By Husain Zakariyya Yawale,
Allah says:
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil).
For a certain number of days; but whoever among you is sick or on a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; and those who are not able to do it may effect a redemption by feeding a poor man; so whoever does good spontaneously it is better for him; and that you fast is better for you if you know.
The month of Ramazan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks.”[al-Baqarah: 183-185]
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, is His servant, and messenger. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His last and final Apostle, his Household, his companions and all his followers until the end of time.
I feel like it was only last month we completed the last Ramadan, and now another Ramadana is around the corner! Allahu akbar! This, certainly, is the same way our death will come too sudden to many of us! Those who never fast in between Ramadans, will certainly be swept flat by the coming of another Ramadan! And for those of us (Alhamdu lillah) who keep solid relationship with voluntary fasting, we are very alert and eager to welcoming another Ramadan as many as Allah wishes we will witness. Our eagerness is not empty one; in fact it is full of all necessary readiness and preparations to accomplish all the innate benefits only peculiar with Ramadan. We all are witnesses to the peculiarity of the season of Ramadan despite the its various debut in different seasons of the year; sometimes during the rainy season or hamathan, or completely dry and dusty seasons. Ramadan because it is based on lunar calendar, it revolves around all the seasons of the year. Muslims in the West and Europe have their feelings of the the Ramadan moments. Sometimes it comes during the winter and sometimes in the summer or spring. Ramadan time always comes with different experiences and occurrences. As for me, I love Ramadan regardless of the season it arrives, and do many others.
Getting set for the arrival of the month Ramadan has many facets. It includes spiritual, emotional, physical and financial preparations in varying forms and states. But, for the benefit of discussion and sharing ideas, let us see the aforementioned steps of planning one after the other.
A. Spiritual preparation:
This involves all inner readiness necessary for the full actualization of inherent mercifulness, forgiveness and deliverances of Allah that are found only Ramadan. This aspect includes but not limited to repayment of all outstanding fasting of miss days of the last Ramadan. This aspect is particularly the take of my sisters. Many of the Muslim women are very careless in observing their carry-over fasting until the very last days of Sha’aban; in many instances they fail to complete the actual miss out days.
The inner readiness to shun away from all acts which are culpable of spoiling one’s fast from what the eyes enjoy watching and looking, to what the ears take pleasure from hearing. The mind must be trained to abstain from wanting to think about those unthinkable events which attract the wrath of Allah. The mind should be trained to think about how to win the pleasure of Allah, contemplating about the causes of eternal punishment in the hell-fire and all the ways of dodging the tricks and illusion of Satan, the cursed. We should avoid all people and places which lure and seduce us into foul plays, into sinning against Allah, no matter the extent.
Take a quick check of your faith. How seriously do you take the commandments behind the verses of the Quran? What importance do you give to the prophet’s sayings? Is there any hesitation on your part to implement those commandments in your daily lives? Do the rewards promised in the Quran truly excite you and on the same token does the fear of the punishments in the Quran and Hadith prevent you to indulge in more sins? If the answer to all these questions is not a strong “YES”, then it’s time to further renew your faith. The need to strengthen our faith and belief in Allah, belief in is His words in the Quran and the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), is extremely essential. The fact is that stronger our belief and faith, the more seriously we will take the words of Quran and the sayings of the Prophet and the more actively we will strive to make them part of our lives.
Our TV sets should wear hijab, our participation in social media should be highly regulated. All social groups that promote moral laxity, carelessness and sloppiness should abstain throughout the blessed month of Ramadan. Listening to music should be replaced with Quran recitations and evening games with the tafseer.
The good news is that the month of Ramadan provides many opportunities to strengthen our faiths. One of the steps in strengthening our faiths is to consciously recognize the need to do so and to ask Allah to help us in this effort. Allah and prophet recognize the weakness of the human heart in terms of the dwindling faith levels. The prophet said: “Faith wears out in your heart as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts.” (Mustadrak and al-Tabaraani).
