ON ramazan
Recently I commented in a previous note on how Ramazan had started and how I love this month. And then one of my dear friends’ comment on this fortuitous month intrigued me greatly. She commented on it being a great act of faith, and she is absolutely right. Another event that came to mind was what one of my sisters told me happened on her Muslim Leadership Course, how non-muslims cannot relate to muslims and how muslims refuse to explain and educate people at times with their personal point of view on Islam. Surely, we welcome all comers and all inquiries and yet many a time, I have seen my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam dismissing questions on faith by saying “You wouldn’t understand!” ..well then..make us understand O wise one!
The truth of the matter is deeply than it truly looks, its not the fault of anyone, its simply a lack of knowledge on either part, once you are sure enough in your faith and knowledgeable, one doesn’t hesitate to talk about it. Take for instance, your favourite topic to talk on, be it sports or world politics or a piece that one has read, one is more than happy to share that knowledge and yet when it comes to religion, we tend to shy away a bit, and this isn’t something that is restricted or prevalent in Australia, Heaven forbid no! I have seen the same behaviour in mosques and houses in my country of origin, a muslim state no less, Pakistan. It saddens me that we cannot share our opinions freely and tell others what we feel in our hearts by practising our faith. So without further ado, I hope to change that, albeit a little, by the following. Please bear with me and am taking on all comers!
Well from a personal point of view, Ramazan has been a personal favourite of mine always. I started fasting at a very young age around 8-9..I remember the huge iftar party my mom threw in celebration of that event. *Iftar being the time at sunset that the fast is broken* Also I was born in this month, and my mother was very proud of that fact and would make sure everyone knew of that by throwing a huge party to celebrate. And thus I was one of the few children who had two birthdays a year..once it went to three even…from memory. That started my love affair with this holy month.
Now Ramazan is basically the month of abstinence, basically, the concept being that for one month, you fast for God and pray for salvation. This is a huge thing, the importance of which cannot be determined at first glance, see in Islam and I think in most religions (please correct me if I am mistaken) one prays for themselves. We ask God for help and forgiveness, we ask and we ask..and then we ask some more. Whereas here, it’s the other way around, one month out of a year that you are asked to do something in return and of course, the rewards promised are staggering as well.
I used to see quite a change in people back in Pakistan during this month, there would be a lot more attendance at mosques during the prayer times, I was very lucky as a mosque was very close by to my house and I would rush there to be part of the prayers, 5 times a day. My friends would do the same, we were in a rush to outdo each other in prayers and usually I would be the last one coming out, with knees and thighs hurting but with such a clear mind and face aglow with the passion of having done something momentous! I still feel that at times.
Another thing that I saw was that at times people would complain about feeling hungry and thirsty and so on and so forth, as is their prerogative, I suppose. But it irked me to hear it! In my estimation and understanding, a little hunger and thirst was nothing compared to having God’s acceptance and happiness. Consider this scenario, a close family member is in hospital, one visits and sits there, we take time off work, we lose our hunger, we lose our zest for life and instead we become consumed with the need to see them better. Now, who could be closer to us, rather than in Whose image we are made (another topic on that later)?? Perhaps at times, we do not understand the huge honour that is bestowed upon us, where or when would God ask favours from us lowly human beings? He does not need our prayers, He does not our sacrificies, neither our wealth nor our health. All that reaches Him is our piety.
Another thing was I saw people having huge Sehris( the time before morning prayers, you are allowed to have an early breakfast, this is called Sehri) and Iftars and well, I heard of people putting on weight during Ramazan, and quite seriously, I thought that it defeated the purpose in a way, perhaps I am wrong, but in my estimation, when you are asked to give up your meal does that not mean that you don’t go and stuff your face in the hours of the night! One of the many reasons for fasting is that it is a great equaliser. In Islam and in the eyes of God, men are judged by their piety, in our prayers, everyone stands row by row, shoulder to shoulder, brothers in their faith, nothing of the world is portrayed there, a king can stand with a slave and pray in front of God, and only He may make a distinction. Similarly, this is also why the timings are defined as from sunrise to sunset, so no matter where Muslims are situated, they can practise their faith with impunity. Coming back to the point I was making earlier, to feel the hunger and thirst, we can relate to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Islam and feel what they go through on a daily basis, it serves to keep us humble and thankful for what we have. (I will put something else up on practices like this later on) and also encourages us to be generous in the future towards them. Man gets a better understand of suffering once he/she experiences it first hand. So a small taste of hunger and thirst can go a long way.
So yes, I always felt that it was a wonderful thing to feel both hungry and thirsty and to conquer both feelings, instead of fighting them, I welcomed them both and I find myself always greatly active during Ramazan. Its never held me back in any activites, I study twice as much, still go to the gym , practice cricket with my friends, even play full day matches regardless. No boasting, its merely what my experience has been. And once again, my favourite month has arrived and I look forward to a month of fasting, piety and most of all, love. I love the verse that we speak when we break our fast, its translation is as follows, "Oh God, I have kept my fast for you, and I have bought faith in You, I have belief in You and now I break my fast with Your given food!"
I wish you all a fabulous Ramazan. And just in case you were wondering, my birthday is on the 15th of this month. Heehehehe!
