Ramadan is upon us once again and brings with it a reminder of all the things I may usually dismiss at other times.
I was discussing this month with some work colleagues eager to learn more about the whens and whys. When do you have to get up? How long do you have to fast for? Why do you have to do it? You can’t even drink tea?!?! But it goes so much deeper than that.
Thankfully I was born and raised in Britain and all throughout school it was drummed into us that we must question everything. Never take anything at face value. My parents didn’t have the same luxury. When they were told to do something it was done and that was that. They are sometimes surprised, though glad, that their children don’t approach life in the same way. No blind faith here, we research and question. I believe that leads to a stronger faith.
I was ten, maybe eleven at the time when my Muslim friends around me were fasting for the first time. It was kiddy fasts, you know, they wanted to be just like their older brothers and sisters and inevitably I wanted to be just like them.
“If you don’t fast you go to hell,” one kid at school told me after I had told him my mother wouldn’t let me as I was too young.
With the bejesus scared out of me I approached my mother. I asked her the whens and the whys. She told me the basics, how it will help us build a sympathy for those in the world who are starving. I could understand that, I had seen the pictures of the children in Africa. I did get to fast the next year and I was awfully excited about it. It meant the family sitting together for meals for once. It meant gatherings at the local mosque where I met other Muslims my age.
It is only in later life that I understood that Ramadan is about all of those things and it is especially about self control. There are things that distract me from God in my day to day life, ones that I feel cannot be avoided. Or is that case? When Ramadan comes around, I can easily pull myself away from these things. If I can do it for this month why not always? Because I am human and I think it is all about moderation. Moderation in consumption and moderating your approach to others. This month helps me with these things and I hope I can carry them on afterwards.
I can’t do this topic the full justice it deserves but I am learning more each and every day. What does Ramadan mean to you?
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Ramadan, to me, is the month when I cram a year’s worth of piety into 30 (or 29) days and watch from the sidelines “scholars” and “leaders” bicker about how to fix moon-sighting so that Eid will fall on a weekend.
[True story: One year I called up one mosque to check when Eid is and after about 80+ tries caught the Imam’s assistant.
Assistant: Insha’Allah, Eid is on Saturday.
Me: But the Imam from (a nearby mosque) said Eid is on Friday.
Assistant: Brother, akhi, you follow that Imam at your own peril. Surely anyone celebrating Eid on Friday is bound for hell fire.
Me: But… but… Mr. Assistant, his mosque is… like… a block and a half from your mosque. I mean, if both of you stood on the roof to see the moon, both of you will probably stare at the same place. How can you say Eid is on Saturday when he says Friday?
Assistant: Like I said, follow you heart and use your best judgment. Just remember, those celebrating Eid a day early will burn in hell fire. Salaam.
He slammed the phone down.]
Though my personal realization of Ramadan’s significance came with age (late teens probably), most of it were explained to me before I hit double digits. I still don’t identify anything that I do as self sacrifice. I really don’t see any tangible improvement in the lives of the disadvantaged from my skipped lunch or any greater self control a week after Eid. Both my parents spend their Jaka’t money and then some during this month. Seeing how the money and gifts went to basically the same people year after year, I don’t think their lives were changed from that cash infusion either. Nothing changes.
Anyhow, I can explain Ramadan pretty well. If anyone needs talking points, let me know.
Before I knew Saima, I knew nothing about Ramadan. Now Ramadan means understanding to me.
A Happy Ramadan to everybody. May you be blessed by all the joys and glad tidings of the holy month. And may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala accept all our Ibadaah (prayer) and Saum (fast.) Ameen.
I agree totally with both Saima and Tamim. It is indeed a pity that the kind of enthusiasm seen in Ramadan, at self control in general and at gatherings and at the mosques is lacking for the rest of the year.
And an incident very similar to that related by Tamim happend to me, when our local mosque was locked (Yes!) to prevent people from praying Eid-ul-fitr namaz on a particular day!! *sigh* If only people spent as much time and effort in discovering the latent glory of the magnificent religion that is Islam. Hey, as for your offer Tamim, I’m game.
Ramadan to me means a time to strengthen my Imaan (faith), to beg forgiveness from the Almighty, to seek of him the fulfillment of my prayers and to set a trend—-in prayer, in piety and in self control— for the year that follows.
