Ramadhan: Supporting your Muslim Colleagues During the Month

It's the first night of the month. Saudi Arabia has announced the sighting of the new moon so everyone accepts this is really happening. Muslims at work are bidding each other a happy Ramadhan and sharing good wishes. Families are stockpiling foods for the month and young Ibrahim is out selecting new clothes for the nights at the mosque. You’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about so I’ll tell you.

The thing is, every year, once a year, Muslims around the globe engage in a month of fasting and elevated levels of worship. This typically lasts twenty-nine or thirty days depending on the sighting of the moon. Savy workers have planned this at the beginning of the year and probably start their annual leaves around this time. For the rest of us that aren't so lucky, we’re stuck at work thinking about how to get through this intense spiritual month.

This post isn’t for the working Muslims. They’ve probably signed up to Productive Muslim and are reaping the benefits. (P.S if you haven’t signed up, you probably should too) This is for you, the worker that has a Muslim colleague and wants to offer support but doesn't know how to do so. Perhaps this can guide you to being that awesome supportive friend we all need, especially during this month.

First of all, we’re fasting, not being punished. I believe many non-muslims look at fasting through the eyes of a painful punishment or arduous task like going on a really difficult diet, but it isn't. It is a choice to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse from sunrise to sunset. That being said, you don't have to pity your Muslim colleagues. They don't need it.

Secondly, we're not eating, this doesn't mean we aren't as intelligent or productive as we once were. Sure, it is nice for you to reduce the workload we have but, we don't want to feel like we're taking any charity from the organization. We've committed to giving our best for eight hours of work and that hasn't changed. What has changed is that we're missing out on our daily dose of caffeine and the energy from having lunch. As such, a balancing act of some kind has to happen.

What I suggest is, as a tradeoff for not going on lunch breaks or coffee runs, closing one hour earlier seems like a fair bargain. Also, we would probably appreciate being given the opportunity to set our meeting times and other times for physical activity. That way, each worker has a chance to pick out times when they feel at their productive peaks and everyone is better off for it.

The one thing though that doesn't get talked about as much is having to deal with our bad breaths. Yes, Gina, I haven't had anything in my mouth or stomach for ten hours, it's bound to smell pretty bad. There's a popular saying among Muslims that the smell of the breath of a fasting person is more pleasing to Allah (God) than the smell of the sweetest perfume. While this is true, our colleagues aren’t exactly God to know the difference.

While I'm thankful for the pandemic giving us an excuse to put on face masks more often than not, we also need to be quite considerate of our non-muslim colleagues here. Taking a few steps back or talking at arm's length is a good place to start. Perhaps now is the time to pop up that zoom meeting as opposed to physical ones and please, if your colleague can work efficiently from home, this is me begging you to encourage them to do so. Trust me, their families need them more than the office does right now.

When all is said and done, we're here to dedicate one month to our Maker to earn his pleasure and fulfill our duties. While we do that, we don't want to be a burden on anyone and don't want anyone to feel pressured to help out in any way. Just be yourselves, be cheerful, and smile at us. We get by anyway with or without it but a little extra kindness will go a long way. While we may not join you at lunch, feel free to have your food and snacks around as is convenient for you.

We’re only here for a good time and not a long time. Take care, and I wish everyone a happy, blessed, and memorable Ramadhan.