Over the past month of Ramadan, Charlottetown resident Fairouz Gaballa says she often ends each day gathered with her family, waiting for the call to prayer that signals it’s time to break their fast.

In front of them sits a table filled with food, a moment she says never feels taken for granted.

“I’m always like, ‘Wow I have a lot of food here.’ I can finally eat after being hungry and being thirsty and realizing that a lot of people don’t,” Gaballa told CBC’s Island Morning on Tuesday.

“I feel like it’s kind of a direct line from me to God, in a way, and me being able to show God that I’m very grateful for everything that he’s giving me, giving my family.…

“It’s a very special time for Muslims in general, and how they are thankful and just strengthening their relationship to God.”

Gaballa is among many Canadian Muslims observing Ramadan, which ends this week with Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the close of the holy month.

Ramadan is one of the most sacred times in the Islamic calendar, marked by special prayers, blessings, and fasting from dawn until dusk.

For Gaballa, the month is more than abstaining from food and drink — it’s a month-long exercise in gratitude, discipline and spiritual clarity.

Gaballa’s journey with Ramadan began early.

Like many Muslim children, she didn’t start with a full day of fasting. Instead, her parents eased her into the practice around the age of seven.

As she grew older, the fast extended through the entire day from first light until sunset, abstaining completely from all food and drink.

“It shows you how to be grateful for a lot of things that we do take for granted a lot of the time. Because obviously not everybody has access to food and drink everywhere in the world,” she said.

“And so fasting, you kind of get to experience that, and when it’s time to eat, you do really appreciate your meal.”

But Ramadan encompasses far more than just food, she said.

“You also refrain from a lot of things, like cursing, gossiping,” she said. “You really, really try to work on yourself.”

Reading the Qur’an is also important.

“A lot of people try to finish the whole Qur’an during the month of Ramadan, and that just shows your discipline, and you’re really committed to it,” she said. 

Leaving work can be tough in Canada

Another important aspect is praying on time.

Gaballa said in predominantly Muslim countries, people can leave work to pray, but in Canada that can be difficult. Gaballa said she’s fortunate to have some flexibility as her job allows her to work from home two days a week and switch her schedule, which helps.

“A lot of the times it’s really hard to go to work, come back and still be able to cook and do everything that you have to do at home.… You don’t have the energy anymore,” she said.

“But the whole point is not to kind of succumb to that. It’s to keep going.”

Gaballa, who is also an artist, said observing the holy month has taught her patience.

“I think that does translate into my art in general.”

The fast this year lasted about 12 hours daily, she said, which is more manageable compared to previous years.

“I find that I actually have more mental clarity during Ramadan, and so I choose that time to sit with my family instead of really doing anything else.”