Ausma Zehanat Khan - Ramadan: The Holy Month of Fasting

Thank you to Sarah Harvey for asking me to take on this wonderful project. Im so fortunate to have benefited from her encouragement and guidance. Thank you to everyone at Orca Book Publishers for publishing such a worthwhile and necessary series. Thank you to Robin Stevenson for being so generous with her time and help, and for her amazing book Pride: Celebrating Diversity & Community. Thank you to my fellow authors in this series for blazing a trail.

My deep gratitude to Shaikh Ahmed Kutty for reading over this manuscriptit wouldnt be what it is without his wisdom and insight. Thank you to my dear friends Sajidah Kutty and Uzma Jalaluddin for answering all my questionsthey are my go-to Ramadan girls. My warmest appreciation to Rabbi Avram Mlotek and Josh Getzler for such a lovely and meaningful conversation on the traditions we hold in common. Im deeply grateful to Sahar Mustafah for her advice on Palestinian life and for so graciously proofreading my efforts.

Thank you to all my friends and family who helped get their kids involved in this book, but especially to Nozhat Choudry, Uzma Alam, Iram Ahmed and Najia Usman for going above and beyond; the amazing kids who chimed in on what Ramadan means to them; my wonderful niecesSummer Shaikh, for her invaluable research assistance and her help with photography, and Noor Shaikh, for taking so many gorgeous photographs; Fereshteh Hashemi for her great suggestions and for arranging her dinner table so beautifully; and my cousin Athif Khan for his beautiful photographs of Eid. And thank you to my parents, siblings and husbandIve celebrated my happiest Ramadans with youand Danielle Burby, my personal dragon-slayer.

Finally, Id like to acknowledge the efforts of all the kids I know who dedicate themselves to the spirit and purpose of Ramadan, and to the ones who will grow up to join them in their efforts: Summer, Casim, Layth, Maysa, Zayna, Noor, Negean, Ameer, Amin, Naseem, Iman, Nadia, Zahra, Hanna, Maariya, Zain, Safiya, Aydin, Ayla and Adalynn.

The Huffington Post: A Quick Lesson about Ramadan, the Muslim Month of Fasting. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-quick-lesson-about-ramadan-the-muslim-month-of-fasting_us_574dde8ee4b0af73af959819

Medical News Today: Fasting: Health Benefits and Risks. www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295914.php

Koran by Heart (documentary film). www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptHdmw57rzM

The Huffington Post: What Its Like to Train for the Olympics While Fasting for Ramadan. www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ibtihaj-muhammad-ramadan-olympics_us_5761b5b8e4b09c926cfe07db

Sharif, Medeia. Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. Woodbury, MN: Flux, 2011.

Understanding the Month of Glory: Lessons on the Month of Ramadan. www.al-islam.org/printpdf/book/export/html/18111

IslamiCity: Ramadan. www.islamicity.org/topics/ramadan

The New York Times: Teenage Summer, the Fasting Version. www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/nyregion/21bigcity.html

Watercolor Moods blog: The Teens Guide to Islam: Ramadan. watercolormoods.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-teens-guide-to-islam-ramadan.html

Next Wave Muslim Initiative: Camp Next Wave Muslim Initiative (Camp Ramadan). www.nextwavemuslims.org

Al Arabiya English: Charity in Ramadan Explained: Giving Up Food, Giving Back to Society. https://english.alarabiya.net/en/2015/06/26/Charity-in-Ramadan-Giving-up-food-giving-back-to-society.html

GIVE 30: www.give30.org

Project Downtown. www.projectdowntown.org

Ramadan Tent Project blog. https://ramadantentproject.wordpress.com/

Festival Sherpa: 10 Beautiful Ramadan Traditions from Around the World. www.festivalsherpa.com/10-beautiful-ramadan-traditions-around-world/

Fordson: Faith, Fasting and Football (documentary film). www.fordsonthemovie.com/

True Tube: Great British Ramadan (video). www.truetube.co.uk/film/great-british-ramadan

How Stuff Works: How Ramadan Works. people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/ramadan2

Unity Productions Foundation: Nadias Ramadan (short film). www.upf.tv/nadiasramadan/

Reuters: Ramadan: Iftar around the World (slideshow). https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/ramadan-iftar-around-the-world

Page numbers inboldindicate an image; there may also be text related to the same topic on that page

Abraham (prophet),

afterlife,

ahongs (female imams in China), . See also women, Muslim

Allah, . See also God

Al-Masjid Al-arm,

Al-Mesarahati (Night Caller),

Al-Quds. See Jerusalem

angels,

Ansar people,

Arabic language,

arts and crafts,

Ashras, . See also forgiveness; mercy; salvation

Badshahi Mosque,

baklava,

Bakr, Abu,

Bangladesh,

bedug drum,

Bible,

blessings,

Bosnia,

breaking fast. See fasting: breaking fast

Buraq,

calendars,

caliphs,

camel meat,

Camp Ramadan,

cave of Hira,

Cell Stem Cell (scientific journal),

chaand raat party,

charity,

charity organizations: Camp Ramadan,

China,

Christianity,

Christmas,

clothing, for Eid,

coconut,

community: building, . See also volunteer work

compassion,

dates (fruit),

decorations, for Eid,

dehydration, from fasting,

discipline,

divine revelation. See Quranic revelation

Dome of the Rock,

donations, . See also charity

Dongsi Mosque,

drumming,

Dugderan festival,

Egypt,

Eid-al-Fitr (or Eid),

Eid Mubarak,

empathy,

equality,

faith,

Fajr, . See also prayers

famine,

fanous Ramadan lanterns,

fasting: benefits of,

five pillars of Islam,

food: baklava,

food banks,

forgiveness,

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque,

ghararas, . See also clothing, for Eid

GIVE

giving gifts, . See also charity

Giza pyramids,

God, . See also Allah; monotheistic religions

Grand Mufti,

gratitude,

Haciveyiszade Mosque,

Hafiz/Hafiza,

hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), . See also pillars of Islam

halal (dietary laws),

headaches, from fasting, 9,

health benefits from fasting,

heaven(s),

henna,

Hindus,

Hira, cave of,

holidays, official,

holy month of Ramadan,

homelessness,

human rights,

hunger,

Id-Kah Mosque,

iftar: breaking fast,

imams,

Imam Square, Iran,

India,

Indonesia,

International Criminal Tribunal,

International Holy Quran Competition,

Iran,

Islam, . See also Muslims

Israa-e-Miraj (night journey),

Istiqlal Mosque,

Jama Masjid,

Jerusalem (Al-Quds),

Jesus (prophet),

Jews,

Judaism,

justice,

Kabah Mosque,

Kenya,

Khan, Ausma Zehanat (author),

khutbah sermon,

kindness, . See also charity

Koran. See Quran

Koran by Heart (documentary film),

languages: Arabic,

lanterns, fanous Ramadan,

Lascaux caves, France,

lassi, recipe,

Laylat-al-Qadr. See Night of Destiny

lights,

Little Mosque on the Prairie (TV show),