Practice: October 2007 Archives

Each morning during Ramadan is the suhoor (the pre-dawn meal), the private antithesis to the usually congregational and public iftar at the end of the day.  It is the fasting Muslim's daily opportunity to set the tone for the day, both physically and spiritually.  When done right, the suhoor  allows you to properly focus on your daily responsibilities as well as your religious ones, and when done wrong (or not at all), it just plain makes your day miserable.

There are few opportunities to be truly alone with yourself (and by extension, God) than the early morning hours before the break of dawn, when the fajr prayer normally takes place.  The world outside is still, and having just woken up, your mind is clear and in the best shape for communication with the Divine.  Ideally, if you can leave enough time for both prayer and eating before dawn, it is an enriching experience.  Even those who don't have the time to do this normally are making up for it in this last ten days of Ramadan, when extra prayers are recommended and the "Night of Power" (said to be on one of the odd-numbered days in the last third of the month) awaits.