Ramadan Diaries: Year 2

Ramadan Mubarak! This year Ramadan starts the night of February 28 and ends March 30. For the second year in a row, follow Anum Saif, ‘25, Leyla Yurtsever, ‘25, and Zehra Ozcan, ‘25, as they navigate balancing Ramadan’s festivities with being high school seniors in their spring semester.

Some vocab: 

Suhoor – The meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan to prepare for the day of fasting ahead.

Iftar – The meal (dinner) eaten at sunset time during Ramadan to break the fast.

Taraweeh  – Special optional Ramadan night prayer performed a couple of hours after sunset. Can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the leader and mosque/masjid

Masjid – The large room in a mosque for prayer, separate for men and women

Qur’an – Islam’s religious book, like the Bible or Torah

Dua – Prayer to wish for something, typically done at the end of each daily prayer.i

Week 1: February 28- March 7

Anum: Ramadan Mubarak everyone! I am so excited to be blogging this Ramadan. This year Ramadan started off with a bang because I was on my religious GAME this weekend. I fasted, prayed Taraweeh, and read the Quran. I am excited to keep this streak going. Zehra put me on overnight oats, which have been a filling, nutritious, and delicious Suhoor meal. Recipes can vary, but the one I use is super simple. All it is is a one half cup each of oats, milk, and yogurt some maple syrup (the more you add the sweeter it will be!). Stir and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning, add some bananas on top and you are done! Suhoors are usually pretty boring. My family is half asleep as we are chugging water and coffee and eating random food at 4:00 am, so there isn’t any room for “small talk.”

Despite having a strong start during the weekend, the school-week was…rough. I found myself either stuck doing homework or sleeping out of exhaustion from the school day. Especially with after school activities like Crier and MSA, I would get home around 5 and would have to speed run my after school routine just in time for Iftar around 5:30. MSA has been incredibly focal in my life, especially these past few weeks making preparations for things around the school like decorations and video announcements that will all be set up this week. On Tuesday, Leyla and I stayed after school to put up Ramadan hallway decorations with MSA. They look great, especially compared to last year. After school on Wednesday, Leyla helped me and two other MSA board members, Jude and Kareem, film a video about Ramadan. It was supposed to be a funny skit and we all thought it was hilarious. Hopefully others think the same! 

Outside of Conant, the MSA board and I have been working with other high school MSAs in the area to plan the 4th Annual Iftar. This is incredibly similar to the Iftar from last year, except this year is the first time we are collaborating with other schools. We started planning in January and have worked our way to plan- in my opinion- the best Iftar yet. With a stacked speaker lineup and stellar food, this event is bound to be a success. 

Thank goodness for Thursday because it was a half day! I had the opportunity to take the nicest nap of my life because no one was home and my family is LOUD.

Overall it was a great first week, and I am grateful that I am here and able to participate in another Ramadan.

Zehra: Ramadan Mubarak! I am very excited to start Ramadan Diaries round two! I had a great first week of Ramadan this year, with a few visits to family friends for Iftar. With February 28th being the first night of Ramadan (so I did not actually fast during the day), I set my alarm early to wake up for suhoor, where I usually just drink water. On the first day of fasting, we had guests come over and we opened our fasts together. One of them was actually not Muslim but had joined in on the fasting experience that day, which was really cool to see. As dessert for the guests, I tried a new cake recipe–pictured below.

On Sunday I was able to get more homework done than usual since I didn’t have to worry about making meals, eating, or cleaning up–every year, fasting reminds me how much time and energy cooking and cleaning takes, and although it’s not easy, I like being able to focus on work this way. On Monday and Tuesday, I went to Comp Sci Kids after school, which ends right around Iftar time, so I was able to break my fast as soon as I got home. On Wednesday, my friends and I watched the Prom Fashion Show during lunch and sat in the library the other days. Wednesday night, my family and I visited a friend’s house for Iftar, and on Thursday I picked up my little brother from school since I had a half day. 

That night we prayed as a family–my brother joined, too, although he doesn’t really know how to pray. He even fasted for the first time that day, and to my surprise he said he found it easy (he usually eats all the time). Maybe it’s not so hard because of how early the sun sets, at least compared to last year. This will change, though, after daylight savings time. Overall, I had a good first week of Ramadan and am looking forward to the rest of the month.

