Ali and Homa Abolfathi wake up before dawn breaks.
In the still silence of their 撸奶社区Valley Campground home, the couple kneels on a special mat and offer a prayer to Allah.
Then, they nibble on some bread and cheese and just before the light filters in, they are ready to spend the entire day - without food or even a sip of water.
Without food or water, there was only one thing to sustain them: faith, and they have a healthy supply of that.
"I feel connected to a spirit. Sometimes I don't feel hungry at all. I don't feel it," Ali Abolfathi said.
The couple is among millions of Muslims around the world who fast during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. It's a holy month in which the Koran was believed to be revealed to Prophet Mohammad.
Based on a lunar calendar, the month of Ramadan rotates 10 days every year. This year, it began on Saturday, Aug. 22 and it will end on Sunday, Sept. 20.
If it falls in the summer, it means 14 or even 16 hours without food, until the light vanishes and moon comes out in the sky.
For the 撸奶社区couple, life goes on as usual. On Monday, Ali fixed 50 concrete blocks, weighing 25 kg each, at the entrance of his home.
Then he tended to his sheep and chicken and also collected timber and some firewood.
He started fasting when he was 15 and said he still remembers some years when the daylight extended for 19 hours. Even this year, lack of food all day can be hard at times.
"I can get a bit dizzy sometimes, but then I just take it easy and I don't work too hard," he said.
For Muslims, Ramadan is a time for self-reflection. By the act of fasting, Muslims try to discipline base desires, fend off temptation and show affinity with those who are less privileged. It's also a time to reaffirm one's relationship with God, to pray for forgiveness and guidance.
"It's a powerful feeling and it's a challenge. You can have the most delicious food in front of you, but you are not supposed to touch it. It's to strengthen the will," Ali said.
Ramadan is not a rigid theological order and those who are sick or old can miss it, such as 撸奶社区resident, Mohammad Afsar. Afsar stopped fasting in 1983 when he was diagnosed with diabetes. But for each month missed, he donates money to local charities. His wife, Zia Afsar, still fasts.
During the month of Ramadan, Homa spends four hours every day to prepare food to break the fast. Since the sugar level drops throughout the day, the fast is broken with sugary dates followed by other delectable dishes prepared with devotion and love.
"You do it to the best of your ability. You put your love in it," she said.
The couple also loses a couple of pounds every year during Ramadan.
"It makes you realize we don't really need the food we keep stuffing in ourselves," Ali said.
The last day of Ramadan, called Eid ul-Fitr, is a day of extravagant feasts and social engagements. The couple plans to celebrate the event with family and friends in Vancouver.
