Non-Muslim from Dubai fasts in Ramadan, is blessed with miracles!

Sarbani with her husband and children.

• Even as Sarbani juggles between her duties every day, it does not deter her from fasting.

Back in 2008, Sarbani Ghoshal and her family were struggling for over two years to get a two-bedroom accommodation which her husband was entitled to.

One evening while Sarbani was out on her routine walk, she heard the call for prayer ( Azaan) and wordlessly whispered to herself, "If I get the accommodation, I shall fast during Ramadan."

As she headed back home, she came across one of her neighbours in the elevator. 

"She informed me that the flat had been sanctioned to us and we could shift immediately. I was shocked beyond measure. It was nothing short of a miracle," Sarbani, a non-Muslim, tells Khaleej Times. Keeping the promise she made to herself, Sarbani began to fast for the first time that year during Ramadan. She says it made her feel composed and filled her with a sense of patience. Sarbani continued to keep the fast every Ramadan from then on.

Missed fasting

Life's vicissitudes didn't cease for Sarbani. In 2014, tragedy struck her family when her husband suffered a sudden cerebral stroke, which affected 75 per cent of his brain. It rendered him jobless.

Recalls Sarbani, "It was 2014. I was in India with my family and could not fast for the first time since I started to. As soon as we came back to Dubai, my husband suffered a stroke, leaving him bedridden for long."

At that time, Sarbani's son was in Class 9, while her daughter was 7-year-old. The family was left with no means of income.

Sarbani says, "Having moved to Dubai in 1997 after marriage, I had quit my job to look after my children. After a gap of 14 years, I had to take up a job again."

"My son was at a crucial juncture of his studies. And I had no choice but to earn a livelihood to run the family."

Sarbani got a job as Assistant Manager in Marketing with an India-based company. After two years, she was promoted as GCC head in the same firm. Her children were able to continue their education, without any breaks.

Today, her son will soon be joining college, while her daughter is studying in Class 7.

Even as Sarbani juggles between her duties every day, it does not deter her from fasting.

"My day starts at 3:30am when I wake up for suhoor. I hardly get any time for iftar for myself as I reach home after 6pm most of the days. Sometimes, I only take some milk to break the fast," she adds.

Despite everything, she is determined to continue fasting as her belief in the blessings of Ramadan has got rock-solid now.

"I have witnessed extraordinarily miraculous things taking shape. My husband is recovering fast. He is slowly starting to speak and communicate and was recently hired by his former boss in India. Even though his income is not much, getting back the job has helped him become mentally strong and boosted his spirits."

Now, every day Sarbani looks forward to going home and sit with her family for iftar.

"My children really love this month. They wait for iftar time. Ramadan brings a lot of peace and togetherness in my life," Sarbani says, adding that she hopes the Almighty gives her the strength to continue keeping the Ramadan fast for her entire life.