Ramadan and its Hijackers what we manage to do in so many cases Consider iftar, the breaking of the fast at the end of the day. A Jewish acquaintance once told about his fast of Yum Kippur. Unlike the Islamic fasts, all Jewish fasts are a one day affair but the day is longer. It starts twenty minutes before sundown on the previous night. At the end of the fast, he said, “I went to a restaurant and ate like a pig.” With the maghrib salat and the taraweeh, the Ramadan fast does not permit that. Neither does the spirit of Ramadan permit indulgence. Yet today one can see fancy restaurants in the Muslim world offering high priced iftar dinner specials that invite you to do just that. Instead of turning your attention to Allah, turn it to the exquisite setting and culinary delights. Indulge. Turn the breaking of the fast into a status symbol. Exquisite (i.e. esoteric), extravagant, lavish. This is how the agents of rampant consumerism counter Ramadan’s message of simplicity, sacrifice, and self discipline. All while advertising their special regard for the holy month. To be sure, the fraction of Muslims going to these fancy restaurants is small, although it is increasing. But their influence on the society goes beyond these numbers. For they set the norms and expectations for the larger society. Lavish iftar parties for which people drive long distances and miss their prayers are an indication of these influences. Consider taraweeh, the special long nightly prayer that is a hallmark of Ramadan. Throughout the Muslim world Muslims stand up in these prayers to listen to the recitation of the Qur’an, leading to khatam or completion of a complete cycle of reading during the month. people who would spend the rest of the time gossiping or other youthful activities even as the prayer goes on. Should this disregard be allowed to hide behind a technical legal cover? There are other variations of this distortion in taraweeh that cut across age groups. At some places people sit and listen to the Qur’anic recitation before the taraweeh so as to reduce the amount that would be recited in taraweeh. At other places some people just sit back and listen to the recitation without joining the prayer. With these trends, one wonders whether, if unchecked, this very important part of Ramadan will be distorted beyond recognition in a generation or so. The same observations can be made about Qiyam-ul-Lail. Ramadan nights, especially during the last third of the month, are meant to be spent in personal acts of worship, in salat, dhikr, duas, reading the Qur’an and seeking forgiveness. Instead these are spent in talks, socialization, and bazaars set up on the mosque compounds. The most solemn and demanding act of worship for Ramadan is the I’tikaaf, when a person secludes himself from the world around in a corner of the mosque to devote himself totally to remembering Allah and strengthening his personal relationship with Him. The act could provide spiritual rebirth and carries tremendous rewards. Yet today one can see laptops, cell phones, iPads, and other modern widgets routinely forming a part of the equipment of itikaf. It is an open question how can anyone realize the goals of itikaf with activities like watching videos, Internet surfing, texting, and chatting. One famous hadith states that there are those who get nothing from their fasts but hunger and thirst and nothing from their qiyam-ul-lail but sleep deprivation. While telling us about the great blessings of Ramadan, the Messenger, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, also warned about the possibility that it could cement our loss and wretchedness if we are not serious about taking advantage from its blessings. In one famous hadith he said that there are those who get nothing from their fasts but hunger and thirst and nothing from their qiyam-ul-lail but sleep deprivation. In another hadith he said ameen as angel Jibrael cursed the person who finds Ramadan in a state of health and yet does not use it to win freedom from the Fire through acts of devotion and worship. There can be no sterner warnings than these. We have been forewarned to be forearmed. If we pay attention to them and become serious about Ramadan, then it would be a month of tremendous blessings. This requires fasting with our whole body and soul. Our eyes, ears, tongues, and hearts should be totally committed to the fast by not seeing, hearing, or speaking haram things or thinking haram ideas. Honesty, truthfulness and Allah consciousness or taqwa should be our guiding values. We should avoid all frivolities, including the ones that are committed in the name of religion. Only then we will realize the sweetness in the acts of worship like prayers and recitation and utter foolishness of exchanging them for entertainment. This will turn Ramadan into a month of spiritual renewal that would recharge our batteries of iman and taqwa and prepare us to face the world and its temptations with moral uprightness for another year. Otherwise the blessings would have been hijacked from us. A self reminder & reminder for others..
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 09:03:38 +0000
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