Ramadan: Peace of mind and religious spirituality (Community)

I used to welcome the Holy Month of Ramadan every year* advising people to respect the holiness and spirituality of the month. This year* I?d like to welcome Ramadan in a different way* by shedding light on some of the most common problems during this month* and suggesting some solutions so that Ramadan can be spent with more regularity and peace of mind. One of the problems that people face in Ramadan is the irregularity of sleep schedules. In the other months of the year* most people sleep at night and spend the day in activities. In Ramadan* the system is turned around in a way that people stay up late and sometimes sleep after the dawn prayer. Those who work face problems* especially if they have to wake up at nine or ten o?clock in the morning. People can organize their time in Ramadan to overcome this problem. What they should do is to sleep at the end of the night. If they are used to sleeping for eight hours during the rest of the year* they can make sure they get the same hours sleep in Ramadan by sleeping four hours* for example from one o?clock to four or four thirty. This makes sleeping the other four hours easier after the dawn prayer. In this way* they will not face the problem of too little sleep in Ramadan. Another problem that people usually face in Ramadan is the problem of not eating well in Ramadan* or rather the equilibrium of meals during this month. Most people is that they break their fast with a heavy meal immediately after sunset. Just before they feel hungry and think that they will eat a lot* but when the time comes to eat they are unable to. Just one or two hours later* they feel hungry again. This problem can be solved easily by better arranging meals. What they should do is to have a light meal to break the fast. They can pray the sunset and night prayers while they work up their hunger. Then they can have their lunch. This way* they will eat better and alleviate their hunger for more hours. One more problem common in Ramadan is the bad smells in the mosques. The source of this smell is either leftovers from the food that people bring to the mosque to break their fast or the smells of the peoples? belches. This problem is really common in most of the mosques* especially in Ramadan* because people are used to eating vegetables such as onion and garlic before praying. Again* the problem is in the hands of the people themselves. They can stop eating such vegetables or at least delay eating them until after the pray time. In this way* the mosques will not smell bad during this month* unlike the rest of the year. One more common problem is how people easily become moody during the day in Ramadan. Because they are fasting* people in Ramadan are easy to anger and sometimes quarrel. This can be noticed in markets and crowded streets. I do not think the problem is fasting* but the people themselves who have to find a solution. To solve such a problem* I think* people should calm down* and remember that shouting* abusing each other and quarreling all negatively affect their fasting. There is no need to create problems out of nothing. If the issue is serious* they should search for solutions rather than making problems and quarrels. These are the most common problems that people face during this holy month. These easy solutions should be followed if people really want to avoid trouble and live the month with peace of mind and religious spirituality.Maged Thabet Al-Kholidy is a contributing opinion writer from Taiz. He holds an MA in English* and is the former editor of Taiz University?s English-language magazine....

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