Leyla: Hello everyone! I’m very excited that it’s finally Ramadan! This past year went by so fast, I can’t believe it. My weekend was very busy, but my schedule calmed down as the week went on.

On the first night of Ramadan (Friday, the day we did not fast), I spent the entire night with my friends. As part of the Muslim Turkish community here in Illinois, I am both a mentee and mentor for middle school students. On Friday, around 50 female high school students (with our college-aged mentors) met up at the Turkish Cultural Center (aka TASC) at 7 p.m. for dinner, Taraweeh prayer, and a sleepover. After Taraweeh from 8-10 p.m., we did a little worship together (praying, reading Qur’an, etc.). 

 

I really enjoy being with my friends on these nights, as it helps me connect with God while also having fun. Afterward, we talked, visited the gas station for snacks, and took walks around the dark vacant hallways of TASC until around 4:30 am. Then, it was time to cook up sahoor! My friends and I raided the kitchen and found ingredients to make crepes, and we made enough to feed around 10 girls (the other groups had gone out for sahoor, but all of the seniors were too lazy to go out and drive). By 5:30 a.m., the athaan for Fajr prayer went off (we could no longer eat!), we prayed Fajr, and we finally went to sleep. On Saturday, I woke up at 12 p.m. at the cultural center. I organized all my stuff and finally went home, where I made berry tres leches to sell at a bake sale that night after Taraweeh prayer. Baking and cooking are kind of difficult for me during Ramadan because I’m so used to tasting stuff as I go. I won’t lie, there were multiple times when I habitually brought a spoon to my lips to taste the whipped cream and the berry compote. But I always remembered and stopped myself!

 

 

For our first Iftar of the year, we went over to my aunt’s house. It was a great way to kick off Ramadan– a big dinner with family and cousins! My aunt made so much delicious food, and I was absolutely stuffed by the end of the evening. Afterward, my family and I went to the TASC mosque to pray Taraweeh. The prayer ended around 9:30, and then my friends and I began selling our desserts in the lobby. Throughout Ramadan, TASC is hosting a “Ramadan Street” every Friday and Saturday after the Taraweeh prayer, with decorations and tables of food for bake sales. All proceeds from the sales are donated to various charities. My senior friends and I, along with our middle school mentees, are responsible for raising money for orphans in Yemen. That night, we raised $80! When I got home around 11, I was absolutely exhausted and went straight to bed.

On Sunday, I didn’t do much, and I woke up really late, which made fasting a lot easier. My older brother came over for Iftar, and my mom made maqluba! It’s an Arab rice dish with an explosion of flavors, including onion, eggplants, meat, potatoes, and more. It also puts on a show, as it’s traditional to flip the pot of maqluba onto a tray (as everyone watches/records).

After Iftar, I spent some more time with my family and then left for Taraweeh. My family prayed at home, but I’ve made it a personal goal this Ramadan to go to the masjid for the longer Taraweeh prayer as often as I can. I got back home around 10 p.m. and went to sleep after finishing up some homework.

Monday was the first day of fasting at school! Honestly, I find fasting during the school day to be easier since I’m more occupied (and don’t have direct access to food anyway). After school, I rushed home, changed, and went right back out to attend an interfaith Iftar event at my friend’s house! They invited some students from a Jewish private school, and we got to learn about each others’ cultures and religions over a delicious Iftar dinner. Afterward, I made my way to the masjid for Taraweeh. To be honest, it was a little difficult to pray with my extremely full and bloated stomach (from all the delicious food my friend’s mom made!), but I’m glad I got through it. I got home around 10:30 p.m. after catching up with some friends who were also at the masjid and went to bed! I was pretty tired, so I didn’t get any homework done on Monday.

 

 

Tuesday through Thursday were pretty normal! I ate iftar at home with my family and successfully kept up my masjid Taraweeh streak. At least one of my friends was also at Taraweeh each day, so I’d hang around for 30 more minutes to talk and catch up with them, getting home around 10:30 each night. Since I also fast occasionally throughout the year (optional fasts), I’ve gotten used to refraining from food. I’d say I get more thirsty than hungry, especially since we’re now only fasting for around 13 hours (when Ramadan was in the summer, we’d fast for 18 hours!). The bigger challenge for me during Ramadan is making the most of it by doing more worship, refraining from gossiping and being rude, and balancing all the Ramadan activities with school and extracurriculars!

