Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Islam in Oman .. Fasting to show solidarity

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“When everybody around is fasting, abstaining from food and water and moderating their speech and articulating their thoughts, how can a person have stomachful food, not acknowledge what they are going through?” rhetorically asked Smruti, marketing manager of Hilton.


She has lived almost everywhere in Oman, from the green plains of Salalah to the inviting neighbourhood of Mussanah and as of late to the busy streets of Muscat. While she has grown in Oman, she always had an excuse not to fast.


“I always had this dream of fasting in the holy month of Ramadhan as a sign of showing solidarity to my friends and colleagues. But see, this is only the time I really heard the call to observe fasting from dawn to dusk,” she softly shared on the 14th day of the fasting season.


“We live here, work here, make our bread and butter from this soil and what are we giving back to this country? I feel I should at least join the nice people of Oman in their rituals,” she said.


Smruti’s work timings, too, change in Ramadhan. Unlike the previous season of Ramadhan, this year she also doesn’t take a lunch break to fully immerse herself into the practice. Not only that, she can already be found at the hotel lounge early in the morning to welcome guests and join them in Iftar. She leaves for home at around 8 pm.


“But even the longer working hours don’t seem to be daunting for the spirit of fasting and I’m all afresh in the morning the next day,” she said.


What prompted her to fast this year? She said she simply wanted to relate to what Muslims do.


“While remaining hungry for nearly 16 hours a day, I can feel what people from some poor countries are undergoing. It really gives the taste of not having the blessings that we have today. Certainly, I’m able to connect myself f with those who live in poverty,” she said.


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