Recently I commented in a previous note on how Ramazan had started and how I love this month. And then one of my dear friends’ comment on this fortuitous month intrigued me greatly. She commented on it being a great act of faith, and she is absolutely right. Another event that came to mind was what one of my sisters told me happened on her Muslim Leadership Course, how non-muslims cannot relate to muslims and how muslims refuse to explain and educate people at times with their personal point of view on Islam. Surely, we welcome all comers and all inquiries and yet many a time, I have seen my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam dismissing questions on faith by saying “You wouldn’t understand!” ..well then..make us understand O wise one!
The truth of the matter is deeply than it truly looks, its not the fault of anyone, its simply a lack of knowledge on either part, once you are sure enough in your faith and knowledgeable, one doesn’t hesitate to talk about it. Take for instance, your favourite topic to talk on, be it sports or world politics or a piece that one has read, one is more than happy to share that knowledge and yet when it comes to religion, we tend to shy away a bit, and this isn’t something that is restricted or prevalent in Australia, Heaven forbid no! I have seen the same behaviour in mosques and houses in my country of origin, a muslim state no less, Pakistan. It saddens me that we cannot share our opinions freely and tell others what we feel in our hearts by practising our faith. So without further ado, I hope to change that, albeit a little, by the following. Please bear with me and am taking on all comers!
Well from a personal point of view, Ramazan has been a personal favourite of mine always. I started fasting at a very young age around 8-9..I remember the huge iftar party my mom threw in celebration of that event. *Iftar being the time at sunset that the fast is broken* Also I was born in this month, and my mother was very proud of that fact and would make sure everyone knew of that by throwing a huge party to celebrate. And thus I was one of the few children who had two birthdays a year..once it went to three even…from memory. That started my love affair with this holy month.
Now Ramazan is basically the month of abstinence, basically, the concept being that for one month, you fast for God and pray for salvation. This is a huge thing, the importance of which cannot be determined at first glance, see in Islam and I think in most religions (please correct me if I am mistaken) one prays for themselves. We ask God for help and forgiveness, we ask and we ask..and then we ask some more. Whereas here, it’s the other way around, one month out of a year that you are asked to do something in return and of course, the rewards promised are staggering as well.
I used to see quite a change in people back in Pakistan during this month, there would be a lot more attendance at mosques during the prayer times, I was very lucky as a mosque was very close by to my house and I would rush there to be part of the prayers, 5 times a day. My friends would do the same, we were in a rush to outdo each other in prayers and usually I would be the last one coming out, with knees and thighs hurting but with such a clear mind and face aglow with the passion of having done something momentous! I still feel that at times.
Another thing that I saw was that at times people would complain about feeling hungry and thirsty and so on and so forth, as is their prerogative, I suppose. But it irked me to hear it! In my estimation and understanding, a little hunger and thirst was nothing compared to having God’s acceptance and happiness. Consider this scenario, a close family member is in hospital, one visits and sits there, we take time off work, we lose our hunger, we lose our zest for life and instead we become consumed with the need to see them better. Now, who could be closer to us, rather than in Whose image we are made (another topic on that later)?? Perhaps at times, we do not understand the huge honour that is bestowed upon us, where or when would God ask favours from us lowly human beings? He does not need our prayers, He does not our sacrificies, neither our wealth nor our health. All that reaches Him is our piety.
Another thing was I saw people having huge Sehris( the time before morning prayers, you are allowed to have an early breakfast, this is called Sehri) and Iftars and well, I heard of people putting on weight during Ramazan, and quite seriously, I thought that it defeated the purpose in a way, perhaps I am wrong, but in my estimation, when you are asked to give up your meal does that not mean that you don’t go and stuff your face in the hours of the night! One of the many reasons for fasting is that it is a great equaliser. In Islam and in the eyes of God, men are judged by their piety, in our prayers, everyone stands row by row, shoulder to shoulder, brothers in their faith, nothing of the world is portrayed there, a king can stand with a slave and pray in front of God, and only He may make a distinction. Similarly, this is also why the timings are defined as from sunrise to sunset, so no matter where Muslims are situated, they can practise their faith with impunity. Coming back to the point I was making earlier, to feel the hunger and thirst, we can relate to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Islam and feel what they go through on a daily basis, it serves to keep us humble and thankful for what we have. (I will put something else up on practices like this later on) and also encourages us to be generous in the future towards them. Man gets a better understand of suffering once he/she experiences it first hand. So a small taste of hunger and thirst can go a long way.
So yes, I always felt that it was a wonderful thing to feel both hungry and thirsty and to conquer both feelings, instead of fighting them, I welcomed them both and I find myself always greatly active during Ramazan. Its never held me back in any activites, I study twice as much, still go to the gym , practice cricket with my friends, even play full day matches regardless. No boasting, its merely what my experience has been. And once again, my favourite month has arrived and I look forward to a month of fasting, piety and most of all, love. I love the verse that we speak when we break our fast, its translation is as follows, "Oh God, I have kept my fast for you, and I have bought faith in You, I have belief in You and now I break my fast with Your given food!"
I wish you all a fabulous Ramazan. And just in case you were wondering, my birthday is on the 15th of this month. Heehehehe!
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