Religion All,Fun, fashion and halal lipstick: Retailers cash in on £200m Ramadan economy By Ibrahim Muhammed

 

Muslims observing Ramadan are increasingly being targeted by supermarkets and brands in the UK, which has led to a rise in spending on food and gifts during the month, according to new research.
The Ramadan economy in the UK is worth at least £200m, with supermarket chains such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons increasingly gearing products, displays and special offers on popular food items to Ramadan in areas with significant Muslim populations. This year, for example, Morrisons is selling a Ramadan countdown calendar, similar to an Advent calendar, aimed at children.
The month-long Muslim religious observance starts in mid-May and its ending is marked with the Eid al-Fitr holiday. MAC cosmetics, the Body Shop and Godiva chocolates are some of the brands specifically packaging goods as Eid gifts.
Despite the trend, more than three-quarters of British Muslims want retailers to pay even more attention to Ramadan, according to the Great British Ramadan, a study by an Islamic marketing consultancy Ogilvy Noor.
Following only Christmas and Easter in scale and size, this is surely Britain’s biggest untapped business opportunity

Shelina Janmohamed, writer
“Muslims feel that Ramadan and Eid are ignored, the report says. “They see the nation proudly gravitate towards cultural and religious holidays such as Chinese New Year and Diwali. They are saying it’s also time to embrace Ramadan and Eid.”
In an indication of growing awareness of the lucrative opportunities of the Muslim market, Westfield London, Europe’s largest shopping centre, is hosting its first Eid festival in June. It will include live catwalk shows, pop-up food stalls, special offers and performances.
“The Muslim pound is seen as a valuable and largely untapped opportunity in the UK economy,” says festival promotional material.
The global Islamic economy is forecast to be worth more than £3 trillion by 2021, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy report, and is growing at nearly double the rate of the general worldwide economy. The sector includes halal food, Islamic finance, halal travel, modest fashion, halal media and recreation, and halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Shelina Janmohamed, vice-president of Ogilvy Noor and author of a 2016 book, Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World, says: “The Ramadan season is one of complete life transformation, which brings with it an economic surge.
“We conservatively estimate this to be upwards of £200m each year, covering everything from financial planning to food, eating out, clothes, toys and gifting. Following only Christmas and Easter in scale and size, this is surely Britain’s biggest untapped business opportunity.”
Two weeks before its start date, which is determined by the lunar calendar. The month is characterised by sunrise-to-sunset fasting. Although in some countries the working day is adjusted to accommodate the season, for many British Muslims the fasting requirement is complicated by the need to continue working or studying.
For the second year running, Ramadan falls within the six-week summer exam season, which means hundreds of thousands of school and university students have to take exams when their concentration may be impaired by lack of sleep, food and water.
The absence of official recognition in the UK of the three-day Eid holiday immediately following the end of Ramadan means traditional visits to family and friends end up being spread over two weekends.
“In the UK, you don’t have three days of shutdown over Eid like you do in the Middle East,” says Janmohamed. “Only about half of people take time off work, so Eid visits and celebrations are spread out.”
She said brands and retailers should wake up to the opportunities of the Ramadan season. “If brands can play a useful role in Muslims’ experience of Ramadan, if they can help with planning or freeing up time for spiritual or social activities, that is very welcome.”
Almost two-thirds of Muslims plan financially for Ramadan and Eid, the study found. More than half are concerned about their concentration during the month-long daylight fast and two-thirds worry about dehydration. Young men in particular are concerned about maintaining fitness and some gyms in areas with big Muslim populations adjust opening times to allow exercise between iftar, the sunset meal that breaks the fast, and suhoor, the pre-dawn meal.
The majority of British Muslims eat a range of food over the two meals, with chicken and chips a favourite for 18-to-24-year-olds. Despite the long hours of fasting, four in 10 married women say putting on weight during Ramadan is a worry. Gift-giving, buying new clothes, eating out and family gatherings are key features of the Eid holiday.
Charitable donations also increase markedly during Ramadan, particularly among 25-to-34-year-olds. Donations to Muslim charities through the JustGiving website increased by almost 500% over Ramadan last year.
First 10 Days of Ramadan: A Shower of Mercy
Ramadan is known to be broken down into thirds. The first ten days of Ramadan are known as the “Ten Days of Mercy”.
Muslims are aware that Ramadan is a month of spiritual opportunities, but what does the “mercy” really mean to Muslims?
One of God’s names is Ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful, and Muslims call upon God using this name in nearly everything they do. Thus, there is no surprise that Mercy manifests itself in the month that God created for Himself.
In the sacred hadith below, God says:
O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done and I do not mind… if you were to come to Me with sins that are close to filling the earth and then you would meet Me without ascribing any partners with Me, I would certainly bring to you forgiveness close to filling it. (At-Tirmidhi)
Imagine entering Ramadan in full reflection of wrong doings. Many believers worry of the sins that they incurred along the way – the ones that were committed conscientiously and without realizing it. Yet God promises forgiveness.
There is no similar attribute to anyone or anything in this world, hence the reminder to remove idolatry from one’s beliefs.

