Host of BBC’s Ramadan podcast Not Even Water says ‘hooking up’ during the holy month is a no-no – and says she even has guilt about having her period because she ‘feels like I’m not praying’
A BBC Sounds podcaster has lifted the lid on whether its okay to date during the holy month of Ramadan.
Presenter of BBC Sounds’ Not Even Water Mehreen Baig and guest Big Zuu, who are both Muslim, were asked the question by Radio 1 DJ Jamie Laing in a recent episode of the Ramadan guide podcast.
Some three million Muslims in the UK are marking Ramadan – which marks the month that the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad – via fasting from food and drink in daylight hours.
In the broadcast, Laing, 35, reads out the question: ‘Are you allowed to date or hook up with people during Ramadan?’
During a recent episode of Not Even Water, a guide to Ramadan on BBC Sounds, Radio 1 presenter Jamie Laing asked the show’s host if was okay to date during the holy month
The presenter, who left her Saturday show on the BBC Asian Network last month, hosts the series, which aims to offer insight into Ramadan
Baig, who’s also behind the Glow up your Grades revision series, tells the former Made in Chelsea star: ‘I say no. I vote no. You definitely can’t be hooking up Jamie’.
Big Zuu clarified, saying: ‘Obviously in the holy month, committing sin is wrong but we’re human. So if you do go link your babes, it’s wrong. But you’re not the worst human in the world’.
BBC presenter Baig, who last month left her Saturday show on the BBC Asian Network, then offered her thoughts, saying: ‘Refrain. We should be watching our interactions with the opposite gender even if it’s not Ramadan.’
According to the rules of the Qur’an, a couple should only have sex after daylight hours have ended during the holy month, and then only if they’re husband and wife.
Baig said: ‘We should be watching our interactions with the opposite gender even if it’s not Ramadan’
Rapper Big Zuu, who’s also Muslim, also appeared on the podcast, saying ‘It’s wrong. But you’re not the worst human in the world’ if you have sex with a partner during Ramadan
In another episode of the series, Baig, who has been fasting for more than 20 years, also discussed periods, saying she felt ‘guilty’ having her period during the holy month because women who are menstruating don’t have to fast.
Discussing the issue with guests Hodo Ibrahim and Kaltun, presenters of The Oversharers podcast, who said they had ‘no guilt’ about menstruating during the holy month, saying it was a ‘break’ given by Allah, Baig disagreed.
The broadcaster explained: ‘I promise you, not even just in Ramadan, but particularly in Ramadan I feel like I’m not praying. I actually feel really bad about it.’
The podcast host also said she ‘felt guilty’ about getting her period during the holy month because it prevented her from fasting
The Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and this year began on the evening of March 10th and will go on until around April 9th.
The holy month is celebrated yearly by praying during the night time and abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual acts during the period between sunrise and sunset.
