Ramadan during a Pandemic

      Ayah Ibrahim is an 18-year-old college student-athlete from Paterson, New Jersey. She currently commutes from her house, where she lives with her mother, sister, and older brother, to Fairleigh Dickinson University. When Ayah is not busy doing schoolwork, she works as a part-time brand representative at Abercrombie & Fitch and in the public relations office at her school. At home, she helps takes care of her mother. Ayah grew up in a religious household, where Islam became the foundation for the way she lives her life. Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, is Ayah’s favorite time of year. During this time of the year, her family comes together, and she further establishes her connection with Allah. In this holy month, Ayah reinvents herself to become a better person as her religion teaches her. However, COVID-19 has provided many difficulties for those fasting during this holy month, especially Ayah. The hassle of online schooling is a challenge in itself. It is hard to connect to God at a spiritual level when your entire day is surrounded by school. Despite these hurdles, Ayah is hoping to make the most out of this Ramadan. She is making it her goal to practice her religion and represent the religion, especially when it is depicted in such a negative light by the media. On her journey, Ayah has inspired her friends to learn more about different religions and understand the significance of Ramadan. During this video, the audience will experience a day in Ramadan during a pandemic.

Ramadan is a holy month for over 2 billion people around the world. Understanding and learning about new religions will help people to become more tolerant and drive them to understand the beliefs of others instead of creating hate or distance between them. Even if a person is not a Muslim, they can still benefit from what this month teaches. During this month, participants work on themselves to better humanity. By abstaining from fighting, anger, cursing, backbiting, lies, cheating, and deception a person is cleansed from the negative things that surround them and forced to focus on themselves. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from worldly pleasures, such as eating, drinking, and bad speech, to focus on themselves inwardly. This month of peace cleanses not only the mind and soul but humanity from its sins as people are taught to care about the less fortunate and work on themselves to become more compassionate and sincere humans. Even if a person does not intend to fast, they can still adopt the teachings of Ramadan. Inshallah (hopefully), this video will provide exposure to those unaware and help them interact with Muslim coworkers and friends.