Finding peace of mind through worship in the holy month

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  Kamaal studies the Quran after the first morning prayers at his home. ‘Fasting is good for body and soul. It cleanses the body and because of the fasting you have less energy to be distracted by other worldly temptations and the self denial reduces pride so you can empathise with those who always have little to eat and you feel like doing charitable works.’

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  Kamaal speaks with a customer at his building materials shop during Ramadan.

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  Kamaal pays his respects at the graves of relatives in the Panch Piran (Five Saints) Muslim graveyard on his way back from johar, or second prayers.

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  Kamaal goes on an outing at a local park with six-month-old Ibrahim and seven-year-old Ayaan.

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  Kamaal and his family break fast with the iftar meal starting with dates. Family members include nephew Suhail Khan, 20; nephew Umar Khan, 16; niece Zeba, 11; brother Mehboob Khan, 36; daughter Rahima, 5; and wife Rubina Buno, 25.

Photographer Simon De Trey-White follows Haji Kamaal Hassan on day during Ramadan.

Haji Kamaal Hassan lives in Nizamuddin West, a prosperous district south of Delhi with historic sites including a shrine to a 13th century Sufi saint who gives the community its name.

Working as a supplier of building materials and also as a tourist guide, the 30-year-old is married with two children, a boy and a girl.

He prays at several local mosques including the 14th century Kalan Masjid, and sometimes the Khairun Manzi Masjid in Delhi, a 16th mosque built by one of the most powerful women in Indian history.

Kamaal says that Ramadan gives him “peace of the mind and heart”.

Fasting, he says, gives you less energy and so reduces the distractions of worldly temptations. It is also a reminder of those less fortunate.

“The self-denial reduces pride so you can empathise with those who always have little to eat and you feel like doing charitable works,” Kamaal says.

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