Ramadan: A Month of Opportunities

Welcome Ramadan!



2:183. O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you
As it was prescribed To those before you,
That ye may be among those with taqwa,—

Al Hamdu lillah! Every year we are blessed with a very special opportunity, an opportunity to increase our taqwa.

What is taqwa?  Many have defined it as "fear of Allah,"  but this definition may give the wrong impression in the context of modern English, an impression that Allah is harsh and merciless, and Muslims should be as well. However, Allah SWT has specifically told us that He is ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim - His is the most complete form of Mercy; and in a hadith, He has told us that His Mercy outweighs His Wrath.

In older forms of English, the word "fear" not only meant being scared, but it also meant a feeling of awe, wonder and great respect.  However, in Arabic, this meaning is more attributable to "khashiyyah Rabbahu". The meaning of taqwa, then, can best be expressed as "grasping the firmest hand-hold," to grasp and cling to Allah with all one's strength (qawaya). And it is during this blessed month of Ramadan that we have an opportunity to increase out taqwa.

Certainly, fasting, the essential element of Sawm Ramadan, increases our taqwa.  In the ayat above, Allah SWT reminds us that fasting has been prescribed for those before us.  All religions prescribe fasting.  Jews fast Yom Kippur and the High Holy Days, Christians fast Lent, Hindus fast for vows and on other occasions, Guatama Buddha fasted also.  Fasting has long been recognized as a way to cleanse the body, mind and soul.  Even non-religious people fast today for the same reasons. 

Fasting increases our taqwa by reminding us of the bounties we are blessed with and who provided those provisions.  Often we do not appreciate what is in front of us.  But, when it is gone, we suddenly miss it - appreciate it.  So, during Ramadan, the food is missing for part of the day.  Those chips we snack on while typing away on our laptops and cell phones, they are missing.  That lunch we munch on without thinking, it's missing.  What if it were missing every day?  Anyone who is capable of reflection cannot fail to begin to feel gratitude for what, eleven months of the year, we take for granted. 

As Ramadan goes on, our days of fasting and nights of salat and tarawih remind us from where all those bounties come.  Factories don't create chips - they manufacture them from potatoes, which a farmer grew from a seed crop.  We should be reminded of all the hands that touched that food from the seed spud to the grocery shelf.  Without all those people, we would not have the food.  We should be grateful to them.

But, there is one more link in that supply chain - the One who made all of that possible every step of the way.  He created the seed spud; He watered the plant in the earth; He created the fertile soil; He created the worms and creatures that enriched it and aerated it; He created the birds who ensured that the worms did not get out of hand and become too many; He created an entire web of being, balanced and well-managed; He created the people who cut the potatoes, fried and salted them, put them in the bag, shipped them to your store...  He created you.

He also blessed you with an income - with the money to purchase the food.  Your boss did not do that.  Ramadan is a time to place gratitude where it belongs - with our true Rabb. 

And when we remember our Rabb - our Ultimate Benefactor - we realize how precarious is our existence.  We cling to Allah SWT with all our might.  We gain taqwa.

The first part of Ramadan is about Mercy.  We see that above.  At the end of this first period, we realize how merciful Allah SWT is, and we also begin to reflect that mercy toward those around us.  Here is our first opportunity.  We can express mercy ourselves.  Not only can we help feed the poor and those in need, but we can treat others mercifully in all situations.  If someone cuts you off in traffic, instead of getting mad and cursing them, think mercifully.  Respond positively, smile, wave - it just might surprise them.  It might make them think. 

People today have been raised to be selfish, self-centered, absorbed in a world of their own creation.  They are completely detached from Allah, from His creation, and from people.  They may be screaming to someone on the phone, but in reality, they are in their own world.  And in their own worlds, they are never merciful, never grateful, - they are only self-ful.  That act of mercy forces them back into reality.  In their "my-way-or-the-highway" world they live in, everyone is just like them - a singularity without any connections.  It's an angry, bitter, world.  They expect you to be like them - to spew hate.  If you spew hate, then they are justified in treating you like dirt.  It is easy to hate nasty people. 

