My Learning from Every Ramzan
By
Moin Qazi, New Age Islam
9 March
2023
Religious Fasting Traditions- From Ramzan To Ekadasi
To Yom Kippur And Lent -Are Meant To Relieve Believers From Many
Avoidable Mundane Compulsions, Helping Them Replenish Their Spirituality,
Remember The Poor, Give Up Bad Habits, Make Amends For Moral Deficiencies And
Get Closer To Their Faith.
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O you
who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you, that you may attain Taqwa [God-consciousness]
– (The Qur’an, Al-Baqarah: 183)
Religious
fasting traditions- from Ramzan to Ekadasi to Yom Kippur and Lent
-are meant to relieve believers from many avoidable mundane compulsions,
helping them replenish their spirituality, remember the poor, give up bad
habits, make amends for moral deficiencies and get closer to their faith. The
most prominent among these spiritual fasting customs is Ramzan. Islam does not
have a tradition of monasticism. Instead, observant Muslims become ascetics
during Ramzan every year. For them it is a month of sacred abstemiousness.
Fasting
("Sumoo", derived from the Arabic root of "Saama"
and Syriac, "Sawma”) means "to refrain" - and not only is
it abstaining from eating, drinking , smoking and sex , but all forms of
immoral actions including talking about others behind their backs, or indulging
in impure or unkind thoughts. Like prayers, fasting is an essentially solitary
act; it represents a personal relationship each one of us has with God. When
fasting, Muslims have one meal before sunrise, called Sahur-the predawn
meal -together, and share another meal with friends and family after sunset,
called Iftar-the fast-breaking meal. The fast is much longer than what
everyone perceives .It commences at the first ray of dawn, or, as it is said in
the Qur'an, "when the white thread of day becomes distinct from the
blackness of night. The simultaneity of all these Muslim rituals is Islam's way
of fostering fellowship and a powerful sense of solidarity.
Fasting
during Ramzan is obligatory for all able-bodied Muslims from when they reach
the age of religious observance. Those exempt from fasting are those who are
sick, the elderly, those who have a mental illness, those who travel a long
distance and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating. However,
the exemption states that those who skip the fast have to make up for the lost
equivalent days after Ramzan. But if a person cannot fast at all – particularly
if that is for health reasons – they can compensate and partake of the holy
month's blessings by feeding a needy person for each day they do not fast
(Fidiya, or "expiation").
Ramzan
commemorates the descent of the word of God, the Qur'an, from heaven to earth.
Just as the word of God has come down, in Ramzan, the expression of supplicants
goes up to God more vigorously and efficaciously than at any other time.
The most
significant hallmark of the month of Ramzan is the Night of Destiny, Night
of Measure or Night of Value: Lailat ul Qadr, in Arabic. According
to the Qur'an, angels descend from heaven on this particular night -most
important, the archangel Gabriel — bringing peace and divine presence into the
world. Prophet Muhammad did not mention exactly when the Night of Power would
be, although most scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights
of the final ten days of Ramzan
The Qur'an
says:
"The
Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
Therein
come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand:
Peace...
This until the rise of morn!” (Q97)
Better than
a thousand months. A thousand months are equivalent to 83 years and four months.
The importance of this night is also mentioned in Hadith, which are the sayings
of the Prophet Muhammad as remembered by his companions:
"Whoever
establishes the prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping to
attain Allah's rewards (not to show off) then all his past sins will be
forgiven." (Sahih Bukhari Vol 1, Book 2:34).
Ramzan is
always a very amazing month. We undertake a month-long spiritual odyssey meant
physically and morally rejuvenate us. It enables us to detach from worldly pleasures
to invest our time in intense prayer, charity and spiritual discipline and
focus on our deeds, thoughts and actions. Every Ramzan, we undergo illuminating
and enriching experiences that provide valuable lessons in understanding life
and ourselves better. The test's extremity reminds us of human life's fragility
and is meant to foster a relationship with God.
I remember
the early years of fasting when my mother would tell stories about Ramzan when
she was little and growing up--how the table at sunset would be full of
delicacies, how she and her siblings would hold handfuls of food in front of
their mouths, waiting for the cue from my grandfather to eat. At the end of the
month of fasting, he would sacrifice a lamb in the name of God and feed it to
the poor.
The first
time I fasted was when I was attending school away from home. Marching up to
the man in charge of the cafeteria, I fully expected to be rebuffed when I
asked for food to return to my dorm for a pre-dawn breakfast. But he just
looked me and asked what I would like to eat. Had I not been so stunned by his
acceptance, I might have asked for a table full of treats. I fortified myself
with hearty food and sealed the fast with whole fruit juice. The fast seemed
interminable and intolerable because, as every Muslim would confess, no matter
how much food or water or liquid you pour into yourself at dawn, it is enough
to drown the body's yearnings until sunset.
Later that
night, nibbling on the meat sandwich, I realized, ''I'm fasting for Ramzan!''
For the first time, I was doing something that wasn't primarily for myself or
my parents or good grades. By fasting, I was doing something for God that would
bring me closer to the creator and sustainer of all existence.it is said that
it's the only Islamic practice invisible to an observer.
Later in
college, on Saturday nights, other Muslim students and I would take the college
van to a pancake house at 4 a.m. I told my non-Muslim friends, who always
accompanied me to dinner in the dining hall at sunset, how the entire holy
month of Ramzan was about feeling spiritually charged and elevated despite
hunger and deprivation.
