By: Fidhat Fayaz Drangay
The Almighty Allah is bestowing us all with another holy month of Ramadan in our lives. Most of the days of april 2022 and initial days of may 2022 will be days of the Ramadan this year. Ramadan is the holiest month for Muslims. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is obligatory for every healthy adult muslim to observe fast in Ramadan from dawn until dusk. There is a verse in the holy Al-Quran that prescribes fasting for all muslims who are mature and healthy enough to do so for the full day. So Muslims fast as an act of worship, a chance to get closer to God, and a way to become more compassionate to those in need.
The great Muslim scholar and sage Imam Ibn Rajab once said, “Some of the pious predecessors were asked, “Why has fasting been instituted? They responded, ‘So that the rich will taste hunger and thus will not forget the hungry.’” Fasting is also seen as a way to learn patience and break bad habits. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan isn’t about hunger. It’s about living mindfully. As we fast from what is ordinarily permissible, we in the course learn to fast from what is prohibited at all times. The holy Quran states, “Oh you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed on those who came before you so that you may attain God-Consciousness.” Sin is born out of ingratitude, fasting makes us more aware
of our blessings, hence more grateful and driven to good. The end result of Ramadan mentioned in the Quran is that you “complete the term of fasting and glorify your Lord for what He has guided you to, and so that you may be amongst the grateful.” This is what makes us more conscious of God. We become
more conscious of His blessings. When we become more conscious of His blessings upon us, we become more conscious of how we use those blessings ourselves. We in turn become more conscious of those who don’t have regular access to those blessings that we are voluntarily refraining from. Iftar, the time of reward.
During the holy month of Ramadan Muslims wake up early to eat a pre-dawn meal called suhoor , and they break their fast with a meal referred to as Iftar. The moments of Iftar are the precious moments , the moments of reward for your patience , the moments of forgiveness , the moments of blessings. In these blessings and beautiful moments when we break your fast, Allah forgives our sins. If we utilize these moments rightfully, we will be blessed with the best of this dunya and akhirah. We cannot count the blessings of Iftar but we can pray to Allah to benefit us from most of these blessings. I pray these precious moments of every Iftar bring numerous blessings to us and our families. Iftar should be a simple meal and not a lavish affair. Simplicity saves us from distraction and guides us or helps us to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of fasting.
On the other hand, if the iftar takes the form of a lavish affair, all attention will focus on the taste and the physical aspects, and the spiritual benefits will be lost. In fact, a lavish iftar kills the true spirit of fasting. The Prophet of Islam Prophet Muhhammad ( peace be upon him) and his Companions always used to take simple food at the time of iftar. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Whoever feeds a person breaking his fast will earn the same reward as him, without anything being lessened from the reward of the fasting person! “ Let’s pledge this Ramadan we will prefer helping the poor to break his fast rather than helping the one who himself can arrange his Iftar. Get the kids involved in the Iftar. Let your kids know that they gain the reward of fasting just by putting Iftar food and water on the dining sheets or table or help you prepare some of Iftar eatables and drinks.
Alternatively, we can encourage our children to donate some portions of their pocket money towards breaking the fast of the needy and the poor people. In Sha Allah, this will help them understand that their simple actions can make a difference in the society and lives of the poor and the needy and will help them feel a part of this holy month of the Ramadan and help them experience Ramadan , the experience of goodness , the experience of truthfulness and the experience of patience.
We currently live in the age of social media where people are always tempted to share everything they are doing in their lives on a day to day basis. We should refrain from posting such luxurious things on social media that might hurt the sentiments of people , the poor , the needy , the orphan , and the one who can’t afford such things. This is a humble request from my side to the dear reader , please ! , don’t update the pictures of your iftar eatables and drinks on social media. Everyone among us isn’t living the same life , everyone isn’t able to serve fruits , serve chickens and mutton , and serve shakes to their families. The holy month of Ramadan isn’t meant to play with the sentiments of people unintentionally by your updated picture on social media. Ramadan is the month of mercy, in clear words, the month of forgiveness, the month of worship, the month of thousands of blessings. So let’s pledge this Ramadan not to post our iftar on social media and make it a chain and spread all over, so that no father will feel guilt of not providing luxurious stuff to his fasting children, no mother will cry on her fate for not being able to provide fruits to her children, and no kids will feel like I wish my parents can also afford it. To avoid this temptation of social media, let’s pledge moments before Iftar we will take a moment and think about the millions of people who suffer from hunger and starvation daily , think about people who die daily because of hunger. See through the eyes of father and his children with a hopeful gaze of having food tonight taking the shape of words….Sorry…!!! I failed to bring food home this time also.
See through the eyes of mother promising some food every single minute to her children and failing again and again. See through the eyes of a mother teaching her children lessons of patience and hope daily. See through the eyes of children and orphans living on footpaths in extreme weather conditions deprived of food. The prophet of Islam Prophet Muhhammad ( peace be upon him ) said “Whoever believes to feed a hungry believer, on the Day of Judgment God will give him food from the fruit of heaven. Whoever moomin , who gave the thirsty drinkers a drink, on the Day of Judgment God will give him a drink from the drink of heaven. This Ramadan let’s pledge to feed hungry and poor people in our localities or in nearby areas. Whenever you start eating, think of millions of people who fail to avail food for themselves and their families. Pray and thank Almighty Allah for providing you food and please don’t waste food. Ramadan , the training period.
The holy month Ramadan is as much about filling our souls and transforming our society with goodness as it is about restraining our bodies from food and drink. We live our best selves in Ramadan; we fall in love with it despite its restrictions. We must come to the realization that true happiness is in feeding the soul and being satisfied with your sustenance, that prayer is better than sleep and that charity is better than consumption. Let’s pledge this Ramadan to train ourselves for the rest of our lives. Ramadan is a chance for us to train ourselves to make our lives better in the way of Allah , to spend our days with positivity and hope , to help the poor, to feed the hungry people , to help those in need.Usually during the holy month of Ramadan the practice for most Muslims is, refrain from all non-Islamic activities like watching television, overeating, backbiting etc during these 30 days only. As soon as Ramadan gets over, we go back to our same old way of life and indulge in all sorts of non-Islamic activities. So we need to prepare ourselves during this holy month to be as good as we are in Ramadan and pledge to remain the same throughout our lives. May Allah guide us all on the right path , the path Allah has promised the reward…Ameen…!!!
Author studies MBBS at Community Based Medical College, Bangladesh. He can be mailed at fidhatfayazdrangay@gmail.com