BY SALEH ABDULBAQI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Ramadan has finally come. This is the special holy month for Muslims -9th on the Hijri calendar- that includes valuable concepts and practices. Its sacredness and delightfulness are bestowed with a virtuous atmosphere of sympathy and solidarity among Muslims. It also makes people feel and see the suffering of the poor. Life changes almost completely. Night turns into day, as most of the people stay awake the whole night doing several things. Whatever they used to do during the day, they do at night during Ramadan. Although Muslims feel hunger and thirst because of fasting during daytime, they cannot but admire the spirit of Ramadan.
Nights turn into a lively, joyful atmosphere with people going out. Some go to work, and some just enjoy their time. This seems to be almost identical in most of the Islamic countries. However, there are still some things that are unique to each country. In Yemen, we find some customs shared in almost all governorates of the Republic. Despite hardships which make the population suffer from their deplorable and hard living conditions, you can only see simple and innocent smiles on the people's faces during this holy month.
During Ramadan, spirituality is personified by the fact that people stop eating. This is known as abstinence. It is one of the most favorable months, in which mercy and forgiveness prevails in the entire Islamic nation (Ummah). It is the month in which the true Muslim shows his self-restraint and forbearance. As it is customary for Yemenis to celebrate this holy month, people, vendors selling toys and local desserts gather next to any ancient mosque. In the mosque, people spend the night chanting psalms and verses, but this is limited to some governorates. In short, life is completely changed, as houses and mosques become like bee cells where people recite verses of the Holy Koran.

Written by Abdulrahman Mutahhar
Translated by Janet Watson
Ma - What's up with you today, you're so bad tempered and cross. Relax. You need to be patient in life. As the Yemeni saying goes, 'One nice word can break a dry stick.'1
M - That one nice word neither broke a dry stick nor did it bend a fresh one. All it did was break my back and empty my pocket!
Ma - You shouldn't ever say anything like that about your children, and go on at them about how much you do for them! Pull yourself together! They're your children. Today they need you, but tomorrow you'll need them. Our children are our only support and our life blood.
M - So are you saying I shouldn't tell them right from wrong or give them any advice, Mus'ida? Should I just leave them to make a mess of things and waste their time?
Ma - Of course you should give them advice and talk to them, but kindly and by setting a good example. Jumping down their throats and speaking roughly and yelling at them only makes things worse, if only you'd listen to me.
M - Oh I really hadn't realized how clever you've become!
Ma - That's enough of 'how clever you've become'! Your sons are men now, and it's not right for you to show them up in front of their friends. Say what you want to them when you're on your own, but treat them with respect in front of other people.
M - Mus'ida, all I want is for them to behave like men. They're my sons, they're not my guests. Do you see what I mean?
Ma - If you're thinking about learning and studying, then wait for the certificates I guarantee they'll get at the end of the year.
M - That's all very well, but you've forgotten one thing. The house is full of certificates. Every one of them has twelve certificates - six certificates from primary school, three certificates from preparatory school, and three certificates from secondary school. That makes a total of twelve certificates for each one of them, and the marks for each of these certificates are identical. They never get any better and never get any worse!
Ma - That doesn't matter, they're at University now, and good luck to the lot of them!
M - Mus'ida!
Ma - What?
M - Schools, institutes, colleges, and universities are not there simply to dole out certificates and wish good luck to the lot of them! They're there for knowledge and learning, for seekers of knowledge, the brilliant, the genius, for those who strive for the best marks, for those who seek to stand beside the brilliant, for those who others look up to, and for those who want the very best for themselves and their society and their country.
Ma - With our sons bent over their books and lecture handouts all hours, they certainly should get the best marks and become university assistants. Just calm yourself down a bit!
M - And just when are they studying, Mus'ida? When it's full moon, or when the cock crows?
Ma - I'm sick up to here of your sarcasm! They're studying right in front of your nose in your house. They don't go anywhere. Just stop giving me all this talk!
M - But I'm talking about all this knowledge. Your sons, Mus'ida, have got all their studying and learning wrapped up, and they insist they can't do it without gat. It's become an addiction, Mus'ida!
Ma - Just like all other boys of their age, and that's the fact of the matter throughout the country!
M - Too right! Your sons have lunch, then meet up with their friends, and chew, and chat, and watch television, from 3 o' clock in the afternoon to 9 o' clock at night. They keep half a mind on the program, and leave half a mind for their books and lectures.
Ma - All I know is that come 9 o' clock they're absolutely shattered from all their studying.
M - With all due respect, they're certainly not shattered. They're numbed by gat and the television, and because of this they crawl under the blankets and talk to themselves, and have weird thoughts, and toss and turn, until 2 or 3 o' clock in the morning. Then they wake up exhausted, a bag of nerves, confused, depressed, so they turn over and go back to sleep. And if they do actually manage to get themselves to the lecture hall, they nod off, and yawn, and the only thing they're concerned about is the television and the price of gat. They're not bothered about the lecture, and they don't have a clue what the lecturer's talking about.
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1 Al-Akwa', p. 879.