Have you ever wondered about the convergence of the past and present month of Ramadan in time, or wondered at the speed of the end of the holy month and hastened to make use of its numbered days before it is too late?

What is the explanation for this feeling?

What is the secret of its contradiction with those who consider Ramadan as a heavy guest whose seconds pass slowly, and increase slowly before the time of breakfast and during Tarawih prayers?

This article attempts to explain the feelings of the two contradictory parties, and proposes solutions to deal with the time in the last days of the greatest and most blessed of months, to be a frequent guest with acts of obedience and exploitation of times, and it passes, leaving a feeling of achievement and certainty of freedom from fire, on the impact of the invocations of “God is not afraid of you, O month of Ramadan.”

For example, when we start the Tarawih prayer and think about when it will end, it makes the time seem to pass slowly (Shutterstock)

Interpretation of the discrepancy in time management

Religious interpretation:

The Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, says - as stated in Sahih Muslim - “The Hour will not come until time approaches, so the year will be like a month, and the month will be like a Friday, and Friday will be like a day, and the day will be like an hour, and the hour will be like the burning of a palm tree.”

The scholars differed regarding the meaning of time convergence mentioned in the hadith.

The writer Akl Rabee’ explains to Al Jazeera Net that “the blessing of time is a blessing in the hands of God Almighty, and the servant does not reach it except by His grace, help and mercy. plotted for her.”

Psychological state:

In the year 2016, Portuguese researchers prepared a study on the neurobiological bases of personal perception about the speed or slow passage of time, published in the scientific journal “Science”, and concluded that this is an internal feeling of time, but it is unstable and varies from person to person depending on Because of his psychological state, if he is happy, time passes quickly and vice versa. Someone says, for example, “The minute passed as if it were an eternity while waiting for help” or “A happy year has passed by in the blink of an eye.”

The writer Akl Rabee' explains to Al Jazeera Net that the speed of time is related to the psychological state of the fasting person, which rests on 3 sides, which are:

  • The rib of reconciliation with oneself.

  • Rib feeling the pleasure of obedience.

  • The rib of the material ability to spend on oneself and the family, almsgiving and doing good.

Any defect in one of these ribs makes time heavy and exhausts the soul of the fasting person.

Dopamine hormone: Scientist

Joseph Patton from the “Lisbon Research Center” says that the personal perception of time depends on the activity of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter or dopamine hormone, which is produced in the “dark matter” area inside the brain, and creates a feeling of desire and motivation, and that the activity of this transmitter It is a key component of the time processing process;

The more dopamine produced in cells of the substantia nigra, the more signals the former sends, resulting in less time lags between nerve signals, which explains our sense of the rapid passage of time.

In contrast, the decreased activity of the substantia nigra cells gives a sense of the slowness of time.

According to psychological interpretations, if a person is happy, time passes quickly and vice versa (pixels)

The intensity of the experience:

Professor of Sociology Michael Flaherty explains in a report published in 2017, translated by Maidan Al-Jazeera from The Conversation, explaining that he concluded that standard time units such as the hour or the minute vary in the intensity of the human experience, That is, the size of what the human soul holds of objective and subjective information.

"The intensity of the experience goes up when a lot of things happen (combat confrontation), as the intensity of the experience may be the same when almost nothing happens (solitary isolation). We pay more attention to strange circumstances, which increases the intensity of the experience for each person," Flaherty added. It is a standard unit of time, and time seems to pass slowly.”

Accordingly, routine tasks that we can engage in without devoting much attention to them reduce the intensity of the experience and make time pass faster.

An astronomical geological explanation:

Changing the dates of sunrise and the climatic condition can lead to a change in the rate of time, as the geographer Nazmi Abdel Aal explained to Al Jazeera Net that the speed of rotation of the planet or star and its gravitational force depends on the strength or weakness of its internal temperature.

And he continues, "The temperature of the interior of the sun is much higher than the temperature of the interior of the earth, so the speed of the sun around itself and around the big star and a greater force than the earth, and the opposite of this is the inner heat of the moon less than the heat of the interior of the earth, so the speed of its rotation around our planet is slower than its rotation around itself and around the sun. The Earth day is 24 hours, while the length of the lunar day increases by 45 minutes.

He continues, "The temperature of the Earth's interior is decreasing, so its speed is also decreasing, and logically the solar day should exceed 24 hours. Do we feel this realistically? The answer is no, on the contrary, we feel the acceleration of time."

When we wait for breakfast without taking the time, it makes time seem to pass slowly (Shutterstock)

How do I control the Ramadan clock?

Don't wait:

The brain's perception of time depends on its expectations, says Michael Chadlin, a neuroscientist at Columbia Medical Center. When we occupy ourselves with something, our brain anticipates the big picture, making time fly by. When we're bored, our brain anticipates the nearest horizon.

Likewise, when we are free to wait for the time of Iftar without taking advantage of the time, or when we begin the Tarawih prayer while we are thinking about when it will end, this makes the time seem to pass slowly.

Organize your time and occupy it:

In order to avoid the previous point, having a comprehensive daily program of worldly works and religious worship fills the time and kills boredom, so one feels the lightness and blessing of time because he used it in the best way, so a quick and fruitful time is better than a slow and barren one.

In addition, it is necessary to wake up early and not waste the night watching Ramadan series extravagantly.

Intensify the experience and stay away from the routine:

Make Ramadan an unforgettable month, break the monotony of your work, and intensify it with new experiences that the brain stores in the form of memories that give time a qualitative character, and this is why the elderly feel that their later life has passed quickly while their childhood is long, because childhood is full of new experiences With age, life becomes more monotonous.

For example, you can try a new volunteer experience or pray in different mosques.

With the necessity of participating in collective worship that relieves the burden and hardship;

The month of Ramadan is an event that is equally carried by everyone.