On Friday, my friend invited our senior group to her house for Iftar. She lives in Vernon Hills, so it was quite a drive, but it was worth it to see all my friends (and enjoy her mom’s food)! After, we all made our way to TASC together for Taraweeh. This Ramadan, I’m trying to listen to Islamic podcasts and lectures instead of music, so that’s how I utilized the 30-minute drive. After Taraweeh, I hung around TASC until 10 p.m., socializing with a bunch of people from our community and enjoying the Ramadan Street vibes! Then my friends and I hit up a Turkish cafe nearby, and we drank Turkish tea and ate sunflower seeds. I got home around 11 p.m., but I didn’t have an ounce of sleep in me! (I am very sensitive to caffeine, but I can never say no to Turkish tea.) I hung out with my mom until around 2 a.m., and then texted a friend until 4:50 a.m. when I had to chug water, pray Fajr, and begin the new day of fasting.

Overall, I had a pretty productive first week of Ramadan! But this upcoming weekend is extremely busy…

Week 2: March 8 – 14

Anum: The weekend was definitely eventful! On Saturday night my dad, sister, and I went to Devon Ave (NOT Little India) for Iftar. We went to a Pakistani restaurant called Bundoo Khan. It was delicious! We indulged in grilled meats, paratha (fried bread), and shrimp tempura. The restaurant provided dates, pakoras (a fried fritter filled with veggies), and fruit to break our fast with. The restaurant was packed with people who were also breaking their fast. After the grub, we headed to a Yemeni coffee shop called Qahwah House. With intentions of getting dessert, we ended up just having coffee because we were so full from Bundoo Khan. 

Sunday was the day I have been waiting for all semester- the Youth Iftar. After hundreds of text messages, several Whatsapp meetings, and last minute prep, me, Leyla, and the rest of the board were ready to go. What was the board buzzing about in the group chat the day of the Iftar?

Sheet cake.

Yes, sheet cake, one of the two desserts we will serve at the Iftar. No one wanted to go to Costco or Sam’s Club to scope out the scene, so I said I could. My mom and I went to Sam’s Club since it was cheaper and we found … .nothing. It turns out you have to order a sheet cake a day in advance, and due to our careless planning we couldn’t. After talking with the board, we decided to buy cupcakes, which Sam’s Club sold in packs of 30, and in order to feed 250 people minus picky eaters, we ended up buying seven packs. That is 210 CUPCAKES. We looked insane going to the checkout with literally hundreds of cupcakes in our cart. As we waited in line, a man walked by our cart, paused, and said “Wow!”. I laughed and said, “Yeah, big dinner tonight!” and then wanted to die inside. 

After going home, taking a quick shower, and packing a tote bag with my outfit, we were off! My mom was kind enough to give me a ride. As we drove with our 210 cupcakes in the back seat, my mom oh so slightly hit the brakes, and the cupcakes went FLYING. In one box at least a dozen cupcakes were stuck together and another dozen were stuck to the plastic lid of the box. We pulled over to assess the situation and moved some boxes to the trunk. We continued to drive and boxes kept sliding around and we pulled over a few more times to adjust. We decided to say a dua and I would hold some of the boxes the best I could, some in my lap, others in the backseat with my hand on top of the stack. Once we arrived at TASC, the cupcakes were 50-50. Four out of seven of the boxes were perfect and the other three were messed up. Thankfully, my friends cleaned up the cupcakes as best as they could and we decided to serve those on the guys’ side because they’re guys and wouldn’t mind eating messed up cupcakes.

I don’t want to eat a cupcake again.

Besides the cupcake fiasco, the event was amazing. I had so much fun preparing the banquet, taking photos on my digital camera (both for MSA’s and my personal social media), and the food from Pita Pita was PERFECT. I ate pita bread, hummus, chicken shawarma, fries, and tabbouleh. It was so so so good I cannot even exaggerate. For dessert was some delicious baklava! 

We had three guest speakers, two who happened to be Tiktok famous! One of them gave a speech on taqwa, being aware of God, and the other gave a speech on the importance of fasting in Ramadan and its mention in the Quran. I felt like people underestimated them and would rather have a sheikh, an Islamic scholar, to speak at the Iftar. Just because they make Tiktoks doesn’t undermine them or make them unworthy of speaking of Islam. I thought they did a great job.

