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TOWARDS A REWARDING RAMADAN.
M. O. Junaid.
Introduction.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is mandatory on every Muslim, male or female to fast. It involves, keeping away from foods, drinks and sexual activities from dawn to sunset. It is a divine command.
The practice of fasting is an ancient spiritual exercise. The Holy Qur’an specifically refers to this historical fact in Chapter 2:183. Thus:
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that ye may (learn) self-restraint.”
In his commentary on this verse, Yusuf Ali writes, “This does not mean that the Muslim fast is like the previous system of fasting, both in the number of days as well as the manner of fasting. It only means that the principle of self –denial through fasting is not a new phenomenon.” Commenting on this same verse, Al-Mawdudi said, “ . . . it appears that all the previous scriptures have never been devoid of the principle of fasting.” This evidence of the Holy Qur’an has proved beyond any reasonable doubt that fasting is as old as religion itself. It has been observed in various forms and patterns by both the Jews, the Christians and the Hindus. The Prophet’s tribe, the Quraysh used to observe the fast of Ashurah on the tenth day of Muharram. The prophet (peace be upon him) used to observe the same with his tribe even before Islam.
Dr. M. O. Junaid is a Senior Lecturer, Dept. of History, University of Lagos.
When he eventually migrated to Madinah he found the Jewish community observing the day in fasting. When the Holy Prophet asked them about it, they tried to justify their act by saying: “This is the day the Lord relieved the children of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh, so, Prophet Musa fasted that day.” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “We are more worthy of Musa than you are”; then he fasted that day and ordered that is should be observed as a day of fasting.
In another Jewish tradition, fasting is associated with mourning the dead, a gesture of sorrow for wrong doing. It could also be an act of appealing for God’s mercy through the spectacle of distress. In Islam, it is not a rite of propitiation rather, it is observed as a religious obligation which helps a man or woman to gain spiritual elevation.
The Jews, the Christians and the Hindus use a solar calendar so that the time of their (Passover / lent) falls in the same season of the year. In Islam, the fasting period is the ninth month of the lunar calendar. The nature of the calendar is such that, over a period of time, the fasting period will cover the four major seasons of the year in rotational manner. This variety of experience remains an impressive feature of the vitality of the Islamic institution of fasting. If fasting had been fixed permanently for a season, it would either be a perpetual ease for some people and a perpetual hardship to others. The Islamic system therefore constitutes a balance between the two extremes.
This clarification naturally leads to the question: Why do we specifically fast in the month of Ramadan? It could rightly be argued that while it is true that Ramadan is not one of the pre-Islamic sacred months during which fighting was strictly prohibited, Ramadhan was of very special religious significance among tribes of Makkah. Some people among the Quraysh of Makkah were accustomed to going to perform religious retreat in the cave of Hijrah at the beginning of the month. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) observed the same custom and it was during one of those nights that he received the first segment of his revelation. Angel Jibril made his first appearance with the divine messages to the Holy Prophet in the night of majesty, which fell in this month. Besides, it was also in the month of Ramadan that the Holy Prophet won his first major decisive victory against the Makkans at Badr. This victory was interpreted as the divine sanction of the religion of Islam in Arabia.
On the other hand, Ramadan is equally very important because it was during the month that all the Revealed Books of Allah were sent down for the guidance of mankind. Apart from the Holy Qur’an, the Treaties of Prophet Ibrahim were sent to him during the first and third days of the month. Prophet Dawud’s Zabura was sent to him between the twelfth and eighteenth of Ramadan while Prophet Musa got his Taoraat on the sixth of Ramadan and Prophet Isa was given the Injeel on the thirteenth of Ramadan.
In this sense, the month of Ramadan means a lot to different peoples and different religious persuasions. Since the Holy Books were revealed in this month, Muslims are specifically enjoined to read and recite the Holy Qur’an as an act of Religious devotion during the month.
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) offered a perfect guide towards achieving a rewarding Ramadan. According to a tradition (Hadith) narrated by Salmon, he said, the Holy Prophet addressed us on the last day of the month of Shaaban saying, “O my People, a month is coming unto you, it is indeed a great and auspicious month in which there is a night which is better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting in the month obligatory and has also made devotion in its Nights highly rewarding. Anyone of you who draws closer to Allah with good deeds in the month is like fulfilling a lifetime obligation. It is the month of forbearance, the reward of which is paradise. The month is such that the first portion is a period of Allah’s mercy, the second is a period of forgiveness of sins while the third is a period of emancipation from the Hell-fire.
Determination of the Beginning of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan begins when its new moon has been sighted. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was reported as saying “Begin fasting when the new moon is sighted and cease from fasting when it has also been sighted; but if it is cloudy or hidden from you, then complete Sha’aban thirty days”
The lunar month is either twenty-nine or thirty days; so on the 29th day of Sha’aban, the preceding month to Ramadan, Muslims are enjoined to look for the new moon. If it was sighted by trust-worthy Muslims, they should commence fasting the following morning, otherwise, they should wait one more day before they commence fasting.
I would like to digress here a little bit to examine the implication of this Prophetic Hadith. They keyword as used in the Hadith suggests that fasting commences when we know certainly that the new moon has been sighted either physical or scientifically.Imam Shafii, a prominent Muslim jurist, opined that he who can determine the beginning of the month by astrological calculation and those who believe in such finding should commence fasting based on their calculation.
If other early scholars hesitated to accept this opinion on account of the rudimentary stage of the science of astronomy at that age, we are not at all justified in our modern age to disregard the conclusion of science which has performed so creditably with utmost accuracy. After all, the precision and accuracy attained by scientific devices were made possible by Almighty Allah. We are living in an age in which the entire world had been reduced to a global village and communication had become greatly enhanced. Accordingly, the divergence and lack of uniformity in the commencement and termination of fasting in our part of the Muslim world is an unnecessary embarrassment in an age of high technology.
When the beginning of Ramadan has been officially announced in any part of the Muslim world, we are religiously bound to commence fasting without hesitation.
The Philosophy of Fasting.
It is the command of Allah to be obeyed by the faithfuls to discipline their lives in this world when a man merely thinks selfishly of himself and his immediate family. It is through this self-discipline in Islam that the true socialism is displayed in Islam.
However, it requires a strong inner will to attain this level of discipline. Thus, the main function of fasting is to make the Muslim free from within, just as the other aspects of Islamic teaching makes him free from without. By his personal choice, he suspends eating, drinking and satisfaction of his sexual desires all for the sake of Almighty Allah.
When a rich Muslim fasts, he realizes the hardship of his very unfortunate or less fortunate brothers who are not in a position to get even one meal a day. He now cultivates the habit of paying the dues of the brotherly bond that joins him to that class of people. The communal experience of fasting, which takes place at the same time engenders tender feelings and a sense of sympathy from him.
Secondly, the human body is like a living machine which gets exhausted by continuous labour and fatigued by charging it above its installed capacity. Does this over worked machine not deserve a resting period during which the body can free itself from the consequences of excessive consumption? Fasting offers the body, a compulsory rest for the duration of one full month in a year.
To fast is to wear the Armour of purity against the passions of the world. In fasting, man is often reminded that he has chosen the side of Godliness over the world of passions and that is why the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) loved fasting so much. The individual and indeed the entire Muslim community is rejuvenated through this annual religious devotion as Muslims are constantly reminded of their moral and spiritual obligations. That is why the arrival of the blessed month is often greeted with joy and jubilation.
Who Should Fast?
Fasting is a pillar of Islam and failure to observe it without any reasonable excuse is a severely punishable offence. Every Muslim male or female is expected to fast. To be eligible to fast,one must be of age, and he must be physically and mentally fit. Children under the age of puberty should be encouraged to fast as a preparatory step towards fasting at adulthood.
A traveler may not fast, so also a nursing mother whose health may be endangered if she attempts to fast. Menstruating women are equally exempted but they must make up for the number of days they missed. Sick people, elderly men and women who are too old and feeble to undertake the rigours of fasting are equally exempted from fasting.
However, the special concession granted the sick people and the travelers is neither absolute nor total, for they would have to make up for the number of days they missed as soon as they recovered or terminated their journey. In case of a protracted illness, such people would have to feed a poor man as a compensation for every fast they missed.
Scholars have suggested a minimum ceiling for the number of mileage a traveler must cover, if he is to enjoy the special concession not to fast. According to the Hadith, the minimum length of a journey is sixty kilometres. Another school of thought maintained that the weight of evidence seemed to suggest that a traveler has an option of keeping the fast or breaking it. But the totality of these arguments and counter-arguments clearly shows that Islam is a very considerable religion, which does not impose any form of hardship on any people whatsoever.
A sincere Muslim undertakes fasting as an act of obedience to God, the assessment and reward thereof, lies only with the Almighty. The onus is on every Muslim to keep to the rules of the fasting so as to be eligible for the unlimited divine rewards.
Extra Religious Activities in Ramadan.
This presentation will not be complete without a reference to some extra religious activities associated with the Ramadan fast.
One of the distinctive features of the fasting period is to observe special prayer sessions during the nights of Ramadan. It is called the Tarawih prayers. Although the majority of the Muslims offer 20 Rakaats every night, some others keep to 8 or 10 Rakaats. In the South West of Nigeria, including Lagos, the observance of 10 Rakaats appears more popular.
The second feature of the month is Itkaaf which literally means “to stay in a place.” Technically, it means staying in a mosque for a certain number of days, most especially during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. It is a religious retreat during which the observer dissociates himself from all mundane affairs. He does not leave the mosque unless when it becomes absolutely necessary. While it can be observed in any central mosque, it is highly rewarding in any of the three great mosques in Islam, the Haram in Makkah, the Prophetic mosque in Madinah and the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
One of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan is called Laylatul-Qadr (the night of majesty). It is the night during which the revelation of the Holy Qur’an commenced. There are various Hadith which enjoins Muslims to look for this night in one of the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. It is indeed an anniversary of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an and the night should be spent in a state of total submission to the will of the creator.
The last in the series of activities, which serve as complimentary to fasting is Zakaatul Fitr. As the name suggests, it is a special form of charity, which Muslims are expected to give away towards the end of the Ramadan fast. The significance of this charitable act lies in the fact that it serves as a form of atonement for the minor errors and mistakes which a fasting Muslim inevitably committed while fasting. It also serves as a stimulant for the poor, the needy and the destitute during the festivities of the Eid-el-Fitr, which marked the end of the fasting.
The interplay of fasting and this act of charity goes a long way to drive home the cardinal objective of fasting as indicated in the Holy Qur’an 2:183.