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This Islamic holy month, now drawing to a close, contains many worthy social and cultural aspects.

Wazim Mazraany October 11, 2007

— Ramadan Kareem -- a generous Ramadan to you.

Despite being a whole month long, Ramadan comes and goes quickly.

Back home in Lebanon, the population is roughly 60 percent Muslim, 40 percent Christian. Having said that, Ramadan is for everybody.

This is because Ramadan, over the years, became defined by its social and cultural aspects as much as its religious definitions.

The Islamic year is 12 months, and it is a lunar calendar. Ramadan is the holiest month. Muslims believe it is the month the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet Mohammed with the Quran, the holy book, the word of God.

Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise to sunset for the whole month. No food, no drinks. Not a lollipop or chewing gum. No smoking, no chewing, no medicines. NPO, literally. You can brush your teeth and gargle your mouthwash, just don't swallow.

People who are ill or traveling long distances, or women who are pregnant or lactating, do not have to fast.

It is also the month of soul-searching. It is a time when one would reflect on her or his purposes in the world and goals for this life, and to prepare for the afterlife.

It is a time when one should savor everything but the materialistic aspects of life. During fasting, sunrise to sunset, one is also strictly prohibited from any physical intimacy with a spouse.

Islam also brought the earliest tax code structure known. "Zakaat" is a tax on the rich, and the poor pay nothing. Simply put, you pay a percentage of your net wealth every year, and there is no cap.

The majority of the income goes, or is supposed to go, to the poor and the needy. Most Muslims elect to pay it each year on Ramadan.

Ramadan is the time when people who have think of the people who have not, and the healthy think of the ill.

Even as a poor family sits together to break their fast on a humble meal after sunset, they would be thinking of a family somewhere in the world who did not even have the luxury of one meal a day.

Ramadan always comes with great anticipation. The first three days, people would greet each other as "Hello, Ramadan Kareem," or "Ramadan is generous." It is the month when gourmet meals are fixed every night. Baklava recipes are abundant, and so are juices and fruits.

The work week and the school day are shorter to allow for a siesta. And after dinner comes socialization.

Whether it is a walk on the Corniche, or the family savoring the special soaps that the TV networks prepare for Ramadan only, the month is about experiencing happiness, with human relationships as its cornerstone.

It is the preferred time to bury the hatchet with a friend or a relative you have argued with in the past. It is the perfect time for resolutions, not just to lose weight but to better oneself spiritually.

At the end of the month comes the Eid, the feast of celebration. It usually lasts three days. It starts with the Eid prayer in the morning.

Then people would visit the cemetery and read a prayer for immediate family members and friends. Then they visit the elderly and the ill in their homes or in the hospital.

They then go around the neighborhood and congratulate each other on a good ending of a great month, saying, "Eid Mubarak, blessed is the day."

For the children, Eid is the equivalent of Christmas. You finally get the new bike you were promised all year long, a new pair of shoes or just some extra allowance. You would visit all your aunts and uncles and collect a lot of homemade desserts and some change.

I was always impressed at how much Ramadan was not just for observant Muslims. Even the ones who didn't observe would sometimes fast, and always participate in all the other aspects.

Eating or smoking in public is considered rude, especially in Islamic neighborhoods.

Ramadan was therefore not just for the religious, but for the whole community.

This Friday is the Eid. So, Ramadan Mubarak -- a blessed...