Look at us Muslims.  In order to justify hatred and murder, we judge people to be "apostates."  Allah SWT has absolutely forbidden killing, except for specific reasons set by Allah alone.  Allah SWT created us, only He can permit our destruction.  If someone is killed unjustly, Allah SWT alone will deal with the murderer.  Think on that very carefully. 

We are no better than anyone else these days.  We are just as much a product of millennialism as anyone else.  But, we should be better.  We are the best ummah from among mankind, rights?  We have the potential to be, but are we?

We will be if we learn the lesson of the first part of Ramadan - mercy.  Abu Bakr, RAA, had a relative living with him.  He provided that man with food, shelter, everything.  When the people accused Aisha of infidelity, this man was one of the first to make lewd accusations.  Abu Bakr was furious.  He refused to speak to the man.  The Prophet SAW heard about this and spoke to Abu Bakr.  He told him, "wouldn't you want Allah to be merciful to you?" 

Allah SWT then revealed this ayat:

24:22. Let not those among you Who are endued with grace
And amplitude of means Resolve by oath against helping
Their kinsmen, those in want, And those who have left
Their homes in God's cause: Let them forgive (be merciful) and overlook,
Do you not wish That God should forgive you?
For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Think on this.  This relative, who had been "sponging" off Abu Bakr, sleeping in his house, eating his food, had just insulted his honor and his house by accusing his daughter of infidelity - of zina!  What could be worse?  What would you do in such a situation?  But is we would love for Allah SWT to forgive us some day, on that day, yawm al qiyammah, then we must also forgive.  And not just forgive, but lyasfahuu.  Sometimes we forgive people, but we never forget.  It stays in the back of our minds forever.  It clouds our thoughts about that person forever.  Allah tells us to leave it, overlook it, treat it as it never happened.  Wipe that cloud from your mind and give that person a fresh start. 

The amazing thing is that Abu Bakr responded immediately.  He didn't say what most of us would say..."But, you don't understand, he did this, he did that....."  In other words we spew justifications for hate.  Allah SWT does not use justifications - and who would be more justified given our lack of gratitude?  What justifications do you have really?  For every person who has dissed you, you have dissed someone else.  Do you want mercy in the end? 

Allah says:  "walya'fuu"  then show them mercy

Allah is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful!

A Very Special Opportunity

This year we are blessed with a very special opportunity.  This year we, as Muslims, have been the object of a great deal of hate.  Hate crimes against Muslims have increased dramatically as some segments of our population have been emboldened into hate-filled action.  Muslims have been verbally attacked, and physically attacked.  Some have been murdered for no other reason than the murderer thought they were Muslim. 

But the hate attacks are not just coming from one side.  Muslims are being attacked by people claiming to be Muslims.  Again, hate fuels ridiculous justifications for murder.  Unfortunately, our youth, living in their little virtual worlds, are drawn into the brainwashing machine of Da'esh and other hate groups.  Shaytan is having a field day. 

The Prophet SAW told us that the shaytans are chained up during Ramadan.  True.  But you have freewill and you can unchain them yourself.  The propaganda is still out there, and some of shaytan's minions are out at the masaajid right now trying to recruit youth.  Some are paid by governments, some are just brainwashed zombies.  But they are out there, poking your kids in the chest, using domination tactics, creating doubt and not letting your kids think or use their minds.  Never forget, hate is the tool of Shaytan. 

Keep your eyes on the prize - Jennah, and use this special month to overcome hate, practice mercy, and develop taqwa.

Show mercy to all.  To those of other faiths or those with no faith, show mercy.  Practice the adab of the Prophet SAW, who was always kind, generous, gracious, friendly, warm, caring, professional, and sincere.  Smile and be friendly to all people.  If they abuse you, be even friendlier. Do not try to have a comeback for their verbal abuse. (You can imagine about that later, if that helps any). Say "a'uduu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim," and make du'a to Allah that they will find guidance. 

