Ramadan at Workplace- A Guide to Muslim Employees

During the period of Ramadan, Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink, among other things, from dawn to dusk. As such Muslims may not be invited to business lunches during this period and they should be provided with time or space to break their fasts at sunset.

MPAC encourage Muslim employees to engage their HR in open exchange of important information about Ramadan, their needs and inconveniences they may be experiencing with the aim of reaching amicable conclusions and compromises.

In addition, MPAC recommend the following:

• Load Balance Your Workday: Reserve the morning hours for meetings, intellectually demanding work, or tasks that require concentration, and save the busy work and routine tasks for later in the day.

• Trade in Your Lunch Hour: Negotiate with your employer to trade in your lunch hour in order to reach home for Iftar. Since you're not eating lunch, you can work straight through it- and take the hour off at the end of the day when your attention starts to fade a bit. Please note that employers do not have to allow time off or changes to the usual routine if it would adversely affect the business.

• Organize Iftar at Work: If your work pattern requires you to work at night, make arrangement with your canteen staff for your Iftar and Zahur.

• Write About Ramadan in Company Newsletters: In a healthy workplace where workers know one another very well, issues on religion will be topics of discussion in mutual respect. Use the opportunity of this month to educate your co-workers on the subject of Muslim fasting and the needs of fasting Muslims in workplaces.

• Exemplify the Spirit of Ramadan: In both your work ethics and dealing with people, exemplify noble values by being honest, fair, committed and diligent. It is important to know that fasting is about more than just not eating and drinking. Muslims must also refrain from things such as verbal abuse, fighting, gossiping, eavesdropping, backbiting, lying and slander as these acts severely reduce the worth of a fast. In essence Muslims must try to be model human beings during the fast with the aim of retaining these virtuous qualities thereafter. It is hoped that having performed these ‘Ramadan Work Ethics’ for a whole month they will become habits for life.

• Open Your Hearts to Those Less Fortunate: Spend this month to reach out those in less fortunate conditions than yourselves- Muslims and non-Muslims. This need not only be tied to cash gifts, even ordinary smile is a form of charity.

This is a month to practice increased restraint and generosity which should be taken into the following months; we enjoin our brothers and sisters to reach out to both Muslims and non-Muslims in their workplaces with kindness, restraint and generosity as a reflection of our commitment to Allah and in fulfilment of the commandment of fasting.

MPAC extend its wishes for a peaceful and blessed month of Ramadan to Muslims worldwide and joins Nigerian Muslims in this blessed month in praying for peace, unity and understanding among the Muslims and in our country. 

The Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, is a registered Muslim public service agency that works for the rights of all Muslims, for the integration of Islam into Nigerian pluralism, and for a positive relationship between Nigerian Muslims and other elements in the society. Thus establishing the Nigerian Muslim identity as a positive and constructive element of Nigerian pluralism.