IΜΑΑΝ HAMMAM is Making Plans

Taped to Imaan Hammam's refrigerator, along with photos of friends and family and snapshots from her world travels, is a piece of graph-lined paper with "2023" written at the top, then a list of the things the 26-year-old model hopes to do this year: learn a new language (she already speaks Dutch, Arabic, and English); apply for Global Entry (underlined twice for emphasis); look for a therapist ("I've done it and I think it's time for me to do it again," she tells me).

I am only privy to this list because the handyman assembling Hammam's new dresser is taking longer than expected to finish; we've nixed our plans to meet at a coffee shop, and Hammam has invited me over to her Brooklyn apartment instead.

"Islam" is written on the list, too. "I'm very proud to be Muslim," she says, "but it's so hard to be in a Western country and still stay close to your deen, your religion." This particular afternoon is day 13 of Ramadan, and in keeping with her 2023 priorities, Hammam has taken the month off from modeling to focus on her faith, which right now includes fasting from sunup to sundown. "I [told] my agent, 'I love you guys, but this is a month of me healing, no work," she says, adding that she's pushed herself too far during Ramadan before. "There were moments when I fainted on set. They'd be having you doing so much on these shoots, girl. It's like dancing, jumping around, running and then there's a room for TikTok, doing all these TikTok videos...." Sitting on a plush rug on her living room floor, wearing wide-leg jeans and an oversize green sweatshirt, Hammam has a spirited, inviting demeanor, her delivery marked by laughs and hand gestures and frequently tilting her head to the side.