For those who claim to be Muslims, remember they are using brainwashing tactics.  DO NOT TRY TO RESPOND OR HAVE A COMEBACK FOR EVERYTHING.  The best response is to ignore them and walk away.  They will pursue you.  They may call your rude or that you lack adab - walk away.  When Shaytan taunted Ibrahim at Makkah, Ibrahim threw stones at him and walked away.  The person confronting you is not Shaytan himself, so stoning is not appropriate, but walking away is. Say "a'uduu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim," and make du'a to Allah that he will find guidance.  This might anger the person, if Shaytan really has a hold on him.  In that case, call security, the police, the authorities and file a complaint. 

Do not feel that it would be inappropriate to call the police when confronted by those under the brainwashing of Shaytan.  This is not the same as a brother or sister who is mistaken about something, or who may even be committing a sin.  When a person is a Muslim, we cover their faults and give them advice (nasihah).  We take care of things "in-house" as much as possible.  We reach out to Imams, trusted advisors, elders, if necessary.  But, these attacks by Shaytan on our community require a different response.  In Europe and North America, enforcement authority is in the hands of the police.  We pay "jizya", what they call taxes, for the protection of the state, just as the ahl-al-Kitab and those under protection pay jizya in an Islamic state.  And considering some of these people are being paid by the state to infiltrate and entrap our youth, we should not hesitate in the least to hold these people accountable for their abusive actions.

So this Ramadan, let us take advantage of this special opportunity to overcome hate.  We must begin by removing hate from our own hearts and replacing it with love of Allah.  When we do, we will be able to present a face of Islam to others that is loving, respectful, peaceful, full of sakinah, and full of the Noor of Allah.  Our children will also see this face.  We can also show people that this love is an active love, inspiring our actions in serving the community through charity and helping others.  Serving in the community is something we can do with our children too. And helping others connects us to real people, not virtual ones who ultimately do not care about us.  People who do activities together build bonds, and the more we act together, the stronger those bonds become. The stronger the bonds between individuals, the strong the society around us.  This all begins with taqwa, clinging to the rope, that firmest hand-hold, linking us to Allah SWT.

Family Opportunities

For parents, this is a great opportunity.  Why send your children and teens to the masjid, dropping them off and heading out to iftar parties, when you and your child can learn more about your deen together.  Why not find out how to address the hate-mongers of all stripes.  Strengthen your own iman and taqwa.  And ensure that your child is not falling in with agent provocateurs and hate-mongers.  Don't end up like so many parents these days, with your child's face plastered all over the TV as the latest terror bomber.  And then you have a camera in your face trying to explain that your son was not that way.... How do you know?  Did you go to the masjid with your son?  Or to that iftar party...

Ramadan is a wonderful time to build families.  In the past, we might have said, "strong families," but today, with each of us living in our own virtual worlds, just building families would be a start.  The family is the first place we connect with other people, the place where we learn love.  If we are all in our separate spaces, we do not learn love and we easily succumb to hate.  Ramadan is an opportunity to spend time together, with no distractions, and only the Qur'an in Tarawih for entertainment.  In fact, the word, tarawih means "entertainment." 

And do not pretend you know about your deen.  Too many "Ramadan Muslims" and regular attendees to our masaajid, do not know the deen or fiqh.  Yet, they parade around like shuyuk.  Only Allah is Alim, you are not.  When it comes to the knowledge you need to perform your job, you went to school, college, graduate school, etc.  This is knowledge you need to perform your 'ibaadah and establish your relationship with Allah - far more critical knowledge really.  So, what did you do to get knowledge of deen?  Hear some talk from your parents, friends, some TV evangelist/da'ii...  Oh, you read a book once - mabruk... Most don't read these days.  That makes you a makhallaf, not a mufti.  In fact, the schools of dawa in Arabia do not produce muftis either, although many of the graduates seem to think so.  We only have a handful of schools producing muftis within a madhhab in the Sunni world.  None of these schools produce mujtahids.  (The Shia have three hawzah in an-Najaf, Qom, and Mashshad, as well as some smaller hawzah producing ayatollah (mufti within the Jaafari madhhab, and a handful of marjaa at-taqlid/mujtahids).

