AyAAn MAtin ShAikh, 3 yeArS AnD 5 MonthS

Being one of the youngest in the UAE to fast this Ramadan, threeand-a-half-year-old Ayaan does not know yet the feat he has achieved. To the utter surprise of his parents Matin Shaikh and Amreen Shaikh, he stayed up with his parents all night on May 19 as they performed their special night prayers of Laylatul Qadr until Suhoor and decided to keep his first fast that day.

“I was shocked when he said he will eat Suhoor and will fast with us. We took it lightly and fed him his favourite food – noodles, watermelon and milk – and went about our regular work. But Ayaan got up at around 1pm and went about playing with his younger sister without asking for food or water,” said his father Matin.

His parents couldn’t believe it when Ayaan finally sat down with the family for Iftar, patiently waiting for the maghrib azaan.

Hailing from Solapur, Maharashtra, Ayaan’s father Matin Shaikh, who has been living in Dubai for over six years, called it as one of the happiest moments of his life.