Dear Reader,
With Ramadan 2013 coming to a close,
and since I haven't written a decent blog post in a shamefully long while now,
I thought I'd answer a question I've been asked a few time and explain what
Ramadan is all about. This can be helpful especially if you, dear reader, are not
a Muslim.
Ramadan is the name of the 9th month in the Islamic
Calendar and it was during this month, almost 1450 years ago, that the Qur'an
was first revealed to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). That is why Ramadan
is a sacred month and is also known as the month of the Qur'an. So, as a way of
celebration, in this month Muslims try to read as much of the Qur'an as
possible, as well as fasting from dawn to dusk for 29/30 days. This means we
are not supposed to eat or drink anything, not even water, and abstain from
sexual interactions, during the daylight hours (no drugs or smoking either).
This is known as the physical fast.
The second level of fasting is the mental fast
where we should:
- restrain our tongues from gossiping, lying and using foul language,
- guard our eyes and ears from seeing/watching and hearing/listening to inappropriate and obscene things,
- restrain our feet and hands from committing sin (e.g. hitting someone)
- and most importantly preventing yourself from getting angry.
There is also the spiritual fast which is the
highest level of fasting, in which we try and detach ourselves from the
material world. This involves not just performing acts of charity, truly
forgiving those who have previously wronged you, abstaining from unworthy and
materialistic thoughts, desires and wishes, but also includes spending time in
the remembrance of God, reading the Qur'an and contemplating the perfection of
His Oneness (Tawhid).
If performed correctly and with good intentions,
the three levels of fasting should help us Muslims develop our God Conciousness
(Taqwa), i.e. being aware that God is everywhere, watching us always,
nothing is hidden from Him, everything that happens is by His Will and that one
day we will all return to Him and be judged by Him.
The purpose of fasting during Ramadan is made clear in the second Chapter (Surah) of the Qur'an:
The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights (the new moon of) the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and (wants) for you to complete the period, and glorify Allah (Takbir) for that to which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. [2:185]
There are many things that can be
taken away from this verse (Ayat) but I want to focus on the last three:
- Glorify Allah: thus the first purpose of fasting in this month is to spend time in the glorification and remembrance of Allah, which is called Dhikr or Tasbeeh and is an essential part of the spiritual fast.
- He has Guided you: the second purpose is to celebrate and recite the guidance that Allah has given us; the Noble Qur'an.
- be Grateful: and finally giving Allah His due gratitude for all that He has given us. Going without food and water provides us with a glimpse into what life must be like for the homeless and hungry poor. There are no words to describe the relief and appreciation I have felt for a sip of water after a long hot day of fasting. This sort of experience drives action to encourage self-less charity and help those less fortunate. But, as a reminder to me before anyone else, the words used in the ayat: "perhaps you will be grateful" suggest that despite all that I've said above, gratitude towards Allah for His innumerable blessings is often forgotten and because of this I believe that this final purpose is the most important. Alhumdulillah.
May God forgive me for any omissions or mistakes in my explanation.
Nida
