"A man was looking over greeting cards. The shopkeeper helped him to find one and offered, 'Here’s a nice one–'TO THE ONLY COOL GIRL I EVER LOVED.''Wonderful,' said our guy. 'I 'll take six.'”"One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Fasting or Sawm in Ramadan, the 9th month in the Hijri Calendar," Jasmine flower—or 'bunga Melati' in Indonesian— began the talking while looking at the Moon, after greeting with Basmalah and Salaam, then saying Tahmid and Salawat."In this month, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has made fasting obligatory upon Muslims, as He had to earlier peoples and nations. The meaning of Sawm is to ‘abstain’. Fasting involves total abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and conjugal relations, and all forms of vice from dawn until sunset.Ramadhan is an annual training program to refresh us for carrying out our duties towards Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Fasting develops self-control and helps us to overcome selfishness, greed, laziness, and other faults. This month of patience gives us an opportunity to experience for ourselves what it is like to have an empty stomach. This develops our empathy for the poor and hungry. Fasting teaches us to control the love of comfort.Fasting does not aim at inflicting punishment upon people or taking on unbearable burdens. The underlying idea behind it is to teach moderation and spiritual discipline so that human temptations may not become so wild and uncontrollable as to flout the commands of Allah. It is essential that man should be able to conform his behaviour to the moral and spiritual discipline embodied in the Shari’ah of Islam. Fasting is indispensable for this moral and spiritual training.The Prophet (ﷺ) gives some important points regarding Ramadhan, he (ﷺ) said,قَالَ اللَّهُ كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلاَّ الصِّيَامَ، فَإِنَّهُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ. وَالصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ، وَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ صَوْمِ أَحَدِكُمْ، فَلاَ يَرْفُثْ وَلاَ يَصْخَبْ، فَإِنْ سَابَّهُ أَحَدٌ، أَوْ قَاتَلَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّي امْرُؤٌ صَائِمٌ. وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَخُلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ، لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ يَفْرَحُهُمَا إِذَا أَفْطَرَ فَرِحَ، وَإِذَا لَقِيَ رَبَّهُ فَرِحَ بِصَوْمِهِ'Allah said, 'All the deeds of Adam's sons are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.' Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relations with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hands my soul is' The unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Rabb; then he will be pleased because of his fasting.' [Hadith Qudse; Sahih Al-Bukhari]He (ﷺ) also said that Allah said,إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ بَابًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الرَّيَّانُ، يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ الصَّائِمُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، لاَ يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ يُقَالُ أَيْنَ الصَّائِمُونَ فَيَقُومُونَ، لاَ يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ، فَإِذَا دَخَلُوا أُغْلِقَ، فَلَمْ يَدْخُلْ مِنْهُ أَحَدٌ'There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it.' [Sahih Al-Bukhari]And also, he (ﷺ) said,الصِّيَامُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ، وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا'... The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.' [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Fasting is an annual opportunity to build up Taqwa. Ramadan is linked with a number of important events in Islamic history, the most important of which is the revelation of the noble Qur’an from on high. Allah says,
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيْٓ اُنْزِلَ فِيْهِ الْقُرْاٰنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنٰتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدٰى وَالْفُرْقَانِۚ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۗوَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيْضًا اَوْ عَلٰى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ اَيَّامٍ اُخَرَ ۗيُرِيْدُ اللّٰهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيْدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ ۖوَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللّٰهَ عَلٰى مَا هَدٰىكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُوْنَ'The month of Ramaḍān [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 crescent 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 to glorify Allāh for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.' [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):185]Both the descent of the Qur’an from the Lawhun Ma˙fuz (the Well-Guarded Tablet), where it is inscribed till eternity, and the revelation of the first few ayat to the noble Messenger (ﷺ) in the solitude of the Grotto of Hira, occurred in Ramadan. In the Qur’an, Allah has referred to that night as Laylah al-Qadr (the Night of power) and Laylah al-Mubarakah (the Blessed Night).Allah says,بَلْ هُوَ قُرْاٰنٌ مَّجِيْدٌۙ فِيْ لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوْظٍ ࣖ'But this is an honored Qur’ān, [inscribed] in a Preserved Slate.' [QS. Al-Buruj (85):21-22]And,اِنَّآ اَنْزَلْنٰهُ فِيْ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ وَمَآ اَدْرٰىكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِۗ وَمَآ اَدْرٰىكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِۗ تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةُ وَالرُّوْحُ فِيْهَا بِاِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْۚ مِنْ كُلِّ اَمْرٍۛ سَلٰمٌ ۛهِيَ حَتّٰى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ ࣖ'Indeed, We sent it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] descend therein by permission of their Rabb for every matter. Peace it is [upon the believers] until the emergence of dawn.' [QS. Al-Qadr (97):1-5]Also,اِنَّآ اَنْزَلْنٰهُ فِيْ لَيْلَةٍ مُّبٰرَكَةٍ اِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِيْنَ'Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night.1 Indeed, We were to