Through this hadith alone, God reminds that He is Ar-Rahman, the Most Compassionate, and Ar-Raheem, the Most Merciful. Basking in God’s Mercy – and finitely – the Mercy of Paradise – is something that every believing Muslim prays for. And with this fear of God’s punishment that is close to the heart of the believer, God says:
Say: O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (39: 53)
Du’a and Dhikr Are Keys to God’s Mercy
A great way for Muslims to worship for the first ten days of mercy is to recite Du’as (supplications) and Dhikr (remembrance) invoking God’s mercy.
With the doors of Paradise swung open and the doors of Hellfire shut, God never goes back on His Promise and with that, this is the perfect time to beg for God to shower His servants with Mercy.
A recognized Quranic supplication, that can be recited as a remembrance is:
O! My Lord, forgive and have Mercy and You are the Best of Merciful. (23: 118)
God also says:
So, Remember Me, and I will remember you. (2: 152)
This is the best reminder to continuously ask from God, to continuously invoke blessings from God, to continuously prostrate and beg God for His Mercy – no matter how low, no matter how tired, no matter how riddled Muslims are with difficulties. Believers must never give up on God’s Mercy.
Another hadith talks about God’s mercy in the world – the world that Muslims live in, the days they scamper through.
Although Muslims see a lot of destruction, they also see plenty of love.
Mercy surrounds the world, yet God says He divided His mercy into a hundred parts, and only one of those hundred parts manifest itself in this world. The rest of the mercy belongs to God alone.
Imagine God’s mercy during the first ten days of Ramadan, and imagine the mercy may bestow amongst those who take full advantage of the first ten days and how the mercy will manifest itself on Judgment Day and in the Hereafter.
Fasting Itself is Mercy
The act of fasting as one of the Pillars of Islam, is in itself an act of mercy. Through fasting, Muslims experience a healthy detox from food that does not benefit them. They become spiritually recharged and become more aware of leaving distractions that also do not benefit them.
Muslims appreciate the little they have and think of those who have even less – families with children in war-torn countries, Muslims and non-Muslims living without food on a daily basis – those who fast without an opportunity to break their fast.
All these amount to mercy in their own way, Muslims will have an opportunity to feel more merciful towards themselves, towards those who may have more, and to those who are less fortunate.
Mercy manifests itself in humility in many, many ways. And all this can be achieved through a Ramadan that is filled with remembrance of God, reflection on abstinence, and spending the early nights deep in prayer.
But God promises something even more. He says:
O you who believe! Observing al-sawn (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become the pious. (2: 183)
Imagine being recognized as amongst the most pious Muslims, this is probably the most merciful appellation and gift that God can give His servant. And this can be attained by observing Ramadan with full servitude.
Fast and Ask in the Season of Mercy
The beauty of the first ten days of mercy is that it is a blessing within a blessing. While Muslims are actively striving to please Him, God adds a gift to the special month by creating this season of mercy.
God’s mercy is showered upon those who engage in good deeds and the merits for them are multiplied, while those with a streak of bad deeds even are forgiven – provided that they are sincere in their repentance and strive to please God alone.
It is during this time – through God’s mercy – that the status of pious servants are raised, and the more mercy that is compounded upon them, helps cleanse their hearts and turns them towards the correct direction in worshiping God.
What a great reminder for Muslims to bask in God’s mercy during the first third of Ramadan. Not only is fasting piling up merits and blessings, but the mercy of God continues to wash over everyone who engages in worship. Allah has created His slaves to worship Him, as He says in the Quran:
And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except that they should worship Me (Alone).(51: 56)
Conclusion
The virtues of fasting are great indeed, and one of the virtues is that God chose fasting for Himself. Prophet Muhammad said:
(Allah said): Every good deed of Adam’s son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. And I shall reward (the fasting person) for it.’ Verily, the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk. (Al-Bukhari)
Thus the rewards without measure will manifest itself throughout the days of Ramadan for those who sincerely repent and engage in good deeds for only God alone.
All this mercy spills over throughout Ramadan and through a believer’s life up until the Day of Judgment where the fasting person may be recognized as amongst the pious, by God’s merciful decision.

