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Ramadan: From
Passionate to Compassionate
Ibrahim B. Syed,
Ph. D.
President
Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.
7102 W. Shefford Lane
Louisville, KY 40242-6462, USA
E-mail:
IRFI@INAME.COM
Website:
http://WWW.IRFI.ORG
This RAMADAN KHUTBAH
was delivered by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, President of the Islamic Research
Foundation of Louisville, KY on JAN. 16, 1998 at the Islamic Center of
Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky.
O ye who believer!Fasting is prescribed to
you
As it was prescribed
To those before you,
That ye may(learn)
Self -restraint-
(Fasting) for a fixed
Number of days;
But if any of you is ill,
Or on a journey,
The prescribed number
(Should be made up)
From days later,
For those who can do it
(With hardship), is a ransom,
The feeding of one
That is indigent.
But he that will give
More, of his own free will-
It is better for him.
And it is better for you
That ye fast
If ye only knew.
(Surah 2: Al Baqarah, 183-184)
Islam proceeded step
by step and by degrees in the imposition of most of its obligatory duties and
Fasting was no exception. The Noble Prophet(pbuh) advised Muslims to observe
fasts for three days in a month but this was not obligatory. Then in the second
year of Hijra, the Command(2:183) about fasting in the month of Ramadan was
revealed. Verse 185 in Surah Al Baqarah was revealed next year. The first
Commandment about fasting contained in vv. 183-184 was revealed in the second
year of Hijrah before the battle of Badr. The subsequent verse which superseded
it was revealed a year later but was inserted here because it dealt with the
same matter.
Siyam or Fasting
during the month of Ramadan is Third Pillar of Islam. Muslims wait all year long
for the arrival of this month of Ramadan. FASTING MEANS from dawn until sunset
eating, drinking and sexual intercourse is forbidden. Ramadan is the month of
patience. A person who is ready to be patient, not to eat while he is hungry,
not to drink while he is thirsty, not to lean to his lusts, such a person is a
noble individual. Such a person will be given paradise by Allah(SWT) as a gift,
as a merit of award.
To train yourself to
abstain from the essentials of life is not an easy act. It needs a strong
personality to dictate self-control, self-discipline and self-restraint. Fasting
develops self-control and helps Muslims overcome selfishness, greed, laziness
and other faults. It is an annual training program to refresh us for carrying
out our duties towards Allah. A person who can restrain himself, for the love
and pleasure of Allah, deserves a reward from the Creator Himself. The hardship
of fasting brings the glad tidings that the fasting undertaken for the sole
purpose of pleasing Allah is sure to be accepted by the Most Merciful Lord.
Fast in which the
spirit of Fasting is not observed is only an exercise in starvation but not
really a Fast at all. The prophet(pubh) said “ whosoever does not give up
telling lies, or
acting in a false
manner, Allah has no need for his giving up his eating or drinking.”
The basic purpose of
Fasting is to suffuse us with the quality of taqwa. The term “taqwa”
implies fear and precaution and in Islamic terminology it means fear of Allah
or God Consciousness and avoidance of disobedience to Him. Literally,
taqwa means: Godliness, devotees or piety. According to the scientific
meaning, it signifies a screen between two things. Thus, if the servant submits
himself to Allah’s will by carrying out all obligatory duties with which he has
been commanded and abstains from that which Allah has prohibited, then his
obedient actions have placed a screen between himself and Allah’s punishment.
That is called taqwa. In our life journey we face innumerable
temptations and we must shun them and stick scrupulously to the path of
righteousness and truth- that is what constitutes taqwa, and for
generating this taqwa. Taqwa is attained through
knowledge which is coupled with true faith(iman). If we do not possess
knowledge, we cannot really show piety. To obey the commands of Allah and to
carry out His laws constitutes taqwa. Fasting has been made
obligatory on us. We are made conscious about the needs and deprivation of those
who are more in need than ourselves. This heightening of one’s sense of
sacrifice is the opposite of selfishness and of a desire to exploit or oppress
someone for the sake of gain. Allah(SWT) does not need our hunger, but fasting
helps us to develop and refine our reflex about right and wrong, our sense of
love and gratitude. Ramadan teaches us how to control our animal passions, how
to bring them under discipline. The end result is manifestation of a human
personality that loves Allah and loves His creation, that fears none but Allah,
that draws all its strength from Allah and Allah alone.
Ramadan is also the
month of the Qur’an, the month in which the Qur’an was revealed.The moral and
spiritual climate of Ramadan helps the flourishing of the Qur’anic message which
the ambiance is of goodness, humility, righteousness, love for good and aversion
for evil.
BENEFITS OF SIYAAM:
Besides the feeling
of hunger and thirst, fasting teaches us to control the love of comfort. It
helps us to keep our sexual desires within control. Siyaam builds and nourishes
the soul of the fasting Muslim. The fasting person enriches his fasting by the
remembrance of Allah, the recitation of the Qur’an, the night prayers, Zakah,
Sadaqah(charity), and by refraining from sins and obscenity. The fasting person
lowers his gaze and suppresses his desires. He guards his tongue from vain talk
and obscenities. He guards his hands and legs from the prohibitions of Allah.
