Sawm is the Muslim tradition of fasting during Ramadan, with the meal after sunset called Iftar. Suhur is the pre-dawn meal. Muslims abstain from food and certain activities to practice self-restraint, and Iftar is often a community feast with traditional foods and charity. Socializing follows, with the greeting of “salaam aleikum”.
Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset during Sawm, the fasting that occurs during the month of Ramadan in the Muslim tradition. Since people haven’t eaten at all during the day, they are often quite hungry when Iftar comes around and most people rush to end their fast as quickly as possible after dark. In communities with large Muslim populations, a cannon may be fired or some other signal given to indicate the end of the day’s fast, and the information may also be broadcast through the media.
By tradition, all able-bodied Muslims who do not travel participate in Sawm, although children who have not yet reached puberty are not required to fast. In addition to abstaining from food, devout Muslims abstain from a number of activities, especially sexual intercourse. Sawm fasting during Ramadam is meant to teach self-restraint, which is seen as a virtue by many Muslims.
A day of Sawm begins with Suhur, the meal which is eaten just before sunrise. Because it will be the last meal for many hours, Suhur is often a very dense and filling meal with a number of offerings on the table, including high protein offerings so people feel less hungry throughout the day. At the very least, people are encouraged to eat a date and drink some water to make fasting easier during the day.
Iftar usually begins with consuming a date and drinking water, a tradition that dates back to the early days of Islam. Once this traditional quick break is completed, people can eat any number of foods, with many regions having their own traditional Iftar foods, including a large assortment of sweets. It is common for people to eat Iftar in large groups, making the fast a community feast, and Muslims often try to include charity in their Iftar meal as well, by feeding needy members of the community as they celebrate the end of the day’s fast.
After Iftar, Muslim communities often come alive with socializing. People can simply walk around the neighborhood to chat with friends, or they can go to the market, see performances, and meet friends in cafes and other places to socialize. Most people greet each other with “salaam aleikum”, which means “peace be with you” and the traditional response is “wa aleikum salaam”, “peace be with you too”.
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