The holy month is upon us, the month during which the Quran was revealed and the month that is an annual occasion for change and contemplation and an opportunity to get closer to God through worship and obedience.
Unfortunately, we often see a stark contradiction in how some people understand the meaning of Ramadan and the true message of fasting.
On the surface, fasting is nothing more than abstaining from food and drink from dawn to sunset but in essence it is a moral school that aims to refine souls and strengthen noble human values. Fasting does not only mean restraining the body, but it is a call to restrain the soul from whims and from everything that offends morals or harms others.
However, we witness a painful phenomenon every year, in that while some people commit to fasting during the day, we find that the values that this month carries are absent from their behaviour rest of the time. Back-biting and gossip, wasted trust and people treated with coldness or mistreated. Some people’s commitment to fasting is limited to Ramadan only, as if this makes up for the rest of the year. We find mosques and other places of congregation filled during Ramadan while the rest of the year they are empty! These reflect a limited understanding of Islam, which is not based only on rituals and worship but rather makes morals, honesty, trustworthiness and mercy the cornerstone of every transaction and behaviour.
Ramadan is not a goal in itself but rather a means to rebuild the spirit and refine behaviour and souls. It is an opportunity to repair our relationship with God, with ourselves and with others. Fasting is not only about food and drink but it is also about fasting the tongue from lying, back-biting and gossiping, fasting the limbs from harm, and fasting the hearts from hatred and envy.
The contradiction between worship and behaviour makes us wonder: How can a person fast during the day and pray at night, but deal with people with deception or injustice? How can we forget that good treatment is the essence of religion and that honesty and truthfulness are among the greatest manifestations of piety?
Ramadan is an opportunity for us to be role models, to reflect the values of true Islam in our daily actions. Our commitment in Ramadan should be a starting point for real and sustainable change, not just a temporary state.
The role of preachers and imams is essential and very important in addressing this phenomenon, not only during Ramadan, but throughout the year. We all receive many wonderful stories and situations involving non-Muslims. We are in dire need of instilling a spirit of tolerance, values, good treatment, honesty and mutual respect among us. These are extremely important moral and humane rules that make a person feel safe.
Let us make this blessed month a reminder of the meanings of mercy, patience and benevolence. Let us work to make this commitment to good values a part of our lives throughout the year, for religion is not a season, and morals are not a passing ritual.
Perhaps this call will find an echo in the hearts, and revive in us all the true meaning of Ramadan, so that it may be a month of reform, righteous behaviour and avoiding contradictions, not just a month of superficial worship.
My prayers are that this blessed and honourable month will be an important occasion in our lives to improve ourselves before others.
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