Another Ramadhan and another new hometown. One year has passed since my first Ramadhan in the US. Apart from the new hometown and a new school, some other things have changed. And some things have not changed (at least not changed in a positive way).
It's another year to enjoy God's banquet alone (for odd reasons, this reminds me of Bowling Alone). And being in a PhD program with crushing loads of reading while you're hungry for the whole day is not fun (such an unreasonable load of reading is not fun even with a full stomach, as my American friends tell me). And changes in your sleep pattern in a society that is used to have fun late night would make it even harder.
In Ramadhan, you eat your breakfast before dawn (sahar, in Islamic terms, about 5 am these days). And here, people are not used to sleep earlier than midnight (at best). That means they wouldn't let you sleep either while they're partying, listening to loud music or watching late-night shows or series on TV, etc. So, you sleep about midnight (or after) and then, you have to wake up about 4:30 am for your early breakfast (known as sahari in Islmaic jargon) and then try to sleep for a little while just to wake up soon for your morning routines. Trying to adapt to such an unhealthy sleep pattern is disorienting (and annoying) and some Muslims here prefer to skip the sahari meal. That's highly discouraged in Islam.
Ramadhan is the banquet of God. You don't feast just when you break your fast at the end of the day; feasting begins at the beginning of the day, right when you wake up to have your sahari. And it's not just about eating at that time. You have some prayers before and after your sahari meal. And man, those prayers are so nice and eloquent. One of the things I miss about Iran is listening to Sahar prayer from radio while enjoying my elaborate breakfast beside my parents. Sahar has always been the most enjoyable time of my life.
All nostalgia about sahar and sahar prayers aside, I cannot skip sahari meal for practical reasons. Even under normal conditions, my blood sugar is low and reading so many books and papers with even a lower blood sugar is not easy. So, I have to get along with sleep disruptions to have my sahari. That's easier said than done.
Over my time in Toledo, my apartment was in a crappy place (and as I was stuck with a co-lease, I couldn't get rid of there before the end of my lease). My apartment overlooked the parking lot. And although there were "No Loitering" signs over the place, there were always people having fun one way or another in the parking lot; chatting, showing off their car stereos, or even partying.
If there was a night that I could sleep before midnight without being woken up at 1 or 2 am by people shouting, singing, brawling or fighting, that was my lucky night. And the only thing that the landlord was concerned about was collecting rents on time. She didn't care about all the noise or people using their apartments to run all sort of business. To her, these things were people's lifestyle. At one point, she suggested me (it came more as an order) to study in the library (at school), to which I answered "I cannot sleep in the library". In a sense, my first Ramadhan in the US was probably the worst one I've ever had. But some things have changed for better.
When I came here in June to look for apartments, I made it a priority to find a place in a quiet, party-free area, and without a room-mate. And I can say my place although not ideal, is far better than my previous one. I'm beginning to recover from my sleep disorders. My apartment overlooks a garden (instead of a parking lot). Every night, I go to sleep with the nocturne of frogs, crickets and other insects (whose name I don't know) and I wake up by the conference of the birds in the morning. And my neighbors here are more mature and responsible compared to my previous place. But still, it's not convenient to sleep around 12 am (or later) and wake up at 4:30 and try to go back to sleep briefly.
And I badly miss listening to Sahar prayer over my sahari meal. You can still download it as an audio file and listen to it. But still, hearing it in real feels different; when you begin your day-long banquet at that early hour by treating your body with some yummies and in the meantime, ask God to give your soul some replenishment out of His infinite resources.
And you know that multitudes of other guests in other homes are doing the same thing as you at the same time and listening to the same prayer. A synchronism in apparent asynchronism. Ah, the incorrigible engineer inside me never gives up seeing everything through the lens of system theory.
This is a (not so successful) attempt to translate the opening verses:
My Lord, I ask you of your glory by its most glorious and all your glory is glorious; My Lord, I ask you by your glory in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your beauty by its most beautiful and all your beauty is beautiful; My Lord, I ask you by your beauty in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your splendor by its most splendid and all your splendor is splendid; My Lord, I ask you by your splendor in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your greatness by its greatest and all your greatness is great; My Lord, I ask you by your greatness in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your light by its most luminescent and all your light is luminescent; My Lord, I ask you by your light in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your grace by its most encompassing and all your grace is encompassing; My Lord, I ask you by your grace in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your words by their most complete and all your words are complete; My Lord, I ask you by your words in their entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your perfection by its most perfect and all your perfection is perfect; My Lord, I ask you by your perfection in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your names by their greatest and all your names are great; My Lord, I ask you by your names in their entirety.
