will force him to be more organized. In addition to fasting, he plans to read the Quran and donate time and money to charities.

"It's a month where you can kind of renew your faith and your spirituality," Farooq said. "It's a new start, and, basically, you reconnect yourself with god."

Time of joy

After 55 years of fasting, Basha still looks ahead to the Ramadan's arrival.

"This is a blessed month, and you want everybody to be happy around the world," she said. "It brings you closer to all the people, regardless of their faith."

Mohamed of Islamic Foundation North said the month has been a special time for him since he was a child growing up in Libya.

He said there is a "deep spiritual connection that one goes through during the month of Ramadan that lasts after Ramadan ends."

Dahlia Refai, 23, of Naperville -- who said the fasts will be more difficult but more rewarding -- said she thinks the month is a magical time.

"I feel really at peace during this time, and everything falls into place," Refai said.

Islamic Law Council's Siddiqi agreed.

"The month of Ramadan is the time of great joy and happiness," he said. "Muslims don't associate fasting with mourning and sadness. They associate it with the revelation of the Quran."