“I welcome you all to this gathering tonight, to break the fast we all have observed for the Holy month of Ramadan.” The greeting started the Muslim Student Association’s (MSA) gathering on September 20 in observance of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan, which starts this year on September 13 commemorates the revelation of the Koran to Mohammed. The Islamic calendar is based upon the lunar calendar which explains how the holiday shifts throughout the seasons. Muslims observe a dawn to dusk fast for thirty days, breaking their fast when the fourth prayer of the day is due.
The gathering featured Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, an NEIU alumni presenting “The Essence of Islam,” which gave an explanation of Islam and its tenets to the non-Muslims in attendance. Dr. Ahmed explained that Ramadan is not just a fast from food and drink but a more focused refraining from lying, slander, anger and greed. “These things [tenets] are not just for Ramadan but we need to be extra conscious of them during Ramadan. The presentation was followed by a short question and answer session. “For our non-Muslim guests who have questions concerning Islam because of what they may have seen on television or the Internet I will try to address their concerns, Inshallah” (God willing.)
The session was cut short when the time to break fast approached. The fast was broken first with dates, the traditionally food that Mohammed ate when he broke fast followed by dinner and prayer.