With approximately 1.9 billion Muslims around the world, it’s no surprise that Ramadhan is an experience that is celebrated differently in each part of the globe. In our special Ramadhan Around the World series, we share the Ramadhan experiences of Muslims worldwide and hear how the blessed month is celebrated in their countries.
Khairani is a Singaporean who is currently living in Tokyo, Japan. She is currently working at a school called YUAI International Islamic School, an Islamic school in Tokyo that was established in 2017. We caught up with Khairani during the month of Ramadhan to see how she spends a typical day in Tokyo – below is a day in the life of Khairani in Ramadhan!
Assalamu’alaikum, my name is Khairani and I am from the sunny island, Singapore.
For sahoor, ideally I will have overnight soaked dates with water, frozen acai and a tiny bit of saffron. Sahoor here is at 3.30am, though most times i snooze through all my alarms and wake up at 4.30am.
Once, I missed my sahur and did not eat after taraweeh, which meant that I did not eat or drink for 24 hours from 6pm to 6pm the next day – that was crazy but Alhamdulillah I survived!
I usually leave work at 6pm to have my iftar at Tokyo Camii mosque next door. They serve pretty healthy and soft foods like quinoa, soups and fruits which are gentle for your tummy after a day of fasting.
The taraweeh atmosphere here is pretty similar to Singapore, except for the witr prayer which is a little different as the mosque follows the Hanafi mazhab (school). But, when I visited the Indonesian mosque in Meguro, it really felt like I was back home in Singapore.
Besides having Iftar at mosques, I was also invited to an Iftar gathering where my lovely sisters from France made us delicious, authentic food because they wanted us to experience how the muslims would typically have their Iftar in France.
SubhanaAllah, I really am grateful for these experiences here.
A huge difference I see is not feasting during iftar and overindulging in bazaar food. We do not have bazaars here in Tokyo, unlike in Singapore. For Ramadhan here, we focus most on our worship, which I always find to be refreshing. For me, lesser food means lesser distractions and thus, more time for worship in this blessed month. Alhamdulillah
However, one thing that I definitely miss is my mom’s cooking, but that’s something I miss all year round!
“I am grateful to Allah S.W.T. for placing me where I am now, to be of benefit to the muslim community here,”
Khairani, Singaporean working in Tokyo, Japan
If you have some time to spare, please visit our fundraising page at @growwithyuai. Our school is now strenuously raising funds for an expansion project that will meet the needs of the growing muslims in Japan and their rights to Islamic education.
Barakallahu Feekum for your generous support and please make duas for us here!