So, instead of issuing fatwa and parading around a masjid you seldom attend outside of Ramadan, sit with your children and study with a truly knowledgeable person.  How do you know when a person is truly knowledgeable?  You know by his character.  First and foremost, he understands that he has no knowledge and only Allah is Alim.  Any understanding he has, Allah SWT has shared with him, and for that he is most grateful.  So, such a person is humble, sincere, honest, and just.  When discussing fiqh issues, he gives the dalil for his position. Never accept a position without a dalil - and "sheikh so and so said" is not a dalil.  If "sheikh so and so" was a sheikh, he gave a dalil. 

Now, we are aware that scholars may differ on a position.  In other places, we have addressed ikhtilaf.  However, in this context, we must understand that there are difference approaches and methodologies for extracting fiqh from the sources.  As long as a dalil is reasonable, it is acceptable.  We may not agree, we may find another position stronger, but as long as the dalil is reasonable, we cannot condemn a person for holding that positions and holding that position should never expose that person to verbal abuse, harassment or hate.  NO WUDU POLICE ALLOWED!!! This kind of harassing behavior drives people from the masaajid, and is unIslamic.  Remember how the Prophet SAW treated the beduin who urinated in the mosque.  Well, if you do not know this hadith and its implications, you have no business pretending to be a faqih.

Community Opportunities

 Speaking of our masaajid.  Many of our mosques and Islamic Centers and their controlling boards and members want to build the mosque and the Islamic school.  They are so focused on these things that they sometimes neglect teaching Islam.  We have hundreds of mediocre Islamic schools, but many of the children who attend are ignorant of fiqh and of deen.  Yes, they can make wudu and prayer, but they have no understanding of who they are praying to and why.  When coupled with the literalist dogma popular for the last hundred years or so, we have lost our spirituality at the expense of mechanistic posturing.  Only now, when this dogma has been stretched to its extreme, have people begun to look at a fuller picture of Islam.  Al-hamdulillah, we hope this trend continues. 

Our masaajid need to take a more active role in educating our adults.  All of the lessons the schools try to teach children are wiped out by parental behavior.  A sincere teacher may give a lesson on honesty, and then little Muhammad sees his father lie to friends, cheat customers, and cry "wa llahi wa llahi" to everyone else.  Who influences little Muhammad more?  Your child is not going to grow up like his teacher, he is going to grow up like you?  Who are you? 

Yes, some masaajid and shuyuk offer lectures and no one attends.  Yes this is a problem.  One solution is to help each other understand ikhtilaf.  Many do not understand why there are differences in fiqh.  For some, these differences put them off from attending lectures on fiqh.  So the first place we need to start is to offer lectures on usool al fiqh.  This does not have to be complicated, but such lectures do need to explain what fiqh is (the human understanding of the Law), how it relates to Shariah (the Divine Law), and why there can be ikhtilaf.  We also need to explain the basic minahij of the major schools.  We need to understand that these different methodologies naturally lead to different results.  And we need to emphasize that although we may prefer one school over another or one position over another, Allah Ta'ala Alim is our guide.  As long as a position is reasonable, we accept is as possible.

Then, once a person understands that ikhtilaf is natural and not necessarily a source of fitnah, we can explore the dalil behind various fiqh positions and enable a person to make informed choices.  We can then accept those choices and build respect and toleration of each other as members of an ummah. 

And all of this begins with that merciful month of Ramadan.  In Ramadan, we gain taqwa, we build connections to Allah and to His creation, we build families, we build our Ummah. 

We remind everyone that the second part of Ramadan is about forgiveness - Allah forgives us, and we forgive each other.  The third part of Ramadan brings us a reward.  Fasting is for Allah alone.  We could be showing off in prayer or zakat, but fasting, only Allah SWT knows and He rewards it with Jennah. 

May Allah SWT reward us all with Jennat ul-Firdaws.