In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
?It is the month of Ramadan in which the Qur?an was revealed, a guidance for mankind with clear teachings showing the Right Way and a criterion of truth and falsehood. Therefore, anyone of you who witnesses that month should fast therein, and whoever is ill or upon a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. Allah intends your well-being and does not want to put you to hardship...(Quran 2:185)
?O People! The month of Allah has come with His mercies and blessings. This is the month that is the best of all months in the eyes of Allah. Its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, its hours are the best of hours. This is a month in which you have been invited by Him. You have been given the opportunity in this month to receive the honours from Allah, the Merciful? ? Prophet Muhammad
BRETHREN words cannot express the depth of our gratitude to Allah who has spared our lives to witness this month, the blessed of Ramadan; a month in which every breath we take has the reward of Tasbeeh, our sleep has the reward of worship, our good deeds are doubly rewarded while our duas (supplications) are accepted?. How might we begin to thank Allah for His mercies; how do we begin to count, as I once noted in this column, the uncountable.
Now what are the values derivable from this month? As at the last time I ruminated over this, I discovered over 20 lessons and benefits of this month for the Muslim Ummah and indeed the world at large.
Let us begin from the ?beginning?: The most important consideration in embarking on fasting, as in any act of devotion in Islam, is to seek nearness to Allah; to seek His pleasure and forgiveness. Thus a Muslim who fasts conscientiously, a Muslim who embarks on the fast of the elite in line with our suggestion last week would ultimately attain a status of piety. He would walk ?with? and work ?in? Allah. When a Muslim works ?in? and walks ?with? Allah, he becomes the beloved of Allah.
The Prophet says that when a servant of Allah becomes the beloved of Allah, He, Allah becomes his hand with which he holds onto things. Thus whatever he holds becomes strong; whatever he does becomes sanctioned by the Almighty. When a Muslim observes fasting and other extra acts of worship like nawafil, he becomes the beloved of Allah such that He, the Almighty, becomes his tongue with which he talks. Thus whatever he says becomes encoded with Divine gravitas; his wishes become the wish of Allah.
Thus fasting during the month of Ramadan provides us all with the opportunity to examine our spiritual status. A Muslim who forsakes the pleasure of food and drinks and embarks on this fasting, a Muslim who creates the conditions of hunger and thirst for himself, simply in obeisance to Allah, is actually and indirectly involved in sharpening his weapons of survival on the terrestrial earth where survival has become simply difficult, if not impossible. Thus a Muslim who fasts is like a hunter who takes time off hunting in order to sharpen his weapon of hunting. Thus he who fasts becomes an unassailable and an inimitable fortress against the devil and its agents; you cannot be a beloved of Allah and still become a prey to earthly principalities.
Brethren through the act of fasting we create an artificial or temporary scarcity and want. This is meant to awaken us to the value of the bounties of Allah, which we often take for granted. This inculcates in us a spirit of gratitude and consequent devotion to Allah. After fasting during the day, we settle down at dusk to break our fast. The meal on our table should remind us of the perpetual scarcity and want in which some of our fellow human beings are presently steeped. In other words, each morsel we put in our mouth during this month should remind us of the life of penury and want in which the Somalis are manacled. That reminder should also inculcate in us the important ethic of moderation; that the real pleasure of Allah?s bounties lies in moderation and restraint and not in over indulging; not in stuffing our stomachs with food and drinks.
In other words dear Brethren, fasting is like a school in which the Muslim is expected to receive training and skills in endurance, perseverance and tenacity. Fasting teaches the Muslim that he should not quit difficult situations; that the war is won not through resort to escapism. When we fast, when we forsake the luxuries which Allah has endowed us with, we are indirectly affirming the slippery nature and essence of this world; that in-between life of prosperity and austerity is a distance which is as long as the movement of our eyelids. A Muslim who fasts is preparing for possible changes in life; he is affirming that nothing is life is ever permanent.
Thus fasting, one of teachers reminds us, develops in the Muslim the ideals of courage, fortitude, and a fighting spirit to surmount the heavy odds in life with a cool and tranquil mind. It sharpens our power of concentration and steels our will power and resolve.
Brethren, one of the challenges confronting us as a nation is that we have leaders, rather dealers, with lax moral status. This country seems condemned to that abyss of bad governance and corruption. Ramadan comes every year with that opportunity for our leaders, particularly those who are Muslims, to conquer their hedonistic and libidinous excesses. It provides the servant with the mechanism to overcome anger; it seeks to imbue us with self-control. Is it not true that the vigorous effort required to put up with hunger and thirst can well be extended to conquer other infirmities of human character that often lead to error and sin?
Brethren, fasting inculcates a spirit of tolerance in man to face unpleasant conditions and situations without making his fellow beings the victim of his wrath. Many people, when facing discomfort and deprivation, become irritable and annoyed. This anger is then visited on those around them. Fasting helps a man become more tolerant despite his own discomfort. The Prophet says when a Muslim who is fasting is abused he should say: ?I?m fasting.? Thus it instills in us the spirit of forgiveness towards others, as we seek forgiveness of Allah for our iniquities.
What about the importance of time management? As Muslims, Islam expects of us to replicate this ideal of the strict schedules we operate with during Ramadan in our wakeful moments. Ramadan reminds us of the fact that everything in the cosmos is dated and timed; that to trifle with time is to trifle with our existence.
Brethren, in line with the comprehensive nature of Islam, Ramadan comes with a lot of health benefits for the worshippers of Allah. This occurs because the act of fasting functions in cleansing the human system of the accumulated impurities of uninterrupted eating throughout the year. Thus it reenergizes our organs, sharpens our intellect and enhances our well-being.
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