HOUSTON – For fasting Muslims in Ramadan, the rules are the same: No water, food, smoking or sexual activity the whole of the month from sun up until sun down. However, from person to person, the experiences are wildly different.

For Saana Fakhri, this year’s Ramadan was particularly special. Sanna is 11 years old, and 2017 marked her first full fast.

She said the decision to forgo food and water was entirely her own – “I wanted to see what it would be like not to eat and drink for all those hours of the day” – her parents did not ask her to join in.

In addition to the novelty of fasting for the first time, Saana said she was inspired by watching her parents practice their faith and felt it was important for her to follow suit.

“I didn’t have to fast,” she told AboutIslam. “But I knew that I hadn’t been doing any of the stuff my mom and dad were doing like fasting and praying.”

Once she set her goal, Saana was determined to see the month through. However, despite her self-initiated commitment, her task wasn’t always easy and, toward the end, she feared she might not make it.

“At the beginning I started to get headaches and I was getting tired so I needed naps during the day,” she said.

“On the last 10 days I thought I was going to have to break my fast, especially when I would see my little brother eat really good food.”

Saana said when the going got tough, she reminded herself of what she had set out to accomplish.

“I stuck with it because I wanted to be strong, and I wanted to fast for the whole Ramadan because that was my goal,” she said.

And now that it’s over?

“I feel so proud and I feel so good because now I can eat during the day and that’s so much better,” Saana said, adding, “I plan on doing it next year and for the rest of my life.”

New Converts

For Monica Matchett, her Ramadan experience is one of choice as well, much like Saana’s. Having come to Islam seven years ago in her 40’s, however, her age and life experience offer her a different perspective.

Matchett said she first fasted during the month of Ramadan before she married her Muslim-born husband.

At that time, the couple regularly discussed Islam, resulting in her conversion soon thereafter. When her daughter was born four years later, Matchett looked forward to raising the child in the faith alongside her husband.

However, she said in recent Ramadans her husband has been simply “going through the motions” and not focusing as deeply on his faith as she would hope.

This most recent Ramadan Matchett began teaching her young daughter about the sacred ritual and hoped to inspire her husband, as well.

However, that plan, unlike the fasting itself, presented challenges.

“The physical part of not eating and drinking has gotten easier each year, but my husband was my concern,” Matchett said.

“I really tried to pull him into some (religious) conversations and discussions because I wanted us to learn together and have this experience together with our daughter. I wanted something deeper from Ramadan this year.”

Though Matchett admitted she wasn’t able to engage her husband as much as she would have liked, she said the fasting month was, nonetheless, a boost for her man, stoking a desire to learn as much as she could.

To do that she sought out knowledgeable friends, bringing them into discussions of faith and asking for religious book recommendations that she might read on her own. She’s also been inspired to attend Friday prayers in the mosque more often and hopes to find a group with which to study Quran.

“I definitely felt a deeper connection to God this year and prayer has been important to me,” Matchett said.

“But I still want my religious connection with my husband to be deeper and I want us both to bring our daughter into the religion so she can grow in it.”