warn [mankind].' [QS. Ad-Dukhan (44):3]Ramadan also registered the victory of the early Muslims in the Battle of Badr in 2AH, as well as the liberation of Makkah, which took place in 8AH. An estimated 10,000 Muslims marched on Makkah to free it from occupation and marginalization by the exclusivist forces represented at that time by the mushrik Quraysh. The Ka‘bah, the sacred House of Allah on earth, was cleansed of all idolatrous accretions, in physical form as well as the associated ‘asabiyas', that had polluted its sanctity for centuries because of the jahiliyah that pervaded Arabian society at the time.In its inimitable style, the noble Qur’an links the building of taqwa—the active self-consciousness of Allah’s power presence in our lives— with fasting in the month of Ramadan where the inner reality corresponds to the outer reality, the moral and the legal.Fasting is the moral force that fosters the growth of self-determination and willpower. It is also the catalyst for an intense intimacy with Allah Simultaneously, fasting raises the concerns of man beyond his physical appetites and worldly desires. Man, during his course of fasting, defeats the push and pull of the body’s cravings and lusts. During this training man prefers Allah’s endorsement to all other temptations.Fasting is a way of preparing Muslims for the ups and downs of life; fasting also blunts the irrational impulses and urges within man. This requirement of fasting is limited to a number of days: it is not lifelong and it is not perpetual. Ramadan became compulsory in the second year of the Hijrah (migration) of the Prophet (ﷺ) from Makkah to Madinah. In that momentous first Ramadan, the nascent Muslim community was tested in the Battle of Badr just as it embarked on the arduous task of abstaining from food and drink during the day in conformity with Allah’s command. Had it not been for their communal taqwa, the early Muslims might have wavered in their commitment to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), by giving in to the fears related to worldly odds stacked in the favor of the enemy. It was taqwa that enabled them to overcome these confidence-sapping inhibitions as they faced the heavily armed 1,000 fighters of Quraysh—a force three times larger than their own. The Muslims were only materially equipped with a few swords and arrows but on the strength of what the mushriks rejected for the sake of special interests, the Prophet’s (ﷺ) humble savants achieved a convincing victory against overwhelming odds.Badr was a model because participation in that great encounter became the hallmark of committed Muslims. The Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) were later categorized as 'those that witnessed Badr' and 'those that came after.' The Battle of Badr registered for all times to come the power of the people over the power of tyranny, the power of the street over the power of the palace, the principled power of man against the concentrated power of Satan, and the power of truth over the power of racism, tribalism, exclusivism, and narcissism.The Quran emphasizes that only those who have taqwa will receive guidance. Allah says,ذٰلِكَ الْكِتٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيْهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِيْنَۙ'This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have taqwa.' [QS Al-Baqarah (2):2]One way to build taqwa is to fast in the month of Ramadan. Allah says,يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُوْنَۙ'O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.' [QS Al-Baqarah (2):183]But fasting must mean more than merely abstaining from food and drink for a specified number of hours during the day, even if this may be an arduous task especially when Ramadan falls in the long, hot summer months. While fasting is meant to develop self-restraint among individual Muslims, it must also arouse the social consciousness of observant Muslims for the plight of those suffering in humanity. The personal conformity of an individual Muslim to Allah must be linked with his social conformity to Him and His crea tures. The combination of what is personal with what is social teaches us that we cannot separate ourselves from the world around us. Fasting should act as a powerful reminder of this social responsibility failing which our fast will be little more than an exercise in dieting.From the perspective of our social responsibility, our voluntary abstinence from food and drink should enable us to empathize with the millions of needy souls that go hungry or even sleep in the street every night because of inbuilt inequalities, despite plenty of food and other resources available to cater to the needs of everyone worldwide.But what about ourselves? Fasting can have a significant impact on mental clarity and focus. When the body is in a fasted state, it experiences a decrease in insulin levels and an increase in glucagon levels. This results in the body switching to a fat-burning mode, which can lead to a greater sense of alertness and focus.When we are talking about fasting, we are talking about food and eating. Food is about nourishment and enjoyment. Eating well can improve our mind, body and we may well argue it’s just good for the soul! Food and eating is about health and happiness. The two are not separate—to a degree our happiness depends on our eating habits and choices. The two are not separate—to a degree our happiness depends on our eating habits and choices. We should be able to freely choose foods we wish to eat yet have an almost unconscious appreciation for how much we need and what foods we need (and what foods we simply want).We'll talk about these food and eating later in the next session. Bi'idhnillah."And before moving on to the next fragment, Jasmine then sang,Ramadan, Ramadan,Ramadanu ya habib[Ramadan O beloved]Ramadan, Ramadan, laytaka dawman qareeb *)[Ramadan, Ramadan, how I wish, you were always near]
Citations & References:
- Darussalam, How To Make the Most of Ramadan in the Light of Al-Qur’an and Authentic Hadeeth, 2014, Darussalam Publishers
- Muhammad H. al-'Asi, What We Should Understand about Taqwa in Ramadan, 2012, ICIT
*) "Ramadan" written by Gernot Bronsert, Sebastian Szary, Sasch Ring & Abdulrahman Muhammad
[Episode 2]