The fasting
ritual is an eagerly awaited interlude for abstaining from food, drink and
other indulgences to concentrate on prayer, meditation and worship. This, in
turn, encourages more excellent reflection on one's life and appreciation for
resources we sometimes take for granted. It teaches us patience,
self-restraint, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God.
The act of
fasting for spiritual prowess makes us more conscious, not just of food habits
but of how we think, behave and interact throughout the day. Fasting does not
mean Muslims retreat from their daily chores; instead, they are encouraged to
continue their regular routine. This is the real challenge, and fasting helps
us hone our patience and endurance because, by refraining from consumption
throughout the day, we learn the benefit of refraining from gratifying each of
our desires at the moment.
Each
fasting day during Ramzan is a trial of the body and our spiritual resolve.
Removing the everyday comforts from daily routine is intended to focus the mind
on spirituality, prayer and charity. By fasting, we cut ourselves off from the
temptations and distractions of our busy, hectic, materialistic lives and try
attaining "Taqwa", "piety", or
"God-consciousness". With a decaffeinated, empty stomach, and a
thirst that is difficult to tolerate, fasting connects us to someone else.
Tending to
the welfare of the less fortunate members of the community is a central tenet
of Islam and a critical tradition during Ramzan. On several occasions, I
have read that handing someone charity first passes through the Hand of God
before it reaches the recipient's hand. I always imagine that when I give, it
helps me do it with greater humility. Holding wealth is an immense blessing
that comes with great responsibility and untold rewards when we pass it along.
All good deeds done in Ramzan fetch manifold rewards in the afterlife.
Thus, apart from being a personal religious voyage, the season of sharing and
giving reconfigures one's social bonds.
Our fasting
draws us to the story of a woman in Somalia who has been walking for miles to
reach and fetch firewood and water; successive droughts have ravaged her land,
her body, and her children. The baby she is carrying no longer gets milk from
her breast; she feels him shrinking in her arms as she walks. The little hands
of her other small children clutch at her as they patiently trail her. The mother
repeatedly tells them they must put their trust in God and keep moving. One can
understand her thirst as she utters words of prayer with every precious drop of
water she goes without giving to her children for their survival.
Our act of
fasting brings greater empathy for her than any ordinary day. I remember her
when my head would be dizzy with thirst after running out on a simple errand in
triple-digit heat. I can step back into my air-conditioned refuge; she can't. I
won't complain of my exhaustion from too little sleep because I know she won't
find a sheltering place to rest in the harsh landscape. I'm hungry, but I can
break my fast in a celebratory mood when the day is finished; I'll take a
cooling sip of clean, filtered water and feel it splash down in my empty gut at
sundown. As I think my body reviving, I remember the Somali woman's fast has
been going on since well-before Ramzan, and it will continue past the 30
days that Muslims will observe. It has been her way of life for years on end.
For her, "fasting" is not a choice. For her, hunger is part of daily
life.
We keep
seeing this poor woman as we slice up exotic fruits to refresh our families
after fasting. How can we set the table with melons, dates, rice, other lavish
goodies and dollops of dainty creams when she has none? How can we keep
stocking up on provisions featuring a variety of exquisite tasty food, such as
sweetmeats, spices, savouries and sugary drinks, with which to break our daily
fasts without thinking of the woman's broken heart when she has to tell her
children she has nothing for them; the crops failed, the livestock died, and
food prices have risen so high. She has no way to feed them. The suffering of
these unlucky ones reminds us to be grateful for our fortunes.
Sometimes
we don't realize how hard and coarse our hearts have become. The absence of
regular and consistent times for self-reflection and contemplation has made us
insensitive to the suffering around us. The pursuit of complacency has become
our goal rather than the purpose of contentment, and we sacrifice things that
would bring us everlasting comfort in the quest of those things that give us
the facade of comfort. The empathy for the suffering of those less fortunate
people around us, created by the act of fasting, is only worth something to
them and us if we do something about it.
The
emphasis on enduring the fast stimulates us to move beyond simply the physical
aspects of it and reach out in the direction of a spiritual fast. It's not
about the mortification of the flesh.
It's about refraining from complaining, a fast from thinking ill of
others, a fast from coarse language and harsh speech, a fast that focuses not
on food or drink, but how the absence of those things leads towards the
development of a strong heart and soul. That's the fact that we should strive
for - one that moves beyond not feeding our bodies but feeding our souls. The
essence of Ramzan is to become humble, simple and free from ill will, anger,
meanness and hate. It is a one-month refresher course from which we can emerge
as the greatest version of ourselves. It is a month of penance, peace,
forgiveness, atonement and reconciliation.
I pray that
Ramzan gets into our hearts and minds and makes us embrace all shades of
humanity with dignity, respect and care, acknowledging the diverse swath of
traditions and cultures.
The
greatest lesson every Ramzan teaches me is indeed the wisdom expressed
in Qur'an, Al-Hujurat:
"O mankind! We have created you male and
female and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The
noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct. God Knows and is Aware
of everything you do." (Q49:13)
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Moin Qazi is the author of the bestselling book,
Village Diary of a Heretic Banker. He has worked in the development finance
sector for almost four decades.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-spiritualism/religious-traditions-spirituality-ramzan/d/129278
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