Ramadan 2024: Gauahar Khan to Sumbul Touqeer, Sheezan Khan, celebs share the relevance of this holy month
Gauahar Khan, Sheezan Khan, Sumbul Touqeer, Aamir Ali, Iqbal Khan, Rakshanda Khan and Fahmaan Khan talk about the importance of the Ramadan
As the auspicious month of Ramadan has begun, Gauahar Khan, Sheezan Khan, Sumbul Touqeer, Aamir Ali, Iqbal Khan, Rakshanda Khan and Fahmaan Khan state the importance of this holy time and their plans for this year's celebrations
Gauahar Khan: ‘I want Zehaan to start learning our culture’
To every practicing Muslim, Ramadan is the highlight of the year. We actually pray that we all get the opportunity to reach Ramadan as it’s the most important month of the year. It’s Allah’s promise that during Ramadan, he will take away all the bad influences, what we call Shaitaan. He only releases angels during this month. That’s why it’s the month where you fast, ask for whatever you desire in your life, do charity and as much good as you can. It’s a month of good deeds. With Zehaan, I cannot wait to wake up for my sehri and have him join us. I am looking forward to dress him up in the namaz attire and I want him to enjoy the festivities and start learning our culture. I am on a strict diet, so I am going to make sure I don’t eat too much fried stuff. Ramadan is also about expressing gratitude and appreciate what you have in life so that you can start giving back to the society. During this month, Muslims all over the world do a lot of charity, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. It’s the month of giving, sharing, providing and spreading happiness, and that’s the most beautiful thing.
Sheezaan Khan: ‘Ramadan teaches us to have patience in life’
Ramadan has always been very special and the whole 30 days feel like a festival for us. Although, nowadays, the festive season is not celebrated as much as we used to during our childhood days but we have so many memories of it. We used to visit our grandparents' home and exchange Iftaari with our neighbours and doing that with everyone would be so much fun. One thing which Ramadan teaches us is that you should know how to have patience in life, and I believe that the best way to test patience is by fasting. You abide by no wrong things, no fights, no arguments, Although, we should practice it for all 12 months. I try to fast for all 30 days, but sometimes I miss it, yet I am always present during Iftaari. I usually don't step out but celebrate Iftaari it at home with my family and pray. My favourite food is onion pakodas and fruit salad, but I am on a diet, so I don't eat much. My friends and family come over, and it is so fun to have them all around.
Iqbal Khan: ‘It’s the best way of detoxing your entire body’
Ramadan means another year of being lucky and having to live to witness this beautiful month. It is amazing because it’s like the best way of detoxing your entire body. Be it your liver, kidney, or anything internal in your body, it gets a lot of rest and you are like new by the time the month ends. Of course, as long as you don’t crazy during Iftar. Ramadan is also not just about not eating food. It is just a very small part of it. The other part is to try and be a good human being, try and be kind, compassionate and understand other people. You do all those things that feed your soul. Ramadan is primarily about spirituality and connecting with God and believing that he is inside you. It’s also not just about connecting with God for just this month. You have to make sure that once the month gets over, you stick to the same plan and be with God.
Sumbul Touqeer: ‘Ramadan is a period of purification’
Ramadan is a period of purification, a holy month during which I feel good and positive. It is a cleansing period for our soul. As I have a show on air currently, I will be shooting too. But whenever possible, I may keep a few roze. I believe in the power of prayers and wish peace and happiness for everyone. Iftaari is like a feast, and I enjoy eating fruits, seviyan, sheer korma, and phirni. My only wish is to celebrate it with my entire family, where all my cousins receive eidi from my chachus and badepapas. It is a joyous and fun occasion. These moments become so special, and even as time passes, the warmth and love we share with family during Eid stay with us forever.
Rakshanda Khan: ‘We used to contest on the number of rozas one kept’
Since early childhood, we’ve seen all the elders in our house observe the month long fast and we children too, were inculcated pretty early into the tradition. We lived in a joint family and having 20 cousins meant everything was a contest, including the number of rozas one kept. As you grow older, the deeper meaning of a fast dawns on you. How it's not the hunger but also the cleansing, it's not just the action of prayers but also calming down your mind. Over the years, for me Ramadan has come to signify learning to gain control over all my excesses. It's still an ongoing process and once again, as the holy month approaches, I prepare myself for another turn at trying to be a better, more controlled me.
Aamir Ali: ‘The most important thing is you feed the people who need it the most’
Like every festival, Ramadan is a month where you remember God more than normal. Also, you meet your near and dear ones when you are opening your fast and it’s such a fun and heartwarming thing. For me, the most important thing though is that you make sure that you feed people. The ones who keep fast, they should be fed well and that’s the most important thing for me; you feed the people who need it the most. Ramadan and Eid are the same like Diwali or any other festival, where you meet your close ones and take blessings from your elders. The name, the functions may be different, but the feeling is the same.
Fahmaan Khan: ‘I hope to be with my parents on Eid’
I believe that every festival and every religion in this country is beautiful and I celebrate every one of those with a lot of pride being an Indian. Ramadan is a month of spirituality, meditation and a certain kind of detox for the body. People have different ways of fasting in different cultures, and it has scientifically proven to be very good for the body. I try to keep as many fasts as possible. It becomes easy when you are at home, but when you are working and doing 12-hour shifts in the sun, it becomes difficult to sustain without even water. But Biryani at Eid is a given. The idea of Ramadan is to keep the spirituality in you alive, to believe in what you are sent here to be. We pressurise ourselves a little too much for no reason. The idea is to keep calm and stay positive. Instead of begging for what you want, you completely put your trust in the almighty you believe in. You believe that whatever is right for you, will happen. You should not limit yourself to just a month to be in that positive space, you should have that throughout the year, as long as you live. It’s a beautiful month and Eid is going to be beautiful too. I just hope I will be with my parents on Eid.
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