Sahur - the meal Muslims are encouraged to have prior to the day's fast, has gradually grown less and less significant in how I personally observe it. We are encouraged to eat and drink, just enough to sustain ourselves through the day.
When I was living at home with my family, my father would wake us up. My brothers, being the heavy sleepers that they are, would continue dozing until my father's usual bellow - signifying the near end of the sahur period. Our meals would consist of rice, leftover dishes from the night before and a freshly cooked vegetable dish.
Later on in life, I notice that us young ones value our sleep above all else. It is difficult when no one else in the house eats rice during sahur, so I make an effort to eat at least a kurma (date) and drink lots of water.
For me, the bit I miss most about Ramadhan at home is not the breaking of the fast. The women usually end up with this horrifying mound of things to clean up after my brothers gorge themselves with otak-otak, ikan bakar and whatever dishes end up at the table (this happens because everyone ends up buying something for the family). There's no wastage at our table because Farhat, Fawaz and Al-Faruqi are all big eaters. The trick for the girls to make sure that there's enough stashed away for the next morning is to not serve everything!
I miss the sahur. Waking up to the silence of the morning, and hearing other houses nearby stir to do the same. The best part is watching my zombie siblings sleep walk their way to the table, and still manage to clean their pile of rice with their eyes half-closed...
Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2003年10月28日 04:04 | TrackBackMine consists of a bottle of water next to the bed. Alarm goes off, hand moves to shut off the alarm, then it goes to the bottle, a few gulps and back to sleep.
But yes, when I balik kampung, it's different. Everything is as it should be. Sigh
Posted by: namiaf at 2003年10月28日 08:58My sahur for the past 2 years:
Kurma, soya milk, and water.
Stir in some sleep.
LoL.
This year I'm trying cornflakes with soy milk.
Mmmm. I guess rice just doesn't do it for me, not to mention you get bloated like hell in the morning.
I notice that the more I eat during sahur the hungrier I get in the morning. Especially around 9 AM .
Posted by: Arni at 2003年10月28日 13:49I've been trying to get up in the morning to sahur, I only end up waking early enough to gulp down water and do morning prayers.
I try as best I can to Berbuka with the family, however work commitments sometimes sees me with a kit kat in the car. We dont get to leave early in Singapore.
Posted by: TiFische at 2003年10月28日 14:37am trying hard not to eat and drink in front of my muslim collegues. i know how it feels like to be tempted.
would like to try it out one day. fasting i mean.
Posted by: Wena at 2003年10月28日 21:46methinks to me fasting is no problem... because i had been eating little presently. scared of putting on weight lah. i don't take breakfast, lunch sometimes very light and it is only dinner that is heavy. so fasting to me will be no problem i suppose since i'm conditioned to eat a lot only during dinner. however i'll have to admit i cannot fast from liquid. too bad. :(
i realise that quite a no. of non muslims look forward to the ramadan month... because they get to buy kueh-kueh and other food from the many muslim stalls set up!
Posted by: lu at 2003年10月29日 16:26i am chinese, and this is the first time i visit kl during ramadhan, and i am amazed at the variety of malay food on sale, certainly opened my eyes to how delicious malay foods are. i really loved msia for this vast variety of foods to eat, fr all the races' cuisine.
my nephew and i have been having a gluttonous days buying fr the stalls set up to sell these foods, and we go early so we get the pick of the bunch, hope the malays do not mind us joining in.
i find it interesting to find out fr u that u dont have a big breakfast, to sustain u thru the day. i had visions of malays wakingup early to have huge meals so they dont get hungry during the day.
Anthony, welcome to KL! No, we don't mind you joining in the festivities! Personally, I steer clear from the pasar ramadhans - too tempting!
Stuffing oneself silly during sahur is usually done by kids who are just starting to fast. As you grow older, you realise that it makes it more difficult when you have a heavy breakfast, esp if it consists of curries and spicy food. For me, I prefer to take rice or breads, but with sedate ingredients like fried chicken, egg or lightly cooked veggies.
Posted by: Najah at 2003年11月01日 12:52