It's another year to enjoy God's banquet alone (for odd reasons, this reminds me of Bowling Alone). And being in a PhD program with crushing loads of reading while you're hungry for the whole day is not fun (such an unreasonable load of reading is not fun even with a full stomach, as my American friends tell me). And changes in your sleep pattern in a society that is used to have fun late night would make it even harder.
In Ramadhan, you eat your breakfast before dawn (sahar, in Islamic terms, about 5 am these days). And here, people are not used to sleep earlier than midnight (at best). That means they wouldn't let you sleep either while they're partying, listening to loud music or watching late-night shows or series on TV, etc. So, you sleep about midnight (or after) and then, you have to wake up about 4:30 am for your early breakfast (known as sahari in Islmaic jargon) and then try to sleep for a little while just to wake up soon for your morning routines. Trying to adapt to such an unhealthy sleep pattern is disorienting (and annoying) and some Muslims here prefer to skip the sahari meal. That's highly discouraged in Islam.
Ramadhan is the banquet of God. You don't feast just when you break your fast at the end of the day; feasting begins at the beginning of the day, right when you wake up to have your sahari. And it's not just about eating at that time. You have some prayers before and after your sahari meal. And man, those prayers are so nice and eloquent. One of the things I miss about Iran is listening to Sahar prayer from radio while enjoying my elaborate breakfast beside my parents. Sahar has always been the most enjoyable time of my life.
All nostalgia about sahar and sahar prayers aside, I cannot skip sahari meal for practical reasons. Even under normal conditions, my blood sugar is low and reading so many books and papers with even a lower blood sugar is not easy. So, I have to get along with sleep disruptions to have my sahari. That's easier said than done.
Over my time in Toledo, my apartment was in a crappy place (and as I was stuck with a co-lease, I couldn't get rid of there before the end of my lease). My apartment overlooked the parking lot. And although there were "No Loitering" signs over the place, there were always people having fun one way or another in the parking lot; chatting, showing off their car stereos, or even partying.
If there was a night that I could sleep before midnight without being woken up at 1 or 2 am by people shouting, singing, brawling or fighting, that was my lucky night. And the only thing that the landlord was concerned about was collecting rents on time. She didn't care about all the noise or people using their apartments to run all sort of business. To her, these things were people's lifestyle. At one point, she suggested me (it came more as an order) to study in the library (at school), to which I answered "I cannot sleep in the library". In a sense, my first Ramadhan in the US was probably the worst one I've ever had. But some things have changed for better.
When I came here in June to look for apartments, I made it a priority to find a place in a quiet, party-free area, and without a room-mate. And I can say my place although not ideal, is far better than my previous one. I'm beginning to recover from my sleep disorders. My apartment overlooks a garden (instead of a parking lot). Every night, I go to sleep with the nocturne of frogs, crickets and other insects (whose name I don't know) and I wake up by the conference of the birds in the morning. And my neighbors here are more mature and responsible compared to my previous place. But still, it's not convenient to sleep around 12 am (or later) and wake up at 4:30 and try to go back to sleep briefly.
And I badly miss listening to Sahar prayer over my sahari meal. You can still download it as an audio file and listen to it. But still, hearing it in real feels different; when you begin your day-long banquet at that early hour by treating your body with some yummies and in the meantime, ask God to give your soul some replenishment out of His infinite resources.
And you know that multitudes of other guests in other homes are doing the same thing as you at the same time and listening to the same prayer. A synchronism in apparent asynchronism. Ah, the incorrigible engineer inside me never gives up seeing everything through the lens of system theory.
This is a (not so successful) attempt to translate the opening verses:
My Lord, I ask you of your glory by its most glorious and all your glory is glorious; My Lord, I ask you by your glory in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your beauty by its most beautiful and all your beauty is beautiful; My Lord, I ask you by your beauty in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your splendor by its most splendid and all your splendor is splendid; My Lord, I ask you by your splendor in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your greatness by its greatest and all your greatness is great; My Lord, I ask you by your greatness in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your light by its most luminescent and all your light is luminescent; My Lord, I ask you by your light in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your grace by its most encompassing and all your grace is encompassing; My Lord, I ask you by your grace in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your words by their most complete and all your words are complete; My Lord, I ask you by your words in their entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your perfection by its most perfect and all your perfection is perfect; My Lord, I ask you by your perfection in its entirety.
My Lord, I ask you of your names by their greatest and all your names are great; My Lord, I ask you by your names in their entirety.
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