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Written by Nayer Taheri, Resident Chaplain
Spiritual Care Department
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA
J. Carey Jackson, MD
Medical Director, International Medicine Clinic
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA
The fourth requirement of Islam is fasting during Ramadan: the 9th month of Islamo-Arabic lunar calendar. According to the Fiqh Council of North America, in 2007 Ramadan will start on Thursday, the 13th of September and will continue for 30 days until Friday, the 12th of October. Ramaan is considered a month of community because religious practices such as prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are often practiced within community setting. During fasting, Muslims avoid eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise to sunset. Muslims gather as family and community in the evenings to open their fast by prayers and read the Qur'an in the evenings. Patients may receive an increasing number of visitors during this month.
Abstention from food and drink may bring problems for Muslim patients who
wish to fast because, to most patients, Ramadan is believed to be the most
blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. Based on the
Quran, those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are pregnant
or nursing are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days
later in the year: [2:185]
"The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur'an was revealed, as guidance
for humanity, and demonstration in the way of guidance and discrimination. So
whoever among you is present that month should fast. If anyone is ill or on a
journey, then the prescribed term is to perform other days. God wishes ease for
you, not hardship; and that you fulfill the prescribed terms, and that you celebrated
God for guiding you, and to express your appreciation."
The diurnal pattern of caloric intake is obviously reversed and diabetic schedules will have to be adjusted to accommodate this significant change. Since RAMADAN IS LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER THE EQUINOX, TWICE A DAY dosing before sunrise and after sunset should WORK with many medications. Focused discussion about daytime dosing or adjustment of schedules by clinicians will be needed to accommodate MEDICATIONS THAT ARE GIVEN MORE THAN TWICE A DAY.
Additional information about Breastfeeding during Ramadan
Breastfeeding
in Ramadhan - Specific to Somali diet