Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting. One month of fasting. If all we do is not eat, then our only benefit is that we’ll be hungry. There are many secrets to Ramadan. Each time we do this fast, some secrets may be revealed to us.
Fasting is the only worship of Allah done in total secrecy. Only Allah knows. It is said that when you fast, you should rub oil on your beard so others don’t know you’re fasting. We pray openly in front of other people, it is seen. When we give in charity, we give it out. But fasting is a secret between each peson and Allah. And only Allah knows whether you do it or don’t do it. You can stay home and eat three meals a day and tell people you’re fasting. Nobody knows. Allah knows. And you know.
But fasting from food is just a small part of Ramadan. We have to fast from our anger. We have to fast from being greedy, being unkind, being unfriendly. We have to have a fast of speech. Only say things that we really mean. Only hear those things that are necessary for us to hear. Only walk to those places that are necessary to go. No fiviolity. And think that when we don’t eat there are people who, unlike us, cannot eat because there’s no food.
And so we fast, and we take no food or water during the daylight hours. But in late afternoon our mind tells us: “Don’t worry. Take a nap. You’ll wake up in three hours. It will only be thirty more minutes, then you can eat.”
There are people, as in Ethiopia, who have no food. They get down on their knees and follow an ant until that ant goes to its little hill where it has placed a seed, and they take that seed and eat it. We don’t know about hunger. We take a hot shower every morning. There are peole who have never had hot water.
So how do I explore this life? Maybe I take a hot shower. All right, it’s there for me to use. Perhaps just before I step out of the shower, I make it very cold. And in that moment I know that there are people who don’t have hot water. How many times have we given clothing to someone who was cold? A coat to a shivering man? A piece of bread to someone who’s hungry? We don’t stop to reflect that Allah has created everyone. We are not hungry like that man who had to follow an ant to get a seed.
Think, think about how you will make your next Ramadan. And like anything that’s worth something, prepare for it. Let us not think only of ourselves.
It’s difficult. We will get angry. There’s tension. We’re still working at our jobs. In this country it’s required of us to continue doing everything we normally do. No one out there cares if you’re eating or fasting. The boss doesn’t care. He wants the job done. Ramadan is the most wonderful opportunity to see oneself. How short we are with someone else if we’re hungry. Just a little hungry. What’s our temper like? Do we get angry? Can we not get angry? And after we’ve taken that first bit of food during the iftar, break of fast, do we forget the rest of the day? And then do we just have this big feast? That’s not it. We are not talking about having a feast every night.
Allah comes very close to the believers during Ramadan. He gives us the most wonderful opportunity to see who we are and how we are. How we are toward ourselves and how we are toward others. So that we can use this in our daily life.
I suggest that all of us really think about Ramadan. Read the hadith. Talk to people. Get a measure of how we will spend the month of fasting. Then do it, use it as a laboratory.
There is a charity for everything. The charity for the body is fasting. After we’ve gone a whole month not having cigarettes, maybe we don’t have to pick them up again. We like to have adventures, so we do things that obviously endanger our health. The packet says so. We read it every day. Is smoking adventure, defiance, or a wish for oblivion.
InshaAllah, we will think about these things. And that Allah will give us each a good Ramadan. One in which we can learn. And to carry it through, not just to leave it after it’s finished. But to use it as a teacher. And to be appreciative that Allah has given us so much, that we are truly the wealthiest people in the world. The fact that Allah lets us swallow our food – isn’t that a gift? If you could not swallow your food, if you had to throw up and vomit your food, would it make any difference if you vomited into a solid gold bowl? None.
We are extremely wealthy, wealthier than millionaires. Yet we take our riches for granted. As if they are due. So, inshaAllah, we can be thankful and use these ears to hear the Name of Allah. And these eyes to see the traces of Allah everywhere. And this tongue to say the Name of Allah. And this wonderful mind to remember Allah.
NaksibendiMuslimah
Umm Layth
A'ishah
ammena