When asked “if it’s hard to not eat all day”, a common response from Muslims is to say that it is only hard for the first day or so—then “you get used to it.” In addition to abstaining from food and drink from sunrise until sunset, Muslims must also abstain from sexual intercourse, smoking, cursing, and all manner of “sinful” activities.

In my youth, the first few days were indeed the most difficult—but from then on it was (for the most part) smooth-sailing. It was not so much abstaining from food, but from amusing myself in the way a hormonal teenager often does, which I, at times, found difficult. I am sure many young Muslim men and women feel the same. Thus, I am my own inspiration for this week’s fare.