Role of a home-maker in Ramadan
By Aminat Ahmad
Preparing the family for the new spirit of Ramadan is more of the wife’s duty. Muslim women therefore need to be adequately prepared for the spiritual exercise. As a woman at home, you have to buy all the necessary things for the month before the first of Ramadan. This will enable you to spend less time during the holy month rushing around. It will also help you to be focused on your religious activities and spiritual development.
Remember that everyone in the family, even the kids, can participate; so, preparing them psychologically and physically for the period of fasting is your duty as a woman. You need to plan ahead in order not to lose the balance between your responsibility as a woman at home and your religious duties such as reading Quran, salat, qiyamu-lail and others. You may have to also prepare some meals ready to be stored in the freezer. You can chop onions, vegetables and store them in the freezer to have them ready when cooking during Ramadan. You may also soak maize or millet for pap and store them in the freezer, this way, you will save yourself a lot of efforts in getting them done during the month
If you have bad sleeping habit, start readjusting now so that you can wake up to prepare sahur for your family. For women who are fasting, that can mean long hours preparing meals. Some also have to feed children who are not fasting while avoiding food themselves. All these can be very challenging for women if not adequately planned for. Ramadan is a great opportunity to share specifically, its values of spirituality, generosity and kindness with others, especially your neighbours. It’s a great time to invite people for iftar.
If you are planning to invite guests for Iftar, the best time to do that is during your monthly period (menstruation). This is because you will not only be ready to taste the food that is going to be served, you will also have more time for cooking since you will not be engaged in some acts of worship. Be sure to invite Muslim family and friends including neighbours. There are clear exemptions in Islam from fasting in Ramadan for those that are rattled by illness, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. Although some nursing mothers, sick and pregnant women, still observe their fasts because of confluence of social, religious, and cultural factors. It is in order to the extent that there is no harm done by fasting. Otherwise it can be suspended and paid back at a later date.
