NFR but football related ( Any Muslims Here ?)

[Sammyffc]

this is really random however , with all the stuff with cisse having trouble with the shirt in newcastle due to ' riba ' . i was wondering , during ramadan , if you are a professional footballer , how do you do pre season if you can't eat or drink during the day ?  1500.gif

[sipwell]

Essentially, you suffer. You can get permission from your imam though to wet your lips or even eat something, but most muslims do without even that.

[westcliff white]

i work with a guy here in Brussels who is a muslim and plays regional football. he is in preseason right now, basically he trains from 8 till 10.30 and he asks the coach to let him know when it is ten o'clock, and he then takes a drink but prior to that he has no food or liquid after 3 in the morning.

[Holders]

Sounds tough. Are they all equally devout or do many just ignore it, like in other religions?

[Humbled]

Has anyone else seen the pics of Cisse gambling in a casino???
If it is him that is funny!!!!

[Buffalo76]

this is really random however , with all the stuff with cisse having trouble with the shirt in newcastle due to ' riba ' . i was wondering , during ramadan , if you are a professional footballer , how do you do pre season if you can't eat or drink during the day ?  1500.gif

With great difficulty  064.gif

[sipwell]

Sounds tough. Are they all equally devout or do many just ignore it, like in other religions?

Ramadan is about your personal relation with Allah, so there is no 'institution' (like in Christian religions) which more or less forces it on you. If you break the rules, you 'disappoint' Allah since you clearly are not up to the task, therefore most Muslims I know (even those who don't partake in Friday prayers, do not pray 5 times a day or are member of a Mosque), follow the Ramadan very strictly.

You can however not forget that all of these people are 'trained' to eat very well before sunrise and after sunset. If I hear the description of what is made and how it is prepared, they function like you and me. With professional footballers, I guess the nutritionist of the club will have a special programme which they will follow to the letter.

[OxfordWhite]

Some ignore it, there are, as with any religion, different levels of compliance. Many seek advice from an imam/mullah, it could be cited as a health reason (unwell people do not participate in ramadan). I think that there can be an alternate solution such as donating a lot of money to the poor (I am 99% sure on this but please correct me if wrong.) Otherwise, even during the world cup/euros where it sometimes falls players still play. It even sometimes (I believe) falls during the league season and they can still play. Funnily enough some studies have shown that it has no detrimental effect on performance...the body is made to fast on a regular basis!

Hope this helps

[westcliff white]

bang on sipwell. the dedication that they guy here has is incredible, something i would never mock.

i do know some guys who if the slip have to have make up days before the next ramadan, but its very few and far between that these occurrences happen from what i am told.

[sipwell]

I think that there can be an alternate solution such as donating a lot of money to the poor (I am 99% sure on this but please correct me if wrong.)

I think (= not sure myself) that you are wrong. Zakaat (charity) is widely encouraged during the Ramadan but cannot replace it.

[jarv]

I understand fasting is quite good for you. A few years ago, I had surgery (nothing serious) but prior to I was told to eat/drink absolutely nothing for a full 24 hours. (I also had to take a nasty drink prior, the night before the fasting so it was more like 36 hours).
After the stomach grumbling stops, you feel ok.
Post surgery I thought I would be starving but I felt really good and had a very light lunch. First food in about 40 hours.

[Rhys Lightning 63]

If I remember my Year 9 R.E lessons correctly, I thought you only had to fast DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. So surely Cisse could just get up at 4am and have a massive feast that would tie him over for the rest of the day (Weetabix would be my suggestion), then maybe have a yoghurt or something at 10pm when the sun goes down

[Lighthouse]

It is no great hardship.

Interested that somebody baked a cake for the Royal Baby and was going to offer a piece to THE CROWDS but first to a Policeman who didn't take any as it was Ramadan. Then a woman interviewed in a hospital for having a baby at the same time as the Royals  was very proud to have a baby during Ramadan.

[Vinnieffc]

I read somewhere that the lending and borrowing of money is contra Islam. So how can ANY Muslim player justify playing for a professional football club which inevitably borrows money from banks ? Not being confrontational here, just curious..

[sipwell]

I understand fasting is quite good for you. A few years ago, I had surgery (nothing serious) but prior to I was told to eat/drink absolutely nothing for a full 24 hours. (I also had to take a nasty drink prior, the night before the fasting so it was more like 36 hours).
After the stomach grumbling stops, you feel ok.
Post surgery I thought I would be starving but I felt really good and had a very light lunch. First food in about 40 hours.

I am currently doing a fasting myself: currently in my 5th day of not eating anything (you can drink juices and tea and you have to take extra minerals). The only thing I really miss at this point is 'biting' food. I have 2 more days to go and I am feeling absolutely fine. We do this on a yearly basis (it helps alleviate some intestines problems I have) and I know from experience that only the last day, you are really hungry. It is also a good lesson: you learn to understand what 'real' hunger is (and Westerners are in general never 'hungry', they just have a craving or their stomach wants to be fed for no apparent reason).

I read somewhere that the lending and borrowing of money is contra Islam. So how can ANY Muslim player justify playing for a professional football club which inevitably borrows money from banks ? Not being confrontational here, just curious..

Lending and borrowing per se is not contra Islam. Interest is. Muslims cannot 'make money out of money'.

[Vinnieffc]

Lending and borrowing per se is not contra Islam. Interest is. Muslims cannot 'make money out of money'.
[/quote]

Cheers Sipwell. Simple answer to a simple question. Thanks mate..

[westcliff white]

Fasting is between 10pm & 3am here in Belgium (as per my muslim work collegue). not sure i could last that long with a drink or food, its all about conditioning yourself

[Fulham76]

Sounds tough. Are they all equally devout or do many just ignore it, like in other religions?

Ramadan is about your personal relation with Allah, so there is no 'institution' (like in Christian religions) which more or less forces it on you. If you break the rules, you 'disappoint' Allah since you clearly are not up to the task, therefore most Muslims I know (even those who don't partake in Friday prayers, do not pray 5 times a day or are member of a Mosque), follow the Ramadan very strictly.

Pray 5 times a day??? Every day??? Wow
Is there any time left for football or eating / drinking?
:Haynes The Maestro:

[HatterDon]

Lending and borrowing per se is not contra Islam. Interest is. Muslims cannot 'make money out of money'.

Cheers Sipwell. Simple answer to a simple question. Thanks mate..
[/quote]

It used to be against Christian beliefs also, but there was money to be made, so religious principles got sacrificed for the readies.

As for being able to play, for several seasons the magnificent NBA center Hakeem Abdul Olijuwan observed Ramadan strictly and, somehow, managed to still be the strongest player in the league. He'd routinely lose about 15-20 pounds every season. Bear in mind, the guy had a BMI of about 8.5, so he was burning muscle. He was an amazing example of how a person can succeed and still maintain his standards. 

[Rhys Lightning 63]

Fasting is between 10pm & 3am here in Belgium (as per my muslim work collegue). not sure i could last that long with a drink or food, its all about conditioning yourself

Wouldn't you be asleep during those hours. I'd find it very easy to fast whilst I was in bed