B. Emotional readiness:
This aspect revolves around self-control. I have read, heard and even met some abnormal people who lose their emotional balances the moment they are hungry! They get irritated easily on matters which ordinarily should cause any lose of senses. They yell, fume, hit the wall with their heads or break precious ceramic items trying to vent out their annoyance. This attitude is totally unislamic in its ramifications. A Muslim must learn to persevere under all circumstances, including festive moments. In fact, one of the names of fasting is patience. It teaches us and inculcates in us the will to persevere. So, it is not the character of a fasting Muslim or Muslimah to behave abnormal or strange in a manner that will cast doubt on the genuineness and validity of their fasting.
C. Physical preparedness:
Because fasting is only for physically fit and healthy people, one needs to make sure he is certify to undertake the spiritual rebirth available only in the fasting. I usually undergo my annual check-ups in the month preceding the Ramadan; Sha’aban. I do that regularly for sometime now to ensure my physical readiness for the Ramadan cruise.
Similarly, many Muslims do the same thing in order to undertake a hitch-free Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) acknowledges the fact that a healthy and strong Muslim is better in religious performance when compared with a weak and frail Muslim. In attending to physical needs, there is the need for good dietary planning to include healthy foods and drinks. The Islamic etiquettes of eating and drinking should be observed strictly to attain both the nutritional and health benefits. This step is more rewarding in Ramadan as it allows one to observe all the religious rigours and drills peculiar with Ramadan only! In Islam everyone is required to classify his tummy into three segments; each of them to share food and liquid intakes and the third part to allow free flow of breathing. This method helps invigorate the body system to function properly and accurately. It is the best way to live for longer and lasting nutritional benefits. That way you will perform your taraweeh with agility and ease.
C. Financial readiness:
Many non Muslims living amongst Muslim communities think that the month of Ramadan is a period of saving for the Muslims. Far from this notion! The month of Ramadan is the most expensive period for the Muslims all over the world. For the rich, it is a period where lots of money is spent to feed the needy and the indigents, and for the average ones it is a moment where the family diets change completely from the traditional ones to the varieties that tempt the fasting men and women to eat; foods that are palatable and appetizing. If one is used to eating only one type or course of food, this time around, many types of foods are prepared. This dietary parade is not possible without financial arrangement.
This year’s Ramadan will particularly be extremely different from all previous ones as much as the mind can remember. The Ramadan will certainly be an austere one! I am very sure that many families will have very small quantity of food to break their fasting this year. Many of those who will have enough to eat will be without any nutritional quality. Many rich men and women who usually help the masses to get what to eat during the iftar and suhur have gone holiday! They have disappeared almost completely, and where they are present, they abstain completely from giving. The government agencies that used to send gifts to the feeding centres; the mosques and the orphanages are motionless.
Our markets are deserted because there is no purchasing power to buy the much needed and essentials chiefly due to stringent poverty never seen recently! This year the usual fasting period which is between eight and nine hours, will be twenty hours! This is because if you are lucky to eat during the iftar, thank God because it will too luxurious to eat during the suhur! My sincere prayers is that let us share the little we have with have not. Let us remember the agony of the masses outside and on the roads. Let us pray that soon Allah will help us out of this torture caused by very few of us over a long period. May Allah have mercy on us as we fast continuously!
So also, we must try to align our focus and activities toward Allah this Ramadan in a way that we can remember it after it passes. Once we truly engage in Ramadan and the worship in Ramadan the way the prophet had wanted all of us to do, we will make our Ramadan truly memorable. Let us not forget that Sahabah how they used to perform their Ramadan; without enough of all sustenance. Yet their Ramadan was memorable enough to make a mark in their lives for them to remember and pray for it for 6 full months thereafter! One wonders what would have been the levels of their engagement with Allah which drove through the energy of their hearts and soul that made the impact of devotion so long lasting.
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