Heat will make fasting for Ramadan tougher

Ali Mushtaq has been in training for Ramadan, knowing the long days and sizzling temperatures of August will make the traditional fasting even tougher.

"A couple of months ago, I started eating less and less food," the Suffolk Community College student said. "By the time Ramadan comes, my body can easily adjust to the hunger."

Like most Muslims, Mushtaq, 19, of Brentwood, fasts during the holy month, which starts Monday. He will neither eat nor drink from dawn to dusk during the holy days, which will conclude on Aug. 29.

The arrival of Ramadan moves through the seasons because each month in the Islamic calendar begins with the sighting of the new moon.

A month of summer fasting will be a challenge, Mushtaq said.

Born and raised in Pakistan, he came to the United States in 2005. That year, Ramadan straddled October and November.

"The days were shorter and cooler," he recalled.

For Ramadan, the month in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims are encouraged to read the Quran and gather evenings in mosques to pray. Fasting is intended to teach Muslims lessons about patience, spirituality and submissiveness to God.

Mushtaq will attend special evening prayers at his Bay Shore mosque, Masjid Darul Quran, which can hold more than 1,400 worshippers.

Last year, the mosque served thousands of meals to people breaking their fast. The demand should be bigger this year, thanks in part to the long summer days, said Mohammad Abdul Jabbar, the imam and director of the mosque.

While Muslims throughout the world are commanded to fast, young children, the elderly and people with medical conditions are exempt.