He employs his hands and legs in the good and various deeds. Siyaam is not the
mere refraining from eating and drinking, it is also refraining from vanity and
obscenity. Siyaam builds a strong will and nourishes the truthful zeal in the
soul. This is achieved when the fasting person struggles to work for his
livelihood and resists his desires and temptations. Siyaam builds the strength
to bear difficulties and hardship and instills the character of perseverance.
The fasting person by depriving himself from food and drink, and other
necessities of life becomes capable of controlling his desires, capricious
whims, and temptations. The purpose of fasting is to enable a Muslim to control
his passions, so that he becomes a person of good deeds and intentions. If one
fasts from dawn to sunset, but continues to be abusive to one’s spouse and
children, tell lies, swears wrongly under oath, commits zina, cheats one’s
children by not giving them what is duly theirs of nafaqah in the form of care
and love and indulgence in other wrongful acts, then the objective of fasting
has not been achieved. Anger, a common human weakness, can also be brought
under control by fasting. A Muslim should keep away from all bad actions during
his fast. He should not lie, break a promise or do any deceitful act. Fasting
in Ramadan helps one to develop good habits and suppress or eliminate bad habits
such as smoking, drinking coffee, tea, etc. One can avoid or cut down on
excessive consumption of food.
A fasting person has
feelings of sympathy for the poor. The sense of compassion springs from the
feeling of pain. Fasting is a practical means to develop compassion for other
people’s sufferings. The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) himself was very generous during
Ramadan.
Ramadan instills
unity and equality among all the members of the Muslim ummah. The Muslims fast
during the same month, perform qiyaam al lail during the nights of
this month and all seek the night of Qadr. They offer zakat-ul-fitr at the end
of the month and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr together. By doing this together during
this month of Ramadan, the ummah becomes like one body living in harmony. The
fasting person is alert and cautious not to fall into something that might spoil
his or her fasting or seek the wrath of Allah.
Fasting elevates the
person from the material life to a higher spiritual life and helps him or her to
approach a spiritual level that of angels who worship Allah day and night
without tiredness.
Fasting builds
important Islamic values, such as compassion, cooperation, diligence, firmness,
affection, fear of Allah, trust in Allah, and many other qualities. Fasting
establishes equality among the rich and the poor. It is a compulsory experience
of poverty in that it makes all people share an quality, of feeling and to
sympathize with one another through a collective sense of pain. Fasting Muslims
can really sympathize with the starving people everywhere in the world and see
the hardship that they go through every day of their lives. This compassion
increases the practical aspect of the unity of Muslims and will reduce the idea
of nationality and geographical identity. Allah is pleased with his servants
and answers the duaa of the fasting person, when he supplicates to Him.
During the month of
Ramadan, one should visit and offer prayers more frequently in the local
mosques. Ramadan is a special time for visiting friends and family and sharing
meals with the less fortunate.
The Prophet(pbuh)
said, “ O people! The month of Ramadan has come with His mercy, blessing and
forgiveness. Allah(SWT) has decreed this month the best of all months. Its days
are the best among days, its nights best among nights, and its hours best among
hours. This is a month in which you have been invited by Him to fast and pray.
Allah(SWT) has honored you in it. Every breath you take in this month has the
reward of praise of Allah(SWT). Your sleep in worship, your good deeds are
accepted and your invocations answered.
Therefore you must
invoke your Lord in earnest, with hearts that are free from sin and evil, and
pray that Allah(SWT) helps you fast, and recite the Qur’an. Give alms to the
poor and the needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your
youngsters and be kind toward your relatives and kinsfolk. Guard your tongue
against unworthy words, and your eyes from scenes that are not worth seeing and
your ears from sounds that should not be heard. Understand well that Allah(SWT)
has promised in the Name of His Majesty and Honor that He will not take to task
such people who perform Salaat and Sajda and that He will guard
their bodies against the fire of hell on the Day of Judgment.
O’ people! If anyone
among you arranges Iftar for any believer, then Allah(SWT) will reward
him and forgive him his previous sins. (A companion of the prophet(pbuh) asked:
“But not everyone among us have the means to do so.” The prophet replied: “Do it
even if it be with half a date or some water if you have nothing else.”)
O’ people! Anyone who
cultivates in this month good manners will walk over the bridge leading to
paradise on the day when feet will tend to slip. Anyone who treats his kinsfolk
well in it, Allah will bestow His mercy on him on the Day of Judgment while
anyone who mistreats his kinsfolk, Allah will keep him away from His mercy.
Whoever recites a verse of the Qur’an in this month, his reward will be that of
reciting the whole Qur’an in other months.
O’people! The gates
of paradise remain open in this month: pray to your Lord that they may not be
closed for you. The gates of hell are closed during this month: pray that they
may never be opened for you. Satan has been handcuffed: invoke your Lord not to
let him dominate you.”
May Allah(SWT) make
us become kinder people, better neighbors and set good examples of the teachings
of Islam which we present. Ameen!
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