My first fast (story)

One of the summer nights. I woke up from a faint sound. Our neighbor, Uncle Husan, would wake everyone up by hitting the tin with something.

The sweet smell of food hit my nose. My sisters were busy trying to do something in the kitchen, setting the table. I jumped up and thought, "I will fast too." When my mother saw this, she kissed my cheeks and said: "Allah gives many rewards to children who fast."

We are around the breakfast table. My father and mother used to talk about their fasting in their youth, and we listened with excitement.

After we shut up, I went back to bed. I couldn't sleep from excitement. In the morning, while my mother was watching my father at work, she ordered things needed for iftar. After that, my mother and sisters started preparing for the evening meeting. Because on the first day of Ramadan, relatives would gather at our house and read the Koran. I often fell asleep listening to the Qur'an...

That day, like every other day, we played with the children during the day. Besides me, my friends were also fasting, so we were tired from playing, and we were hungry. A friend of mine broke his fast by drinking water as soon as he heard the call to prayer. Some children couldn't stand it either. I tried to catch myself. We got addicted to the game again. Our fasting was completely forgotten. We ate fruits from the trees on the street and drank water. After a while, I remembered that I was fasting and ran to my mother. And my mother said: "Allah makes good children forget their fast and entertains them. You are also a guest of God, my child. I continued my fast again. I was thirsty and my lips were dry. I went to the stream and began to watch the water. I take the clear water in my palm and stare, wash my face, put it in my mouth and swallow it, but I don't swallow it, remembering my fast. And the sun was setting very slowly...

Finally, it was time to break the fast. We eagerly sat around the table. We recited the oral prayer. I drank a lot of water, I was one of the fruits that I ate during the day. That's when I realized how sweet and precious God's blessings are. I still can't forget when I opened my hands and cried and prayed: "O Allah, accept our fasts, don't leave us hungry and without water"...

Daughter of Zebunisa Husain