Keep Calm It’s Ramadan
- Maha Khan
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
Keep Calm It’s Ramadan: Up living Ramadan with your Eating Disorder
Ramadan was not sent by Allah to imprison and change you; it is a divine gift that is meant to inspire and change you.
A Halwa Secrets of Divine Love p.223
Author: Maha Khan
Maha is an Eating Disorder Activist and Content Creator. The first Muslim to create a platform awareness and information on Eating Disorders in the Muslim world.
Eating disorders have not only globalised, they have also infiltrated demographics previously considered safe. It used to be seen as a western disease, but an increasing number of Muslims are now being diagnosed with this illness. Eating disorders are underrepresented in the Muslim world and the lack of information and awareness around this illness can make it easy to overlook how lethal eating disorders are.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims across the world fast for an entire month from sunrise to sunset, they abstain from food, drink and sex. Fasting is incumbent on a healthy person, and the weak, the sick, children, travellers and pregnant women are among those exempt.
Muslims fast for spiritual cleansing and for fulfilling one of the requirements of Islam. During Ramadan, a person abstains from food for a duration of time not because the object offered up is bad, but because it is good. He offers it up for something greater and profound. The experience of fasting is intended to teach Muslims about gratitude and the plight of the less privileged, the hungry, thirsty and the poor.
There’s a great misconception that Ramadan is a month of hunger, restriction, thirst and feasting. In contrary, it’s a month of Allah, self-transformation, deep introspection, self-purification and rejuvenation of one’s entire self.
According to A Halwa Secrets of Divine Love, “Ramadan is not only seen as a time of retreat — it is strength training for the soul.”
“We’re not just meant to temporarily refrain from sinful actions, but to uproot the weeds of sin and permanently break the bad habits that turn us away from Allah.” P.223
Challenges of Ramadan
Fasting is seen as a precursor to eating disorders. When it comes to ill health, deciding whether to fast isn’t a religious issue. Dr Ann Coxon, consultant physician at Harley Street, talks about conditions that make it impossible for you to fast during the month of Ramadan: "Obviously, any acute illness of a severity which requires you to take medication or which would make it harmful for you not to have food, and acute illnesses of whatever kind, means that you may not fast.”
Illnesses that make it impossible for you to fast during the month of Ramadan will include Eating Disorders.
Those who suffer from eating disorders or are in recovery should consult their doctor before fasting. Failing to do so is contrary to what Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Do not expose yourselves to ruin.”
(Qur’an 2:195)
Ramadan does come with challenges, especially for Muslims suffering from Eating Disorders. When fasting no longer becomes a requirement to fulfil religious obligations and begins to border an eating disorder, then there’s a serious issue. With an eating disorder, the danger is with the obsession of fasting or compulsive fasting for the sake of losing or maintaining weight, which is unhealthy and dangerous. The month long fast, abstaining from food and drink, social gatherings, forced interactions can lead to relapse or compromise one’s recovery.
Many sufferers feel lonely and isolated due to high expectations, nostalgia and social pressure; they feel they are not in sync with the rest of the community. It also intensifies the emotional experience, watching people fast and then celebrating the opening of the fast with food and people can be a triggering experience and may bring up memories of a former version of oneself.
It is important to remember that the people struggling with eating disorders are ought to experience higher levels of anxiety during Ramadan, as they will be trying to eradicate some of the unhealthy and some-times even life-threatening behaviours from their lives. Add this penchant toward one’s desire to be a perfectionistic, overachieving and people-pleasing can further compel those in recovery to revert back to old behaviours in an attempt to manage their anxious feelings.
A person with an eating disorder can’t avoid eating and food – and therefore meal times is often the most difficult time of the day invoking overwhelming feelings of panic, anxiety, fear, and even revulsion. One needs to remember that they don’t have to attend every party, meal to get in the spirit of Ramadan. Talk to your support team about how to plan meals so that you meet your meal plan, while also managing any feelings that come up.
However, one needs to keep in mind that the fast of Ramadan is not identical for all Muslims. There are three levels of fasting; ordinary where one abstains from food, drink, sex; the second level of fasting is inner fast of the senses, where one reflects on his inner self and makes a conscious effort to refrain from lying, backbiting, superficial distractions and anger. The third level is heart centered fast, where one’s heart is detached from unworthy thoughts and worldly concerns, one is simply in submission to God. People who are not observing an ordinary fast have a great opportunity to engage in the spirit of Ramadan by working on strengthening their faith, healing their inner self, enabling them to operate from a state of elevated awareness not just temporarily, but for the entirety of their lives.
Blessings of Ramadan in Eating Disorder Recovery
Ramadan, when lived in its true spirit, is designed to foster mental clarity and help with mental health challenges through quiet contemplation. Indeed, it’s a reset from the mundane routine of daily life, providing a blessed space for simply being. The month of Ramadan provides a supportive environment to break negative patterns by providing tools like mindfulness, engaging in charity work, meditation and guided prayer.
This is a month when an individual can truly take a break from everyday life and enter intentional seclusion, a voluntary solitude in unity with the rest of the Muslim population. This, if done correctly, with the support and the right intentions, can be a transformative, most powerful experience for your mental health, as it allows you to self-reflect and work towards bringing positive changes into your life.
When people suffering from eating disorders abstain from physical fasts and follow their
personalised recovery plans, they are performing a virtuous act by their body; they are eating for healing and their health. When the body is nurtured, it allows one to focus on inner growth, finding a higher purpose and deep introspection. With good health and a clear mind, one will find it easier to immerse himself in a spiritual oblivion, allowing for long-lasting behavioral changes.
Prioritise your health and well-being over external obligations and be realistic about what you can manage.
Try to surround yourself with positive people. Ramadan is a time when people do their level best to perform as many good deeds as they can, make use of that. Don’t hold back from discussing your feelings, victories and challenges as they arise before they become significant enough to threaten recovery. With appropriate support and a strong network of friends, family and treatment professionals, a happy Ramadan is within reach of everyone.
If you want to be in charge of your mind, body and health and want to defeat the eating disorder, then take a step forward this Ramadan and go for help. The decision you make today will be a journey of lifetime commitment to your health and wellbeing.
Confidential support and treatment options are available through organisations such as the MEEDA or by consulting a doctor or mental health professional.
If you have a loved one or know someone who is struggling with Eating Disorder, then please help them. Helping anyone who is sick and serving him is an act of charity. Please show kindness and help those who have an eating disorder by listening to them, encouraging them, offering reassurance and showering them with love and more love.
The content in this article is provided for your information only. Please consult your doctor on all matters regarding your health.
To find more from Maha and Islam and Eating Disorders please visit the following:
Website: http://waragainsteatingdisorder.com
Instagram: @islamandeatingdisorders
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