A childhood dream is made real

Bazuki Muhammad / Reuters

I've been working like a donkey this Ramadan, so a gift I received at the weekend was fitting. My colleague and I were driving to Dubai, where I was to speak at an equine hospital. "Why are you only going 80 kilometres an hour?" she asked. I had run up a significant bill for traffic violations recently, which made me think of how much easier it was when we used beasts of burden to get around. Back then, you paid only when you wanted a faster animal, though I can only imagine how long the commute between Abu Dhabi and Dubai was through the dunes.

I had a fantastic time at the hospital. The doctors showed me around the facility, one of the world's finest. "You have no idea how much respect and generosity your leaders have for horses," a doctor said. It's true: the UAE is a world leader in the breeding and training of championship horses. So imagine my surprise when my hosts gave me a horse of my own, not knowing that it had been a childhood dream of mine to own one.

My new family member is a seven-year-old retired endurance horse. The director suggested I could even give it a new name. So, ladies and gentlemen, I am the proud owner of Zamaan Pegasus, which means "the days of Pegasus". Alhamdulillah.

Yesterday, I mentioned that when people die their families must make up any days of fasting missed by the deceased in his or her lifetime. I have also noted that children and ill or elderly Muslims may forgo fasting, but still need to make up for these missed days at a later date. This also applies to women who miss time with their periods; mothers often remind their daughters not to forget this important point. One group who do not have to make up for missed fast days are recent converts to Islam. In our religion, conversion is a brand new beginning so all the days you missed up until that point are wiped away. Of course, you weren't Muslim yet so you didn't really miss anything. Many converts also change their names and visit Mecca to signify their new beginning.