Auron ka hai Payaam aur, mera Payaam aur hai, / Ishq key dardmand ka tarz-e-kalaam aur hai! (Iqbal)
Don’t forget Islam is all about moderation. I am not saying that is what Muslims do as a rule all the time in their daily lives. What I am saying is: That is what Islam teaches; that is what Islam stands for; and that is what Islam is.
As for how much of this, or of any of the other teachings of Islam Muslims follow in their life, look no further than your own life for an answer to that – and to many other similar questions.
Ask yourself how much of your divine book if you have one, and how much of the noble teachings of your own faith, you yourself follow, and you will begin to understand a simple truth about life and about our world: Muslims are people too.
They are people just like you.
To some degree, I learned my faith in God by driving on Interstate Highways and watching drivers react to the presence of police cars in the vicinity. If human beings – some of the best of them perhaps – could fear police that much, they must learn to fear God at least equally, I said to myself.
And that changed my life.
PUNCTUALITY AND TIMELINESS
So, moderation is what Islam teaches and that is what Islam stands for. It is one of the core teachings of Islam. So, eat and drink in moderation.
And also don’t forget that Islam is all about timeliness. And Islam is about punctuality.
You don’t believe me, do you? I don’t blame you. And in reality, I wouldn’t believe myself either if all I had to go by was the general lifestyle of Muslims throughout Muslim habitat of the so-called Muslim world.
Looking at their daily life, Muslims are anything but punctual. And I have never seen anyone – other than my late father that is, may Allah bless and forgive him and fill his grave with his light – make any fuss about it either.
So, it is nothing less than miraculous the way it works in Ramadhan. And during prayer times, five times a day, every day, on all other days.
The way Muslims leap to break the fast during Ramadhan or to catch the Congregational Jama’at Prayers in the mosque five times a day, every day.
Muslims – the same habitually and chronically unpunctual Muslims in everything else – suddenly leap to life on these special occasions as if hit on the head by a secret clock tower tucked away somewhere in their bosom, which chimes and peals non-stop till they rush headlong to do what they must do: Break the fast during Ramadhan or join the congregation for prayers every day. That is a living miracle of our time everywhere – throughout the Muslim world – which the devil has blinded most people to, including many Muslims themselves. Muslims do it, but they have no awareness or appreciation of what they are doing. Any better than their non-Muslim friends and compatriots do.
LATE WEDDING IN AMERICA…
O miracle of miracles! The same people who may think nothing of starting a wedding several hours late in America – I am saying that because I have seen that happen – as immigrants will break down every barrier in sight to rush to break the fast at the stroke of the hour, even in most habitually tardy and unpunctual places like India.
That is what Ramadhan does to Muslims.
It is plain out of this world how everyone works to the clock during the beginning as well as the breaking of the fast during Ramadhan. So, promptly at sunset, break the fast, but eat and drink in moderation. This is important. For, after fasting the whole day, your entire body and mind will be agog for any sign of sunset and screaming for food and drink – more and more and more of it. But it is not good for you to eat a lot of food or consume a lot of liquids immediately after breaking the fast. Because the tighter you pack your body with food and drink, the worse you are going to feel.
So, at the first sign of sunset, break your fast promptly and eat and drink moderately.
And when you set about eating and consuming liquid, make sure you don’t overdo it either, because the temptation to do so will be great. But if you eat or drink too much, you will begin to feel quite uncomfortable. So, keep it in check.
TALK TO GOD PERSONALLY…
Ramadhan is not just about fasting. It is also about prayer. So, this is your opportunity to discover the power of prayer. Let me ask you this: Did you ever talk to God in private and in person? Did you ever have a one-on-one personal audience with him? When was it you ever did that? Did anyone ever tell you that you could? That it was possible for you to do that? And showed you how? Well, now is your chance of a private, personal and exclusive tete-a-tete with the all mighty God himself. Don’t miss out. Go for it.
Tell God how happy you are to be fasting. And then pour your heart out to him. And your feelings, and your joys, and your sorrows. And all your troubles. Don’t hold anything back.
Pray to God Almighty to shower his peace and blessings upon you – and yours. And upon all of God’s good people everywhere. For, all of humanity is your family too. That is what Islam says anyway.
And bear in mind that what you ask for others shall also be given to you. That is God’s way with people: What you recommend, you also get.
Let us not forget that the right to petition God – alone and in private – is our most sacred and fundamental right. And it is from this divine and most inalienable of all rights that all our other rights flow. That is why this right – the right to petition God, alone and in private – must be cherished and utilised to the full by every one of us. And no one should be allowed to take that right away from us: not priests; not rabbis; not pundits; not mullahs; not anyone else.
TALK TO GOD HOW YOU CAN
You know God. So, talk to him the way it works for you. You know where and how to find him. So, run to him, says the Qur’ān. The Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, says, God says, he is exactly where you think he is – as far or as close as you think.
Islam says: God is closer to you than you think.
The Qur’ān says: Call him and he will respond.
So, go look for him. And then turn to him and pray.
Tell yourself that now is your chance. So, take God up on his word. Ask him for what you want. And ask him to bless you. And bless your neighbourhood, and your community, and your society and the whole world. Ask him to feed the hungry; to clothe the naked; to heal the sick and wounded; and to comfort those in pain.
Don’t forget, hunger is a great leveller, and as human beings we are all in this together.
And ask him to protect you – and yours – from all harm and evil. And from the Devil, for, the Devil is no one’s friend. And ask God to shower his blessings upon your family and friends. And upon your community and society – and upon the entire world, for, there is no shortage in his treasure of what he can give. Don’t forget we are only limited by what we ask, provided it is something good, both for us and others.
So, this is your chance to discover your God, your maker and master. How long will you treat him as a stranger? How long will you run or stay away from him? How long will you shut him out of your life – and our world? Take a chance with God. Give God a try, he won’t mind.
[Write to the author at [email protected]. Also visit www.IslamicSolutions.Com and Listen to Pasha Hour International.]