We are always chasing after worldly things, but every year, Ramadan gives us a chance to reflect and refocus. When it arrives, we experience the three essential disciplines on the path to becoming a complete believer: Eating less, sleeping less, and speaking less. We only experience these for a month, though. This is why we are told that a person's faith will deepen after Ramadan.
Ramadan is a mercy descending from the heavens to the earth. When its positive atmosphere combines with the spirit of Mecca (the heart of the earth) and Medina (the cradle of humanity), you experience a profound transformation. You are amazed by the vastness of your inner world, the softness of your heart, and the sweetness you taste in worship.
If you are performing ‘Umrah during Ramadan, your focus never wanders. You could not cross certain limits, even if you wished to. ‘Umrah in Ramadan is the ascension of souls lightened by fasting in the presence of the Ka‘bah. It is the endless purification that comes from fasting in the sacred atmosphere of these holy lands. Hierarchies disappear. You become one with all your human brothers and sisters. As the time of iftar approaches, hunger makes everyone equal. It erases all status and rank. In your otherwise protected and separate lives, you stand shoulder to shoulder, at the same table and in the same prayer rows, with people you would almost never meet. Their colors, scents, languages, and customs are different, and each one improves a different part of you. Your ego bows; your pride is humbled.
Perhaps inspired by the sunnah that whoever provides iftar for a fasting person will receive a reward equal to that of the one fasting; many regions of the Muslim world created their own iftar table traditions. But which of them can compare to the magnificence of the tables in Mecca and Medina? After the asr (afternoon) prayer, long sheets of paper are spread out and gradually filled with food. Five minutes after the call to the maghrib (sunset) prayer, everything is cleared away, cleaned, and the rows are formed for prayer. It is the largest, most delicious restaurant in the world. It serves millions of people for free, where people compete for the chance to serve others, not for the food.
It is a charity race—not to receive, but to give. Not only those who live there, but believers from all over the world strive throughout the year for the chance to set up even a small place at these vast iftars and feed a few people. Every space around the mosque has its host, and each host prepares according to their means and tradition.
If you are inside the mosque, your iftar menu may consist of yogurt with dukkah (a spice blend), bread, Zamzam water, dates, and tea. If you are outside, however, you might get anything you can imagine. Every evening, you will get to try different flavors from around the world.
Both inside and outside, coffee and dates are offered in abundance. All of this happens in just five minutes. If you are truly hungry, you realize how delicious everything is and how easy it is to feel satisfied. You will see that life is meaningless if you live only to eat.
Once the body’s need is met, it is the soul’s turn. The daily prayers, the tarawih, the tahajjud—performed calmly and without haste—and the recitation of the Qur'an flowing like a river into your very being: once you have experienced this, every Ramadan spent elsewhere feels incomplete.