My favorite speaker definitely had to be Illinois State Representative Nabeela Syed. Her speech was about being frustrated with politics and tied that in with faith. It was great! We also had some games like “Iftar” Bingo where instead of numbers you had Arabic letters and instead of it saying “Bingo” at the top of the flyer, it said “Iftar.” 

After the Iftar, I couldn’t process it. This event had become my life for the last few months. I am really proud of everyone who came together to put this event together. Definitely the most successful out of the four Iftars I have been to. 

I also want to address another thing- Daylight Savings. I have never experienced a Ramadan where the fasting times changed in the middle of Ramadan. Even though I was fasting for the same amount of time, it felt like I had to wait longer. I would come home from school and break my fast about two hours later at 6 p.m., but now it is three hours later at 7 p.m. I should adjust pretty quickly since it will be around these times for the remainder of the month.

During my and Jude’s my 2nd period AP Spanish class, we watched the announcements. Once the MSA segment came on, our teacher made a huge deal out of it, replaying it several times. There was a part where Jude and I high five and shouted “Yay!” and our teacher replayed that part for what seemed like an eternity! Jude and I thought it was hilarious.

 

Zehra: This was a very hectic but fun week for me as I had an event planned almost every day. On Saturday, I invited my friends over for an Iftar “party” for my upcoming birthday and the eight of us ate together. I made broccoli, two salads, mac n cheese, chicken, and cake for dessert. 

The salt on some of the food was off since I didn’t get to taste it while cooking, but my friends said they liked everything. Sunday I was very excited for because of the MSA Iftar happening that day, and it did not disappoint–Leyla did a great job emceeing and so did Anum in planning the event! There were three speakers at the Iftar, and after breaking our fasts and praying, we listened to their speeches. It took place at TASC, where there is a large dining hall as well as a masjid. There were over 200 D211 students there, so it was very lively. I think the highlight of the Iftar was definitely the stuffed dates Leyla and a few others at TASC made. They were SO good; I asked Leyla for the recipe and will be making them myself.

Over the weekend there was also a ping pong tournament at TASC which started after Iftar and lasted well past midnight (Leyla has a photo below). I stayed the whole time and was pretty tired, but the event was fun. I didn’t participate because apparently you had to RSVP to be part of the competition, but my friend Tuba competed and I got to watch her win the tournament. Since my birthday was coming up, Leyla very lovingly (and loudly) announced that in front of everybody at the tournament and sang happy birthday. She is so sweet. Monday was my birthday, so after getting home from Comp Sci Kids, I had some dinner and made a cake to celebrate with my parents. Unfortunately I started baking too late so the frosting didn’t cool down in time and we didn’t get to eat any cake. On Tuesday I went with my parents to their friend’s house for Iftar, and on Wednesday my mom had invited three families over to our house. There were definitely a lot of people, but all of them have kids that I am friends with, so I had fun spending time with my friends. I also got to serve the cake from Monday as dessert on Wednesday, and there wasn’t enough for everybody (my brother ate a quarter of it by himself earlier…) but the people that did try it liked it! So that actually worked out really nice because cake tastes better after resting in the fridge. 

After those guests left, one of my friends stayed late so we could study for our math test coming up the next day–we tried to study at lunch too, but it’s pretty hard to focus while fasting–and I dropped her off to her house at around 11 p.m. On Thursday we had another family come to our house for Iftar again, and on Friday we visited a friend’s house, where I got to see one of my friends again. After breaking our fasts, we sat outside, talking and drinking tea for hours to take advantage of the nice weather. We’ve been having guests and visiting others a lot more than usual this Ramadan, and I’ve also been baking a lot more cakes than usual…but it has been a really fun first two weeks. I really enjoy the extra time I get when I don’t have to focus on cooking or having time to eat breakfast or lunch. Even though fasting does take a slight physical toll on you, it does increase your mental focus, and it’s very rewarding.

