Ramadan Bonus Round

We’d been so looking forward to the end of Ramadan. We were fine with an extra day as people debated the arrival of the new moon, and happy as the country stretched a two-day holiday into a week. But then something happened we weren’t prepared for. With the exception of the 3:30AM wake up call, all the extra calls to prayer that had been added during the Ramadan schedule were still there. And that’s how we learned about the bonus round.

It seems for those hearty few who made it through Ramadan with flying colors, there is a chance to get extra credit with Allah. If you do six days of Ramadan-like fast during the month after Ramadan, God will be pleased, and it will bring you good baraka for the remainder of the year. We learned of this when we had a late afternoon meeting with the man who’s been doing our metal work. We realized that we needed to have some protection from the cold and so were asking him if our design for sliding glass doors to shield the living room from wind and rain was feasible. To be polite we offered him a class of water, which he declined, citing Ramadan. We turned for translation to Hamoud, who explained about the extra six days. Those fasting days can be observed at any point over the month, though you must wait to begin until after the two days of feasting. It’s a matter of taste, but some people like to do the six days in a row and get them over with, others like to spread the days out over the month.

When our old neighbor, the woodworker who’s been stalling on the mirror frame (now over five weeks late), told me that he’s doing the six days, I ask him why. “Surely, Allah was impressed with your month of fasting?” “Of course,” he replies, “but six extra days is not so much to ask for God. It works for the whole year. And besides, it’s good for the health.” As yes, we’ve heard many times of the health benefits of Ramadan.

Our metal worker, who is fasting two days a week, buries his head in the measurements we’ve scribbled down, and looks over the half-dozen other projects we’ve outlined. At ten minutes till six, the muezzin begins his call, and the man turns his head toward Hamoud, and asks, “May I have that glass of water, now?” We’re happy to oblige, this is the first time we’ve been with a Moroccan as they break fast. Hamoud himself is not doing the extra credit this year, though he assures us he has in the past.

With all of the extra-credit fasting going on, I guess we can expect a few more weeks of foul tempers, work delays and additional serenades from our muezzin and his microphone. It may not be too much to ask, but is it too much to bear?