Once again the holy month of Ramadhan is fast approaching us. We do not know which of us will live to see Ramadhan. We do not know which of us will experience Ramadhan for the last time. Let us pray to Allah the Exalted to grant to live to see Ramadhan and to grant that it may be a Ramadhan in which we might be forgiven for all our sins, amin.
Fasting in Ramadhan is not only an act of worship and devotion and a means to nourish piety (taqwa) but has also been characterised as an act of gratefulness to Allah for His great bounty of true guidance (hidayat) in the form of the Qur’ān. In fact, the best way of expressing gratitude for someone’s bounty or kindness is to prepare oneself, to the best of one’s ability, to achieve the purpose for which that bounty has been bestowed. The Qur’ān has been revealed so that we may know the way that leads to Allah’s pleasure, follow that way ourselves and direct the world along it. Fasting is an excellent means by which to prepare ourselves for shouldering this task. Hence fasting during the month of the revelation of the Qur’ān are more than an act of worship and more than an excellent course of moral training. It is also an appropriate form of expression of our thankfulness to Allah for the gift of the Qur’ān. Therefore, it’s time for us to get ready and prepare ourselves to make the best of it.
Let’s analyse fasting and power. One of the constituent parts of power is our physical health. We know that to maintain a car, its oil needs to be changed and the car needs servicing to get it going. Similarly, Allah has immense love for us and in HIS kindness Allah has given us the fast of Ramadhan so that the physical body can be serviced.
But power depends not only upon external or physical power but there is also an internal component of power which is spiritual power. This comes when we are internally healthy and that is possible when our heart is healthy. We can know that we are internally healthy only when our heart is turned to Allah and we are in obedience with Allah’s command like fasting, performing our prayers regularly, and giving in charity. Then Allah removes the veils around our heart and we start seeing the world not through only our external eyes but our internal eye as well – the eye of our heart.
When we see the world only with our external eyes, we eventually come to the conclusion that knowledge comes only from external observation and scientific enquiry; thus our vision cannot see beyond this materialistic world rather we believe that it is the only world that exists and anything in religion beyond this is just window dressing. This is the modern world and humanity today – living in a sort of spiritual vacuum.
Allah says in Suratul Aaraf: “They have eyes and yet they cannot see, they have ears and yet they cannot hear, they have hearts and yet they do not understand.” But when we fast, what happens, at the end of the month of Ramadhan there is itekaf where one withdraws completely from this world for 10 days in confinement in mosque – no cell phones, no laptops and no other such luxuries/worldly worries. The rationale behind this is that as and when we withdraw from duniya, the veils around our hearts and eyes begin to fall away. We start seeing the reality of this world and we realise that everything that glitters is not gold. As we stay away from food, drink and sexual urges during fast – not that they are haram, they are halal – the spiritual being is activated and therefore noor enters our hearts.
Noor was always there within us but it could not enter our hearts because there were so many veils, and as we fast these veils are removed. When the noor enters our hearts, we could see that otherwise we could not see. That is power. If we are blind and empty of this noor, we will follow to the Pied Piper’s tune like mice. We can never ever understand the reality of the modern world and issues like riba (interest/usury), status/lifestyle of our women in the society, etc., if we are devoid of the noor and keep on seeing the world with only one eye. So when we fast, we fast for noor. Noor will never come to us when on the one hand we are fasting and on the other indulging in sinful acts as well. Fasting in Ramadhan has come to put brakes on committing sins and to turn to Allah so that the noor could come and thus the spiritual power.
The fast of Ramadhan empowers us as a community and builds bonds between each other that will last forever. The bond that is built in Ramadhan consolidates the collective integrity of the Ummah and that translates into power. Therefore, fasting is for power – physical power, internal insight that also translates into power. When we fast together, we build memories; we build bonds with each other. So we should try to break the fast as often as we can at home with our wives and children. When our children experience the breaking of fast together since their childhood, we are actually planting a seed in them which will last for life time. Even when we are in grave, our children will remember those days when we used to have iftar together. Wake up the children in the morning at sehri; they will be excited to have sehri together, no matter, even if their fast will not last until 10 O’clock in the morning – never mind. It is the experience and excitement of fasting together that builds memories and builds bonds.
When we are bonded together in Ramadhan, by fasting together, breaking fast and eating sehri together, that bonding together has to be translated into power by a particular way. We must ask them what we do when we fast. Don’t we fast for Allah only? Don’t we give up food, drink and all that is forbidden during fast for the sake and pleasure of Allah only? If yes, and if our conviction is that strong then why only fast for Allah? Why can’t we live all through our lives for the sake and pleasure of Allah? HE says so in the Qur’ān, “Say verily my prayers, my service of sacrifice, my very living and my very dying are all for you.”
If anything in this world is more than the love of Allah then we are worshiping those and not Allah. How this translates into power? Anyone who lives for Allah would be prepared to die for Allah. If a man is prepared to die for Allah, he can never be dejected/ defeated in any way in his/her life – come what may. This is power. No nuclear weapon in the world could destroy that power. So fasting has come to deliver power.
Let me share my experience with itekaf. It was a great experience for me – a sort of life time achievement for me. I pray to Allah to give me more opportunities for itekaf. Let me tell you it is not only meant for a few rather most of us should have a will in their heart to go for itekaf during Ramadhan. When there is a will, there is a way. Just like we plan leave to go to our hometown or on holidays, similarly, we could plan leave from daily chores of our lives to go for itekaf during Ramadhan. It would be a wonderful experience and again make us all the more powerful internally and externally, inshaAllah.
In summary, we, honoured Muslims have double duties in the month of Ramadan – to discipline the animal side of our existence and to nourish and feed the spiritual side. Thus, making ourselves powerful physically and internally. To get full advantage of the virtue and grace of this month, we should fast for the sole purpose of increasing our Taqwa and awareness of Allah. May Allah with His guidance, mercy and forgiveness let us spend this holy month in such a way that HE is pleased with us and we feel within ourselves and our families radical change in our attitude, behaviour, lifestyle and personality all through the year and lifetime, amin.
Allah may grant that this may be the Ramadhan where we may be forgiven of all our sins that noor may enter our hearts, we may learn to live for Allah, for we may be prepared to die for Allah, amin.
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