As we round up Ramadan It’s been an eventful and very different Ramadan this year. Looking through some of the Suhoor Stories submitted, I thought I’d highlight some of the ones that touched me, made me laugh, made me dribble and want to make immediately. These are some of my favourites! It’s not too late to send your stories in and videos which we will hopefully be sharing with Everyday Muslim to archive Suhoor 2020.
Right let’s jump in, starting with Amaliah’s very own Podcast Queen Village Auntie:
“I like to start my morning with a simple suhoor that is filling and also healthy. I cook every morning so I need food that is quick and easy to prepare. Eggs are a mainstay and I always have a side of fruit. Since it’s the first day of Ramadan, I decided to be a little fancy!“
Village Aunties Suhoor
Follow @villageauntie on Instagram and Twitter and catch her on Amaliah’s podcast here.
Sahra-Isha’s TikTok tutorial of traditional Gambian millet porridge Roouy, took us to flashbacks of cooking with our loved ones and sharing experiences throughout Ramadan. I loved this video and seeing the process of making millet porridge with her Grandma definitely made my heart warm.
Sahra-Isha’s Suhoor
Bareera also emailed us a lovely story exploring how Suhoor has felt like a break from the current pandemic and the impact it has on her new routine.
“I’m sure this is a sentiment shared by many, but in previous years, suhoor has been a time that belongs outside of everyday life. As I get up to eat in the middle of the night, I usually contemplate how strange it is to see my family’s faces around the dining table at this time of night, and how in just a few hours, the neighbourhood will begin to wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready for work or school. The comparison always makes me really contemplate the extraordinary month of Ramadan.
However, this year, the lockdown of COVID-19 has been even more strange. For the first time, getting up for suhoor doesn’t feel like a break from ordinary life – rather, it feels like an extension of it. The disruption that COVID has caused to everyday life – creating abnormal sleeping patterns and strange eating habits, seems to work in nicely with the timing of the fast.
Anyhow, all of this aside, I really just wanted to share my suhoor of this morning. For some reason, I woke up craving hot buttery toast, and that is exactly what i had. Two slices of white bread, toasted crisp, with melted butter soaked through. and just to add to the cosiness, I decided to have a warm mug of milk with honey stirred in. It was so normal and ABSOLUTELY divine, and just a really good midnight snack – 10/10 would do again. Best believe I went back to bed after Fajr feeling like I was living my Rupi Kaur best life #blessed for the food we have to fill our stomachs”
In At-Tirmidhi, 2038, when talking with some bedouins the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) reminds us of the power of remedies that Allah has bestowed upon the planet in fighting disease. “Yes, O worshippers of Allah! Use remedies. For indeed Allah did not make a disease but made a cure for it, except for one disease.” They said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) what is it?’ He said, ‘Old age.”
A message I’ve personally heeded in the midst of the current pandemic, if all we have control over in this moment is the maintenance of our health, why not do the most we can, and eat the herbs and fruits Allah has bestowed as remedies to optimize our immune systems.
The brilliant and absolute new faves of mine, Dish Your Herbs, remind me of this hadith by using what Allah has given us to boost our immune systems. They sent us a lil something to keep up us fuller for longer and better hydrated at the start of a fasting day. Check out their smoothie recipe and the rest of their content via their Instagram.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Dish Your Herbs 🌿 (@dishyourherbs) on
Duale also dropped us a little TikTok recipe showing us how to make a quick suhoor pancake.
Dr Myriam Francois also joined in on the storytelling with an entry about her overcoming her scepticism on oats – a struggle I’m still trying to overcome. Myriam said
“Suhoor for me is a meal planned on the basis of 2 considerations: speed – I need to get back to sleep (sleepover food any day) and fuel – I need this to power me through till the evening, or at the very least until mid that mid-afternoon slump. I try and vary it up a bit, but my go to Suhoor is oats and fruit, with some chia seeds thrown in for protein. My grandmother on my mum’s side was Irish (God rest her soul) and porridge has been a constant fixture of our stove since I can remember. A child skeptic, I’ve grown into an adult oat appreciator and honestly, when you’re too tired to open your eyes, ready brek always saves the day. Thrown in your berries, some honey and I can be back under my duvet in under 20 minutes flat – result. Oats are incredible – high in fibre, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and crucially, I haven’t found anything else which can sustain me longer.”
Resident comedian in my house growing up and Snapchat private story superstar Hasinah, aka my little sister, shared a smoothie bowl recipe on TikTok and of course dashed a conspiracy theory and hilarious commentary along the way.
Meanwhile on twitter, poet and artist Mohammed tweeted “I grew up in a home where suhoor was full of life. Mum, Dad and 9 of us chaotic kids. Highlight for the next 30 days: noise, wake up rushes and laughing at siblings hobbling down the steps like zombies. Into adulthood, a different kinda of suhoor. Quieter… #SuhoorStories2020”
I grew up in a home where suhoor was full of life. Mum, Dad and 9 of us chaotic kids. Highlight for the next 30 days: noise, wake up rushes and laughing at siblings hobbling down the steps like zombies. Into adulthood, a different kinda of suhoor. Quieter… #SuhoorStories2020
— MM (@MohamedWrites) May 10, 2020
Time with my wife + in control of my body. My suhoor is planned around my profession as a full time PE teacher: staying hydrated through fruits is the hack. But we're in lockdown and I'm not working? Like Ramadan, it's about continuing positive habitats. 🤲🏽 #SuhoorStories2020 pic.twitter.com/XGbuPc7UiP
— MM (@MohamedWrites) May 10, 2020
We had some really lovely entries. Thank you to everyone who joined in online and via instastories! Hopefully next year we’ll be able to develop on this project and documentation further and as originally intended via film interviews.
Also check out the Asra Club Ramadan Health and Wellbeing Guide which can, of course, be used outside of Ramadan and is probably important to consider given the current global situation.
Aliyah Hasinah
Aliyah Hasinah is a curator, writer and filmmaker whose work focuses on decolonial approaches to history and the present day, celebrating worldwide black experiences and trying to learn how to love. @aliyahhasinah
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