"Fasting
in Ramadan develops in a person the real spirit of social belonging, of
unity and brotherhood, and of equality before God. This spirit is the
natural product of the fact that when people fast they feel that they
are joining the whole Muslim society (which makes up more than one fifth
of world's population) in observing the same duty, in the same manner,
at the same time, for the same motives, and for the same end. No
sociologist or historian can say that there has been at any period of
history anything comparable to this powerful institution of Islam:
Fasting in the month of Ramadan. People have been crying throughout the
ages for acceptable 'belonging', for unity, for brotherhood, for
equality and justice, but how echoless their voices have been, and how
very little success they have met..." says Hammudah Abdalati, in Islam
in Focus.
As
Muslims we reject any sort of violence in the holy month of Ramadan, as
we do in any month. Yet there are those recalcitrant elements that will
not follow this injunction, but rather foment trouble all over the
land; maiming, kidnapping and killing their fellowmen for some warped
reasons. They are the terrorists in religious garb; killing people all
over the place in the guise of ‘herdsmen or Boko Haram, ISIS or whatever
name they call themselves. They act as if God’s love can descend upon
them through such horrible acts. We have only one name for them;
Terrorists!
At
the same time, in our own national discourse, we see hateful rhetoric
and bigotry from all political quarters and it has now reached an
alarming crescendo, particularly as the election is fast approaching.
We
need to spend time during this holy season worrying and praying about
the state of the world; and in particular our country Nigeria. There is
too much hate in the air. The social media has become one big market for
mudslinging and character assassination; all in the name of politics
that is now heavily garnished with, bigotry and religious
intolerance. Instead of seeking forgiveness for our own sins we should
seek forgiveness for everyone who is misled, who thinks the end
justifies the means, who does not understand the teachings of Islam as
beautiful and pure and peaceful. The Prophet Muhammad taught us to pray
for our enemies, and I admit it is hard but it must be done – if not for
them, then for our own spiritual enlightenment.
We
need to pray for a lofty goal – peace in the land – that we as human
beings have probably been praying for since the dawn of modernity. We
should pray for a safe world for our children, and our children’s
children. But the news these days is ugly, and we are constantly
reminded of the following verse in the Quran:
“Surely God changes not the condition of a people until they change what is in their hearts”. (Quran 13:11)
Prayer
and reflection only help when one is surrounded with peace. One can
recite the Quran and offer additional night-time prayers and fast every
day for 365 days, but nothing changes the fact that we live in dangerous
and perilous times; and unless we stand up and do something about it,
the impending conflagration will consume us all, both the perpetrators
and idle spectators.
Politics
is part of life now and along with fasting, individual Muslims need to
do much more. Protesting, calling our representatives to order, marching
with others, helping our neighbours and even getting educated about a
topic we didn’t know much about… all these are ways to make worship more
meaningful. Whatever issue one worries about, we need to get out there
and make change happen. To be docile in the face of monumental injustice
is a sin, worse than breaking ones fast. After all, in Islam, worship
not only describes ritual related to God, but encompasses everything one
does to serve God’s creatures; standing up for justice is one of such
acts.
Of
course, it doesn’t and shouldn’t apply to Muslims alone. People of all
faith – or no faith – can join in making these changes and improving our
impact upon the world: Right now the goings on in Gaza should concern
us all, particularly the fate of a blockaded people who are being denied
medical facilities by their Israeli ‘warders’. The fate of our people
in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba and other places where human life has
become like that of common chicken should elicit concern and action. In
fact, some of the most successful projects are interfaith and
intercultural, so we know that when we all get together to use our faith
traditions as a force for change, then change actually does occur. This
is the time for action and change; meaningful change.
So
let’s get out into our communities and make a difference, not just in
Ramadan but throughout the year. Only then can we say we are really
worshipping God.
Barka Juma’at and Ramadan Kareem
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