(This article is from Reading Islam’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.)
Fasting in materialistic world(2)
To me, one of the main factors behind the victories of earlier Muslims over their enemies during the wars of liberation was fewness of the desires they had as well as lack of the habits they fell into. They used to take few dates with them then rush their enemies in the battlefield. On the other hand, Persian and Roman soldiers, used to have carriages laden with food and drink behind their ranks; otherwise, they would cease fighting!
Nothing is as superior as fasting!
From time to time, people may be hit by severe crises that shake the very foundations of their societies as they become short of food and drink. But, what should they do then? They either become patient against their will, or become obliged to observe compulsory fasting. They do either while their hearts are filled with exasperation and discontent.
By contrast, the Islamic ritual of fasting is something unique as it greatly differs from all these. In essence, it is to deprive one’s self of eating and drinking while there is plenty thereof only for the sake of Allah the Almighty!
It is some sort of forbearance while one has a choice either to observe fast or not while no one would know about it except Allah the All-Knower. Remarkably, one willingly chooses to silence the screams of one’s empty stomach and delays answering its demands. One does this while anticipating the reward for his patience from his Lord on a very hard day,
{And that is a Day to which all people shall be gathered. And that is a Day that shall be witnessed by all creation!} (Hud 11:103)
The relationship between hardship and the reward in the Hereafter is what the following hadith means,
“Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” (Al-Bukhari)
The phrase “out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards,” stands for an effort whose reward is not hastened in any way. Rather, the doer decides to put it away with the rest of his savings (i.e. other good deeds) with his Lord hoping to receive it all on a certain day, {That is the True Day! So let whoever so wills take a penitent course to his Lord.} (An-Naba’ 78:39)
Unfortunately, the fasting person will find some people who neither observe fast, nor recognize the sanctity of the sacred month of Ramadan as they eat when they feel hungry and drink when they feel thirsty. What will these people find with their Lord on the Day of Judgment?!
Undoubtedly, they will find those who built up significant savings with their Lord as in another level, full of blessings and joys. The Ever-Glorious Qur’an tells us about those who wasted their future in such a way as saying what may mean,
{And the Companions of the Fire of Hell shall call out to the Companions of the [Everlasting] Garden of Paradise: Pour down upon us some water or give us some sustenance from what God has provided you! They shall say: Indeed, God has forbidden each of them to the disbelievers, those who took their religion as amusement and play, and whom the life of the world utterly deluded.} (Al-A`raf 7:50-51)
May Allah the Almighty make us from among those who build up huge savings with Him and who anticipate great rewards from Him, Glory be His, on the Day of Judgment. Amen.

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