This morning I woke up at 3, long before sunrise. It is Ramadan. It is also the NBA playoffs. Both require my absolute focus in a way that I have never experienced before.
Like hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, I ate my pre-fast meal, suhur, which is what we eat before we practice the first of our five daily prayers. Every year, we observe Ramadan for 29 to 30 days based on the lunar calendar. During this time, the most important month of the year for the Islamic faith, followers of my religion abstain from food, water and even medicine until the sun is no longer visible on the horizon.