The Letterkenny Islamic Association would like to extend an invitation to all non-Muslims to take part in the Charity Fasting Challenge.
We’re raising money for the local We Care LK Food Bank through a sponsored fast to coincide with the month of Ramadan. So we’re encouraging everyone to give it a go and help them out!
Ways to Donate/Take Part
There is a downloadable sponsorship form so you can get your friends and family to sponsor you and show them you’re up for the challenge! 🙂
Charity Fasting Challenge Sponsorship Form
What’s this sponsored fast about?
We’re encouraging people to try fasting the way Muslims do for one day during Ramadan on Friday the 23rd of June. All money raised will be given to the We Care LK Food Bank. People below the poverty line often rely on these food banks to be able to feed themselves and their children. Please help them out!
Come Break Your Fast With Us
We’d love you to come and break your fast as our guest and sample some delicious ethnic food. We regret that places are limited. If you’d like to join us, please fill out the Google form at the link below and come along to the Letterkenny Community Centre on Friday the 23rd of June at 10 pm. Just bring yourselves and an empty stomach. We’ll take care of the rest! There’ll even be a bouncy castle so bring the kids!
Breakfast Registration
What’s this Ramadan all about?
Ramadan is one of the holy months in the Islamic calendar. Kinda like lent but for Muslims. Muslims fast from dawn to dusk every day for a month. Whilst fasting, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking (even water), sexual relations and generally try extra hard to be a better person. That means trying extra hard not to lose their temper, gossip, backbite or anything else. It’s a form of worship where the idea is to get better at self-restraint (it’s like a workout for the soul) and to feel empathy for and really understand what it’s like for people around the world who may have a lack of food or clean water.
Muslims believe that fasting is a commandment from God. The same God that Christians and Jews believe in. Muslims view Islam as a continuation of the message of previous messengers of God who are shared in Islam (e.g. Jesus, Moses, Abraham etc).
For how long do they fast for exactly?
Ramadan starts approximately 10 days earlier each year. This year, it started in the last week of May and will go on till the last week of June. That means the longest day of fasting this year will be from just before 3 am to just after 10 pm.
What?!! 19 hours without even water?!
Yep. Though it’s easier than you might think. People prepare by making sure to drink plenty of water the night before and eat foods that give a slow release of energy and water (like beans and cucumber). If someone is feeling dangerously faint then they really must and are expected to break their fast. You’re not supposed to hurt yourself! Some scholars say that fasting a smaller number of hours in countries where the day is so long is fine and some people choose to follow this opinion.
If you are planning on fasting, please be sure to eat a good meal full of protein and carbohydrates late the night before.
Who fasts?
Generally, anybody from the age of puberty onwards fasts. Those who don’t have to fast include children, people travelling and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
IMPORTANT: Who DEFINITELY shouldn’t fast?
There are certain categories of people who should not fast for medical or other reasons. These include people who have an illness or a condition that would prevent them from fasting or where fasting would be dangerous for them. If someone is not feeling well for any reason or is experiencing something that may make it particularly difficult to go without food or water, they shouldn’t fast.
Be safe!
If you are feeling unwell or dangerously faint – please break your fast! We don’t want anybody getting hurt! Muslims who are fasting and feel faint are expected to break their fast and the same goes for anyone taking on this challenge.
Good luck!
