The channel is called MakkahLive and airs live prayers from Makkah including taraweeh prayers. In the sidebar of the video, a live comment widget has been placed. Which in total brings a real spiritual experience this Ramadan for Muslims across the world.

Don’t be surprised! Hospitality is not the rare thing here. It’s just that we’ve been pocked by the media for so many negative things which has become an obstacle for the positive things to come forward. Here I am taking the opportunity to share something of a recent incident I came across with, while we were on the way to Rajanpur as a part of Pakistan Youth Alliance’s flood relief.

Just around a couple of weeks ago, we were wandering around the roads in our quest to find the easiest possible way to reach the destiny, where we were being en-routed to so many alternate routes as many of the roads were closed due to the destruction done by the floods.

When the clocks were tickling around 3 AM, we started rushing to find the nearest food spot for our Sehri meals! We found one food point called “Food Studio” in the mid of Raheem Yar Khan, and we decided to spot there. The wall painted was giving a CokeStudio kind of a look. While asking us to be seated, the guys over there pointed their fingers towards the sitting area which was an open area outside the food point.

We could see open fields and empty plots around us. The shinny moon, the stars and the sky, wasn’t less than any twilight ;) that is not all, there’s one unique thing which gave it the Pakistani effect, which is a railway track with non-stop trains passing by. All of these things added up to make this one of our best Sehri meals ever had.

When we were done with the Sehri and were heading to make the payment, the shopkeepers came and said they can’t take any money from us for we were going for a noble cause. This was really amazing! Not less than 12 people ate to fill their bellies to the extent, and the shop owner refused to accept even a penny from us. Regardless of the sects, ethnicity, language, color, we all were treated with the great hospitality we had ever witnessed. We left with the lots of prayers and best wishes from them.

The very first problem that we face during fasting is thirst. How to overcome our thirst? of course the thought of thirst drives you on the concept of drinking lots of water and finally our belly suffers the sensation of almost bursting open, yes you can have lots of water but with it you should avoid all kinds of fizzy drinks which, of course reduce the amount of water from our bodies. Another great tip is to have a bowl of yogurt or lassi is a great idea. avoid taking lots of tea which will be the cause of thirst during your fast.

The next thing you should concentrate on is eating a balanced diet during sehri. Keeping a balance while eating paraths, pheonian, and other formal sehri meals is important. Don’t think eating much will do any help in controlling hunger during fast. This is because it is natural! if you eat all these things, it means your body is getting habitual of eating too much and the more, you eat in sehri, the more you will get hungry during your fast, instead if you get on eating healthy meals like lots of fruits that will provide you with energy. with fruits you should eat light kind of meals like coup or if you want to eat a phratha, instead you eat a roti or else brown rice and lots of salads with glass of milk or lassi.

The key to avoid gaining weight is to say “NO” to the junk food and fizzy drinks!

I’ll be reporting about Ramadan in Pakistan, India, Central Asia, Australia, Americas, European Union tomorrow as the sighting of moon will be observed tomorrow.

Ramadan will thus begin on Saturday, said Minister Maftuh Basyuni.

“We try to minimize differences between our people, however if that does happen I hope that won’t affect our unity,” Maftuh said.

Team member Cecep Nurwaenda said watchers were arrayed at nine points across the archipelago, including at the Boscha Observatory near Bandung, West Java.

“We have a team in each region to observe the moon very closely,” he said.