Midnight Meals and Rounds of Tea

Ramadan nights are for feasting in my host country. During this Islamic month of fasting, most Muslims adjust their schedules to accommodate midnight meals and rounds of tea with friends.

One evening I joined my Muslim friend Zayid and his friends for iftar, the breaking of the fast. As soon as the sun set, they broke their day-long fast with dates, milk, and water. Then they went into another room to perform their sunset prayers.

When they returned, we ate potato cakes, soup, and fresh melon—a typical iftar meal for local Muslims. And around 9:00 p.m., we enjoyed spicy lentil stew with bread. Then began the obligatory rounds of tea, each round involving three glasses of sugary brew served over the course of two hours.

Most Muslims adjust their schedules to accommodate midnight meals and rounds of tea with friends.

Sometime around midnight, more friends came over. Their arrival prompted additional rounds of tea and more conversation. Several others filtered in and out of Zayid’s home during the fourth and fifth servings of tea.

At about 3:30 a.m., someone arrived with a shopping bag full of fresh goat meat. A small charcoal grill appeared. Typically used for brewing tea, the flimsy aluminum grill was no bigger than a dinner plate. Zayid placed the meat over the grill and served it for our dinner—just after 4:00 a.m.

After our pre-dawn dinner, Ziyad disappeared to perform his early morning prayers. Then he pulled out a mat for me to sleep on. I managed to get a quick nap before heading off to my language lesson at 7:00 a.m.

At about 3:30 a.m., someone arrived with a shopping bag full of fresh goat meat.

When I ask my Muslim friends about their daily sleeping habits during the month of Ramadan, most of them say they get about eight hours of sleep. Like Zayid, they’re not getting those eight hours at night. Instead, they split their sleep between the early morning hours and afternoon naps.

Please join me in praying for my Muslim friends. Pray that as they fast and feast and sleep, their hearts will be opened to Jesus Christ, the One who has shown us the righteous path to the Father.