The kind of sentiment, the austere yet joyful setting, prevailing over the holy month is something that I cannot describe in mere words. Like Saima said, we can’t do this topic the full justice it deserves.
To end a rather long comment (!), I am quite tempted to borrow a common American festive phrase and twist it around, for the better of course!!
“ ‘Tis the season to be doused in prayer, piety, and self control”!!
Ramadan Kareem to you all.
Ramadan Mubarak to all of you. A few thoughts as to why Ramadan is important to all of us. First it is a chance to reacquaint ourselves with our religion (especially the Qur’an), and reflect on how this wonderful religion can make our lives happy and peaceful. Second it is a chance for the Muslim ummah (or community) to pull together, in a society where Islam and Muslims are coming under increasing pressures from the outside world, to set aside past differences and (try and) become one truly powerful Muslim nation.
Thirdly it is a chance to reign in our greed, be it greed for food, for money or our sexual desires. Islam does not prohibit these things but to take them in moderation. I think that the prophet (PBUH) said in a hadith that fasting without curbing our thoughts is meaningless – you’re just going without food and water.
I had a discussion with my sister about whether her children (aged 7 and 10) should fast during the weekends, or at all. We agreed that at this tender age, they still don’t fully appreciate the true meaning of fasting, although they should get used to the idea of going without food and water during the daylight hours.
I agree with Saima, but I guess I am very liberal in taking Ramadan as an opportunity to better my person more than anything else. I have a short bit on it at my own blog (http://www.lofatmo.com/bloggity.htm) if anyone is interested but there’s more to it I think.
Ramadan mubarak to you all …
http://www.dashes.com/links/archives/20021110.php#003994
Ramadan Mubarak
A lovely sentiment expressed by The Orginal (Is it some kind of title?!) Hasan. That of a powerful Muslim Ummah. If you see carefully, in all the places where Muslims (and Islam) are being persecuted, there is discord and strife in the Muslim communities there. Imagine how much we will be able to cow down these enemies of Islam, if only we come togther as as one. The 1.2 Billion of us will be a major force to reckon with. No UN resolution can curb our freedom then…
What enemies are we talking about? Our biggest enemies are our corrupt leaders if you ask me. And ourselves. So yes, if we united and concentrated on bettering our communities through education and less of the ‘Big Bad West’ bashing we may be a better Ummah. Not only would we be helping ourselves we would help others understand us better and hopefully banish the ‘Islamophobia’ that affects our daily lives.
You go girl! {By the way, yours is a parent blog :D}
Not that it matters, but honey I’m proud of you.
Ramadan Mubarak.
Well, what Saima just said makes a LOT of sense!!
You’re right Saima – we are our own worst enemies. If we all “sang from the same hymn sheet”, we WOULD be a force to be reckoned with. I’m not talking about following a course of Jihad – if we portrayed ourselves as a united democratic voice we would be a very powerful lobby, just as the Jews do in the States or Britain, and I’m not stating an anti-semitic sentiment, just plain fact…
That’s a really good point Hasan. Hopefully we can achieve that sometime soon. What can we as individuals and local communities do to strive towards that?
That’s a very good question. One that I sadly can’t answer. It’s fairly safe to say you can find people of Muslim origin in positions of power and influence in this country. The trick is for these people to lobby the government in a coherent manner, with the general population behind these people.
Asslam alikum.
Though i have read your site many times, this is the first time im writing a comment.
Just wanted to add my thoughts to the unity of this ummah.
If you look back into History of the muslims you will see that there was only one time that the muslims were united….This was the time when our prophet was Alive…>Ever since then we have been disunited. Not because we are dividers but because we have become deeper and deeper into self destruction from within ourselves and community. This destruction also destorys a mans honour, if a man has no honour he isnt able to hold the banner of Islam. Just as a lion walks with honour with his mane when he becomes an adult yet in his youth he doesnt have enough honour to bare his mane. Therefore until we begin to check ourselves internally and teach our societies real ‘adab manners then till that time we will remain heedless and in the state we are in……
Unfortunately we may think that this world is progressing but reality is that the best generation was born 1450 years ago and every year after that we get worse…We are at the worst currently. So lets not aim high and mighty but lets be realistic….AInt no united ummah, but at least unite your family and your hearts