One of the things we offer at my company Embrace Arabia is a programme for expats that gives an authentic Ramadan experience. During this residential programme of two weeks, they have to follow the rules of the house: no food or water during the day, just as we do in the month of Ramadan. I began this programme about three Ramadans ago when some of my expat friends expressed an interest. Some saw it as an opportunity to understand our culture; others used it as a tool to discipline themselves. For some of the participants it was something of a Ramadan detox, a benefit that research has shown. It seems modern medicine is only now catching up to the holy Quran, which explained hundreds of years ago that if you fast for 30 days and eat a particular set of food items, you will see many benefits to your health.
Ramadan might symbolise the food tents to expats, but for Muslims it is a time for prayer and purification of the mind, spirit and body. Each prayer break takes us that much closer to almighty Allah and makes our faith stronger. From a very young age we are taught that, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip; the eyes from looking at indecent things; the ears from listening to meaningless talk or obscene words. The hands must not touch anything that does not belong to them, and the feet must refrain from walking to sinful destinations. As each and every organ of the body observes restraint, it culminates in total commitment of the person's body and soul to the spirit of the fast. I like to think that Ramadan is a time to detox — physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally — in order to refocus on the worship of God.
The Holy Month of Ramadan is a time to rejoice. Although there is some solemnity attached to it, it is not one of sorrow or mournfulness or even laziness. We are very cheerful and active during this time. In fact, at the end of Ramadan a common form of greeting is a request to the Almighty that we may live long enough to spend another Ramadan together. Some people break down and cry at the end of Ramadan in sheer gratitude for the purification of their spirit. It is indeed a very special time for us.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Match info
Newcastle United 1
Joselu (11')
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE