If you are a non-Muslim living in the Muslim world, Ramadan can be a strange experience. Birjees Hussein explains the various traditions and customs of the holy month.

Each community in the family of mankind has its rituals and celebrations, and sometimes it is difficult to understand what is going on across the divide of belief. Muslims watch in amazement each year at the unfolding of the Christian holiday season with its decorated trees and flashing lights and gift-giving and parties. Correspondingly, non-Muslims who reside in the Muslim world observe the holy month of Ramadan and the later Eid holiday, quite ofter mystified at the annual rites. As the month of fasting has already commenced in Dubai and the Eid celebration is approaching, Al Shindagha thought it mght be useful to shed some light on the Islamic beliefs and practices which are observed during this special holiday period.

The fast is a trust, so let each of you keep that trust! This injunction of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) is remembered by all Muslims on the ninth month of their Hijri calendar. Ramadan is a strict discipline observed by over one billion Muslims world-wide. The fast from sunrise to sundown is a duty which is required of them as one of the five Islamic pillars of faith and action.

What is the rationale of the long and difficult fast of Ramadan? Islam is a system of belief which allows humans to fulfil their real potential. The lifestyle which God's revelation dictates is quite practical, a sort of supreme common sense. To control the appetites that motivate much of our lives is eminently practical. By learning to deny those appetites, to regulate them, to moderate them, the believer strengthens himself.

Not only does the fasting believer learn to rule his physical needs (instead of they leading him), he learns to weather the lean times which will inevitably come to test mankind. Droughts and pestilence and earthquakes and hurricanes, natural disasters will always batter our world and destroy the material supports mankind devises to insulate itself. Calamity provides a cruel lesson, that our stores of grains and material goods and bank accounts can shrivel up or be washed away or disappear, but never the rewards of belief in the One God.

So the month of denial is a very practical, common sense activity, a sort of training camp for the spirit and the body.

Ramadan also teaches the believer to commiserate with and to care for his neighbour. When going without food, a Muslim physically experiences some portion of the thirst and hunger of the less fortunate. For those enjoying the benefits of modern economic development, the fast reminds them of the difficulties experienced by their forefathers, and especially the first Muslims who lived without any of the mod cons which have made the modern life so comfortable for many of the believers.

There is also a medical benefit bestowed by moderate fasting. Many doctors in both East and West are persuaded that going without food for periods of time cleanses the body by expelling impurities. Not only can health therefore be stimulated but stubborn ailments can be rectified. People suffering from rheumatism or arthritis, for instance, have reported improvements to their health during Ramadan.

Every Muslim over the age of eleven must fast. But as Islam is a belief which is practical and lenient, observance of the fast is moderated for those to whom it would present too great a burden. The sick and infirm are excepted, as are travellers. Anyone thus absolved from fasting, however, is obligated to make up for the lost days by fasting later in the year.

The most important element of Ramadan is that the mind should remain unblemished. During this special period of cleansing the believer's eyes should seek out nothing to distract his higher appetites from God. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) offered this advice in one of the Hadiths: The furtive glance is one of the poisoned arrows of Satan, on him be God's curse. Whoever forsakes Satan for fear of God will receive from Him a faith the sweetness of which he will find within his heart.

There is another potentially guilty party to crime which the holy month tries to rein in, namely, the tongue! The believer should speak no evil during the fast, which means no lying, backbiting, gossiping or even uttering anything which would upset another. Not only is there an injunction against such sins, but the Prophet also warned against listening to unpleasant talk from others: The backbiter and his listener are co-partners in sin.

Ramadan is also the special time for giving charity, known in Islam as zakaat. This obligation can be performed at any time of the year, but the Prophet favoured the ninth month for generosity because that was when the Holy Quran was revealed. Charity is a pillar of Islam, but the duty should be performed without publicity. Giving to the poor with public fanfare can be faulted as grasping for attention, and should therefore avoided. If adulation is the real motivation for charity, the believer is counselled that his generosity is in vain.