Leyla: On Saturday “morning,” I woke up at 12:30 p.m. (since I slept at 5:30 a.m.). I had a Zoom meeting about my mentorship program from 1 to 2, and then I got ready to leave the house because I had to be in Naperville by 4 p.m. Throughout Ramadan, my mentorship programs are at my students’ houses each week, and one of my student’s parents was kind enough to invite us over for the first weekend! From 4 to 8 p.m., I led the program for my five 6th-grade students, which consisted of praying, a short Islamic lesson about the month of Ramadan, Iftar, a trip to a boba cafe, and praying Taraweeh (led by my student’s dad). 

I left their house around 9:30 p.m. and made my way to TASC because a lot of my friends were there. (Do we sense a pattern here…? TASC is basically my second home). I got there at 10 p.m. and was surprised to find out that there was a ping pong tournament. I did not participate, as I may be the most horrendous ping pong player to ever exist, but I did watch some of the games! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Zehra there, and I made sure to wish her a VERY happy birthday. I hung around TASC with friends until 11:30 p.m., then I went home and went to bed.

On Sunday, I had to be at TASC at 11 a.m. because it was finally the day we had been waiting and meticulously planning for with six other schools– the MSA Iftar! At TASC, two of my friends and I made 265 Nutella and almond-stuffed dates. They looked gorgeous and tasted even better! (My friends and I also had a little too much fun making them, filling the kitchen with sounds of our laughter and, sometimes, screeching. After we finished making the dates, we had the bright idea to check how much our voice carried into the hall where there were some other high schoolers arranging tables. To our horror, you could hear every. single. sound. Oops!)

You may be wondering what we did for six hours, as doors for the event opened at 5:30. However, between preparing the dates and the tables, printing itineraries, making gift baskets for the guest speakers, last-minute Dollar Tree trips, and more, nearly every minute was productive and essential.

Once the clock hit 5 p.m., it was CRUNCH TIME. Haniya (my co-emcee) and I still had not written our script for the evening, so we quickly got to it and made sure every part of the evening was accounted for. Then, right before the doors opened, I rushed upstairs and changed into my outfit. I made it down right before 6 p.m., when we had to be on stage, but as I expected, only half the hall was full. (Muslim people have a tendency to show up late.)

But, by 6:10, nearly all the seats were filled, so Haniya and I began the program! I won’t get into too much detail since Anum and Zehra already explained, but it was amazing! I loved listening to all the speakers, and I really enjoyed emceeing, especially with Haniya!

At 8:30, we wrapped up the event so everyone could make it to Taraweeh prayer at 9. At this point, I was absolutely exhausted, as I had barely any breaks this entire weekend! But with everyone at Taraweeh, a few of my friends and I (plus an employee from TASC) were the only people left behind to clean up. So, we washed dishes, put away leftover food, and cleaned up tables until about 10:30 p.m. Then, I went home and practically collapsed onto my bed. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, as the only thing I had thought about for the past week was this Iftar. One day, I had three hours of screen time on WhatsApp because we were planning and working out last-minute kinks! But I’d say we pulled off an amazing event with nearly 250 attendees!

On Monday, school was a bit difficult to get through because I was so sleepy, but the weather was beautiful, so I went off campus during lunch. Then, after school, I had a job interview. (I got the position!) Afterward, I waited around a little bit for my brother to finish lacrosse practice, and then we went home together. I was greeted by gorgeous smells of Iftar cooking and my nieces! It was our turn to host our entire family for Iftar, and my cousins, aunt, and older sister came for a night of family and food.

On Tuesday, my family and I ate leftovers from the night before, and on Wednesday, my brother and I got Subway tuna sandwiches (unpopular opinion: I love tuna). 

On Thursday, my friend impulsively invited me and a few other friends over to her house for Iftar because the rest of her family wasn’t going to be home. After school, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and finally deep-cleaned my car (she was in grave need of it). Then, I made a salad to take to my friend’s and hopped on the highway to her house! She made chicken alfredo pasta, and it was absolutely delicious. My other friend made pudding cups layered with banana pudding, strawberries, and cookies. We enjoyed our food and desserts over lots of conversation, and I left at 10 p.m. Once I got home, I went straight to bed.

Since I didn’t get any homework done the night before, I got up early on Friday to finish up some work. As I’m writing this, the school day has been going pretty well, and I’m thankfully not falling asleep! Tonight, my friends and I are invited to another friend’s house for Iftar, which I’m excited for! 

Thank you for reading! Tune in next Friday for week 3!