Is it enough to give up food? (Issue 1, 2012)

“He will pay them their wages and increase them of His grace; for He is Oft-Forgiving Most Ready to appreciate (service).” Qur'an 35 verse 30

There are lots of write ups and messages being shared during this august month of Ramadan. Ramadan Message was not going to publish because it is not our intention to repeat what is already being said, or to add to the piles of resources competing for your meagre time. However, there is a lot of focus on giving up food and drinks during the long hours of the day, as if this is precisely the goal of Ramadan. Therefore we have decided to publish Ramadan Message again and ask the important question: is it enough to give up these things to fulfilling the objectives of Ramadan?

The desired objective of Ramadan is well known by all as stated in Qur'an chapter 2 verse 183 is to “achieve taqwah”. The verse reads thus: "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become muttaquun (those who have taqwah or piety)."  It is obvious that becoming pious or having piety has little to do with food. Temporarily giving up something is not the end in itself, but a means to the end. If we concentrate on the long hours of not eating and drinking, do we not run the risk of focusing on the means, at the expense of pursuing the end?

Fasting in Ramadan like all other acts of worship requires that you give up what is legally right for the sake of Allah. In a free world, we sacrifice our independent freewill and free-thoughts only to entertain the codified Iman (belief) in God’s Oneness and Supremacy. We give up our precious time to pray the Salaah five times in a day. We give up our wealth to share with others through Zakaah every year. We give up ourselves to undertake the hajj pilgrimage. We also give up our desires to consume and copulate during the day time of Ramadan. We do these only for the sake of Allah.

Yet, Ramadan demand more than that. Allah demands that we give up lewd talk and evil speech to free our tongues from flaming the ambers of Hell. Allah demands that we give up vain pursuit, envious attitude and belligerent qualities to free our soul from the shackles of Shaytan. Allah has made Ramadan an ample instrument of refining our character, reforming our heart and refraining from lowly desires.

To this end, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cautioned, “Whoever does not give up false speech and offensive speech and behaviour, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink.” (Bukhari) To emphasis the significance of getting the fast right, the Prophet (peace be upon him) further added, “there may be a fasting person who gets nothing more from his fast that hunger and thirst…” (Ahmad). The goal of the fast is not deprivation; it is elevation of the self from sins, from slavery to passion and from servitude to Shaytan, whose eternal purpose is to undermine our journey towards Allah and His Paradise.

The Rightly-Guided Caliph Umar echoed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) by explaining: “Fasting does not mean abstaining from food and drink only, rather it is also abstaining from lying, falsehood and idle speech.” Similarly the Ansari Jabir ibn Abdullah explained: “When you fast, then let your hearing, sight and tongue fast from lying and sin and stop abusing servants. Be tranquil and dignified on the day of your fast, and do not let the day you do not fast and the day you fast be the same.”

As we are discouraged from following the path of sins, we are encouraged to engage in a plethora of noble deeds, including closeness to the Qur'an in our recitation and application, seeking opportunities to help the vulnerable, attaining selflessness and purifying the soul.

Therefore, far from the pains of thirst, pang of hungers and emotional paroxysm of unfulfilled passion, Allah requires that in Ramadan, we take steps to get closer to him with our deeds and in our character and we refine ourselves. Allah demands that deep in our heart, on our tongues, in our relationships and within society that we become better. Therefore the question is: are you willing to give yourself up to Allah this Ramadan? What will you do, what step will you take, what in your character will you improve and what in your attitude will you change purely and permanently for the sake of Allah this Ramadan? That is the crucial question. Once you are able to do this during Ramadan and maintain this after Ramadan, then you will have truly fasted and fasting would have truly impacted on you.

“Ramadan is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him.” (Baihaqi)

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK. 2012  www.ramadanmessage.blogspot.com

Day 23: Pursuing the Truth

Ibn Abbas narrated that whenever the Prophet offered the night (Tahajjud) prayer, he used to say, "O Allah! All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. And all the Praises are for You; You are the Keeper of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is therein. You are the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and Your Speech is the Truth, and meeting You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth and Hell (Fire) is the Truth and all the prophets are the Truth and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender to You, and believe in You, and depend upon You, and repent to You, and in Your cause I fight and with Your orders I rule. So please forgive my past and future sins and those sins which I did in secret or in public. It is You Whom I worship, None has the right to be worshipped except You."  (Bukhari)

Our entire life must therefore be spent on seeking and spewing the truth. In fact, as the world progress, speaking the truth becomes even more difficult, hence Allah says, “By (the Token of) time (through the Ages), verily Man is in loss, except such as have Faith and do righteous deeds and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth and of Patience and Constancy.” (Qur'an 103v1-3)

Standing by truth in a corrupting world is really hard; as such the few who uphold it will be specially rewarded. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who abandons lying (to cover up), having already done something wrong, will have a castle built for him just within Paradise. He who abandons disputing (cantankerous argumentation), despite speaking the truth, will have one (a castle) built for him in the middle of Paradise. He whose character is good will have a castle built for him in the highest part of it." (Tirmidhi)

However, although you may be speaking the truth, you have other things to consider: what do I intend to achieve? Is it the right time to speak? Is this the right place? Am I saying it in the right way? We must be careful because even the truth can hurt - even the speaker! "Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its jagged edges." — Herman Melville

People who are affected by the truth we speak might want to naturally feel bad about what we say, but most of the time, it is the way “the truth” has been presented to them. Some people present the truth carelessly; in fact, sometimes deliberately to hurt. Truth doesn't always have to be bitter; it can be delivered in a palatable way, a humane way. Ultimately, the bigger picture, our ultimate goal should be our focus, when presenting the truth.

As Muslims, we are taught to control our tongue, even when speaking the truth, we must be careful of the fitna (calamity) that may arise from poor presentation. We should weigh our words and think through the consequences and implications of our utterances and consider whether silence is the best option or delayed response will better achieve the desired result. When we talk, we should speak with respect for the person we are addressing and for their feelings. We must learn to do these naturally and not hypocritically because our non-verbal communications speak volumes more than the words we utter. This is when we will get the rewards for speaking and pursuing the truth is a world that triumphs on hiding it.

- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK. 2011