Shookria Basir and Enayatullah Basir say Ramadan is about appreciating what we have, rather than greedy for what we want. Photo: RNZ / Isra'a Emhail
Kiwi Muslims are preparing to break their first fast for the Islamic month of Ramadan about 14 hours after starting - later than in the previous 20 years or so.
Ramadan has started on Sunday, the Federation of the Islamic Associations (FIANZ) says.
Muslims rely on the moon to follow their lunar-based Hijri calendar and know when Ramadan begins. When they sight the new moon, they begin fasting from sunrise to sunset every day, for 29 or 30 days, until the new moon appears again and a new month begins. Eid al-Fitr celebrations commence after the last day of fasting.
The Islamic year shifts back about 10-12 days each Gregorian calendar year, meaning that in the next seven years or so Muslims will be observing Ramadan during New Zealand's long summer days. (Fun fact: It is expected to be observed twice in the year 2030.)
Although the days may not be as long as some countries like Iceland or Greenland, which saw Muslims fast for about 17 hours last year, Auckland-based couple Shookria and Enayatullah Basir say the "true test" of Ramadan comes from experiencing hardship and overcoming it.
Pedestrians walk past a section of the old city as snow is pictured on the ground in Ghazni province on 12 February, 2013. Photo: AFP / Rahmatullah Alizad
Originally from Afghanistan's southeastern city of Ghazni, Enayatullah says Ramadan was difficult for a lot of families back there, even nowadays.
"Here, we have a lot of comfortability, and we have plenty of food … You don't really feel, in my point of view, the true test of Ramadan. We don't feel that much hunger.
"So over there, we were really feeling hunger and everybody was countlessly waiting for the time to break their [fast] ... Everything was so true basically, Ramadan was true."
Before families in rural villages had clocks, they often missed their chance to have the meal before sunrise, called suhoor, and would have to go into the next fasting day on an empty stomach, he says.
"Every family or maybe one whole town had like two or three [roosters]. So they were like very well looked after during Ramadan, they were like giving nice food to him, and then I don't know [how the roosters] have a sort of sense before the dawn ... they make the roosting sound.
"So the person who had the rooster, he was responsible for waking everybody else, so they have like a very big stick to tap on each door and windows.
"The whole Ramadan, during the day, everything was related to that rooster. If the rooster [didn't make a noise], you had to take your fast without eating anything."
Children wait as an Afghan man distributes food during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Ghazni province on 6 June, 2016. Photo: AFP / Zakeria Hashimi
The families living in cities wouldn't suffer too much in summer, but those in rural villages would have to get up early to manage their land and herd, the couple says.
"Back in the day, you wake up and have a pot of yoghurt and bread that was your suhoor. You couldn't have a full meal because not everybody could afford [it]," Shookria says.
"I remember we didn't have meat. We used to have meat once a month ... and that was it. We used to have rice, lentils, chickpeas and sometimes eggs, but mostly the milk from the sheep."
But Shookria says that's the whole point of Ramadan - eating as much as you need to survive, not eating to indulge as it has sometimes become for some people who have that luxury.
An Afghan woman carries a wheelbarrow while going for water to a fountain in a village in Qarabagh district distant 56km to the south-west of Ghazni, in Ghazni province, on 14 November, 2021. Photo: AFP / Hector Retamal
Ramadan gives people strength to fight against their circumstances, and appreciate sacrifice and the value of food, she says.
"It's a month of patience, that they have no tensions. They have no stress. They become so much more calmer with people, like they give out more food to the poor, even though they have nothing to feed themselves.
"[The idea is] that if I feed one thing, Allah will feed me and my family at the same time.
"You become more grateful for what you have now, and that's important to do during Ramadan, to be grateful for what you have, not greedy for what you want."
As well as fasting, Muslims use the month to renew their spiritual connections with their faith through extra prayers, reading the Qur'an, giving charity and forgiving others as well as asking for forgiveness.
They consider this month to be holy because it's when the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad more than 1400 years ago.
Fasting during this month is one of the five pillars of the religion and mandatory for those who are able, excluding children, elderly, people who are too ill or pregnant.
Shookria Basir says bread products like chive bolani were a mainstay at iftar. Photo: Supplied / Shookria Basir