The holy month of Ramadan is not all abstinence, for every evening the believer is permitted nourishment. The key to the nightly consumption of food and drink, however, is moderation. If the daily fast is followed by daily gluttony, then what spiritual or physical benefit will be derived? The Prophet advised that the amount of consumption on Ramadan evenings should be to the same measure as the rest of the year.

Ramadan is a special highpoint of the Islamic year, and each Muslim region has developed special foods prepared only during the holy month. In Dubai itself there are many resident Muslim nationalities, each community practising its own Ramadan traditions. Hasna hails from Sudan and fondly recounts how her entire household is up at least an hour before sunrise for a small snack, or sahur, prepared earlier. Eating, drinking and smoking must stop before dawn, which is signalled by the fajr prayer.

Like back home in Khartoum, the working days for Muslims in Dubai are shortened to enable the believers to rest and to prepare for breaking the fast with the iftar meal. Hasna tells how she works hard to delight her family after their difficult day of fasting with special Ramadan foods. Falafel are fried to be eaten with a special drink made from helomar. This is a Sudanese dark brown bread with a sweet and sour taste soaked for hours in warm water, then strained and miixed with lots of sugar to satisfy the famous Arabic sweet tooth!

When the last day of Ramadan arrives, it is the traditional occasion to bestow zakaat on the poor. Some believers arrange to have money sent to poor relatives in advance, so that they can receive it at this time. Others will make last minute trips to their local mosque where collection boxes will be ready to receive their charity.

When finally the sliver of the new moon is sighted and the month of Ramadan is declared finished, Muslims rejoice with the Eid holiday, a time of prayer and family reunions and gift-giving and feasting. It takes a strong man indeed to remember those precious lessons in moderation which were learned during the weeks before.

At Eid, every Muslim looks forward to new clothing and shoes. Hasna recalls how as a child she would hardly be able to sleep the evening before for the excitement of her new frock and brand new shoes. Just as Christian children will be the first ones up on Christmas morning to find their presents under the tree, so Muslim kids can't wait to put on their new clothes and start the festivities.

For Sudanese Muslims, the Eid breakfast features mullah, which is minced meat with okra served with kissrah, a special type of bread. After the meal, the family dresses in its best. The men and boys go to the nearby mosque to offer the Eid prayers, and the women and girls pray at home, unless the local mosque has separate facilities for women. If there has been a bereavement in the family, after prayers the family will visit the graveside and if the loss was very recent, the decision may be made to forego the celebrations.

The traditional round of visits to the various family households then begins. Special Sudanese biscuits called kaak have been prepared earlier, made with wheat flour, ghee and cardamom, sprinkled with icing sugar. These and other sweets are served to the visitors along with cold drinks or coffee.

Hasna recalls fondly earlier days back in Khartoum when the entire neighbourhood would be alive with children in their new clothes playing in the streets, music playing from the houses. A constant ringing of doorbells would usher in an endless stream of relatives and friends with the customary Eid Mobarak! greetings and eidia money gifts being distributed to eager children.

Unlike the Sudanese community in Dubai, for Pakistani Muslim expats the main dish prepared for the Eid celebration is the traditional lamb or chicken bhiryani, to which is added raisins, pistachios and almonds. Especially for the Eid, expensive saffron is added for its delicate colouring and taste. Some cooks also add kevda, an essence of flowers which is like rose water. The bhiryani is then served with shish kebabs grilled in the open air over charcoal while the extended family sits around to catch up on the news. Visitors are served an array of traditional sweets which should include sivayi, a vermicelli cooked in milk mixed with nuts, raisins and kevda.

It is customary not to go empty handed when doing the rounds of visiting. Most Pakistanis will bear boxes of sweets or flowers. And for the children there will be the eidi, the gifts of money to the children of the house. Even if the children are shy, the visitors will be persistent and insist on this generosity.

These customs for the holy month of Ramadan and the Eid have grown over the history of Islam among the nations of believers. Dubai is a melting pot of these communities, from the Moroccans to the Egyptians and the Turks, to the Lebanese and Palestinians, to the Iraqis and Pakistanis and Indians, and of course to the native Emiratis themselves. The customs and practices are varied, but the belief is the same.