Ramadan in Small Town
a reflection of this year's holy month
On the 28th of February 2025, Small Town was abuzz. A sweet tension, exciting and anticipated, wafted across the city. The Muslims were either at the boulevard or at some high point in the city—somewhere the sky was clearest—looking up. Or they were especially glued to their phones, incessantly scrolling and updating their feeds for the latest news. The month of Sha'ban was coming to a close. Islamdom's most cherished month was very nearly here. But to be sure, we had to look up to the skies and search for the new moon. For all of Islam follows the lunar calendar. And even though the Mufti, the highest religious leader of the land, would eventually announce the date, Muslims generally feel a great affection for moon sighting.
Sure enough, at dawn the next morning, the Mufti announced that Ramadan was to officially begin on the 2nd of March. Father was livid that morning after finding out that his nephews began fasting a full day before the announcement. A whole island community had heard that Saudi Arabia had already declared their Ramadan and had begun fasting. "Astagfirullah! Who are you to go ahead without the Mufti's signal?! They have a leader there; we have our leader here!"
I went to the supermarket as usual to restock items for the store, and 9:00 AM is always the best time to grocery shop. The store would have just opened; I had prepared my usual list and by now had already memorized the aisles and their contents. But turning towards the entrance, the store was brimming with customers. Most of them were Muslim mothers pushing cartfuls of groceries. Sensing that this was going to be a full day for us Muslims, I resolved to buy only half of the groceries and quickly go home. The boys and I needed to plan for our store too.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. More so than withholding drinking and eating from sunset until sundown, Muslims are encouraged to rebrand and realign ourselves to the faith. We regard it as a month of resolutions to become better Muslims. Do more good deeds, pray more, and relearn the Qur'an. In Islam, Ramadan is our January.
The typical schedule includes waking up around 3:00 AM to eat Suhoor, fasting during the day, breaking the fast come sundown (Iftar), and performing the Ramadan prayers during the evenings until month's end. But that's if you're rich. Well-to-do Muslims would typically sleep until noon. That would not be the case for the boys and me. I told my boys that during Ramadan we would open the store at 6AM as usual. There would be no breaks for the entire month, but each of my boys would only work for half the day, to be alternated by the other. We would close at 5PM, and within that hour, help as much as we can for Iftar. We would pray the hour-long Taraweeh and reopen the store for one more hour. We would close at 9 PM. In short, we would be working longer hours, and we would be hungry, groggy, and drowsy doing it.
The initial and subsequent weeks passed swiftly. Our masjid, draped with golden Christmas lights, could be seen far away. The pavements were clogged with parked motorcycles and SUVs during Taraweeh time; the congregation was always full. By day the store didn't bring in much income. But after the prayers, when we would open for that brief hour, the quota was somehow reached. We thanked the smokers who had gone all day smokeless and throat dry, clamoring for their cigarettes and colas. And the chanting of people sang through well into midnight every night. We were busy and focused. Much of the news of the world was either put aside or fell on deaf ears. We didn't even realize it was Oscars season.
In mid-Ramadan, some of the younger people's focus began waning. The parked vehicles became fewer as the nights went by. But the grown-ups remained steadfast. My sister announced that she would be journeying to Saudi Arabia for umrah. She would be there for 9 days. She invited our mother and father to join. For women cannot travel to the Holy Lands alone and must be accompanied by either their husband or a male family counterpart. My first disconnect from my focus on Ramadan was when I reapplied for law school. Papers needed to be collected in Manila. So I tagged along with my sister and spent a week there.
In the late days of Ramadan came the Laylatul Qadr (or the Night of Power). The last 10 days of the month are said to be "better than a thousand months" (Qur'an 97:3). Specifically, Laytatul Qadr is the night the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet (S.A.W.) by the Angel Jibreel (or Gabriel). The night usually falls on the 27th day, though it is best to pray intensely during the last ten days. If the beginning days were hard, the last were even harder. In those days and nights, we barely slept, barely ate, but prayed even more until the last day arrived.
The president had already declared the Eid to be the 2nd of April. Every date of Eid is approved after recommendation of the government office NCMF (National Commission for Muslim Filipinos). However, it is almost never followed. For again we follow both the phase of the moon and the Mufti's declaration. And for this year, it was declared to be the 31st of March. During the evening until the late mornings of the Eid, the chanting doesn't stop: "Allahu Akbar Allah Akbar Allahu Akbar. La Illaha illallahu Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar wa lillahil hamd." Well into twilight, well into dawn, and until the Fajr and after, we chant again. The very last prayer is then performed just after sunset, and the sermon is delivered. And we all ask for forgiveness from each other. A clean slate for all.
Many think the fasting ends here, but it doesn't. In Shawwal, the month after Ramadan, we fast for six more days. Not required but highly recommended, as it is said to erase our sins for the entire previous year. It almost feels like non-days for me, almost feeling like in a gym session where you have twelve reps, the coach suddenly demands five more. Every ounce of discipline was used and then some. When it all ended, a well-deserved break was due. We closed the store for three days. One of the boys and I spent them shut in our rooms, no communication, while the other decided to go back to their island home for a week. All in all, I would say that Ramadan this year was just as it was in the past months. Grueling, intense, rewarding, and calming at the same time. I hope every Muslim has felt some peace during the fasting days at least.
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