The celebration of Ramadan begins Thursday in the households of many Muslim students, despite social distancing. 

“Ramadan marks the 9th month of the Muslim year when God, Allah, gave the prophet, Muhammad, the first chapters of the Quran,” freshman Iman Jabbar said via text. “During the 30 days of Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam”.

During the month many Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset as well as pray five times each day.

“For the month of Ramadan, my family and I usually wake up at around 4 am to eat suhoor, pray morning prayers, and go back to sleep,” freshman Ifra Zainab said via text. “Then we continue our regular day stopping to pray our daily five prayers, and then at sunset we get to break our fast. I also go to a friend’s house to break my fast and I go to the masjid with my family, but neither of those things are possible anymore”.

Due to social distancing, many families will be unable to participate in their Ramadan traditions this year.

”One of the biggest parts of Ramadan is going to the mosque every night and participating in prayer,” sophomore Aleeza Hussain said via text. “And because of what’s going on we won’t be able to go which will really be sad for my family and for all other Muslims.”

Many students, like sophomore Rabat Abwar, believe there can be positive aspects to celebrating Ramadan at home. 

“Schools closing allows us to be much more flexible with our schedules, especially during Ramadan where staying up late for prayer and suhoor are part of a daily routine,” Abwar said via text. “Additionally, the lack of extracurricular activities make fasting a lot easier on students preventing burnout”.