8 December 2001, 12:09am IST
MUTHUSAMY VARADARAJAN.
As muslims the world over observe the fast of ramadan, the month of the holy koran, of mercy, forgiveness, fasting, prayer, solidarity and mutual help, they recall laylat al-qadr or the night of power, of the first revelation of the holy book to the prophet — a millennium and half ago. the fast commences with the pre-dawn meal of suhoor , followed by the fajr or prayer at sunrise, separated by the time taken to recite 50 ayats. the prophet said: ‘‘blessing is in three; the jama’a or congregation; the thareed or a special broth and the suhoor ’’. it ends at sunset with some dates, followed by the maghrib or prayer. allah’s messenger expounded five basic principles of islam: to testify to the one god allah and avow mohammed as his messenger; to offer congregational prayers; zakat or obligatory charity; haaj and ibn ‘umar or the ramadan fast. the pylons of the fast are sincere intention and abstaining from acts that break the fast. what acts disrupt the fast? principally, intentional eating, drinking and smoking: if it is out of forgetfulness, the prophet declared that he should complete his fast, for, ‘‘what he has eaten or drunk has been given to him by allah’’; physical intimacy, except at night — this is to inculcate further self-restraint; poor intention, that is, failing to ‘intend’ — before dawn — to fast, and intending to stop fasting at any point in the day. while fasting during travel is optional, there are certain permissible exceptions, with prescriptions for expiation. insane, chronically sick, frail and elderly persons and those who have no alternative, but to toil under harsh conditions for their livelihood are exempt. basically allah, ‘‘has not laid upon you in your religion any hardship’’. but what is truly remarkable about the ramadan fast is not any exposition of the benefits to the body but its total emphasis on self-denial, in order to experience the deprivation of the less privileged, thus to appreciate better, the gifts of allah, as also its embargo on vain speech and foul language. the prophet declared: ‘‘if one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say, i am fasting, i am fasting’’. it is but natural, though, that a few ill-chosen or misplaced words are spoken by the people who are on fast. for them is zakat al-fitr prescribed in atonement, as well as to feed the needy on the day of id. this is mandatory for every muslim, for himself and on behalf of those he is in charge of. on id-ul-fitr, he has to give alms to the poor, to those who help collect and distribute alms, to debtors who cannot redeem their debts and to travellers and strangers. the ramadan fast is not so much to prescribe a regimen for the body but to show the clear and true path to taqwa . its essence is in the bridling of passions, curbing the desires for gratification of the self, abstinence from base thoughts, display of forgiveness and exercise of charity. and charity, for the prophet, is manifold; it consists of a bouquet of acts like putting a lost wayfarer on the right road, giving water to the thirsty, smiling upon your brother’s face, and raising your hand in greeting persons one knows and knows not. in a crisp summation he declared: ‘‘a man’s true wealth hereafter is the good he does in this world to his fellow men’’. charity has to be in tandem with righteousness: ‘‘who repenteth and believeth and doth righteous work, as for such, allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds’’. at the onset of this holiest of holy months, let us remind ourselves that no religion preaches lack of charity or non-righteousness or adharma. sarve janaha sukhino bhavantu , intones the hindu: let humankind be happy. ‘‘righteousness will triumph over evil, so never give way to the deadly emotions of anger, envy, fear and grief’’, says zarathustra. ‘‘love thy neighbour as thyself’’, preached christ. if this be so, what do we fight for and what about, in the tormented killing fields of afghanistan, algeria, northern ireland, the middle east? yehuda amichai the poet wailed: ‘‘half the people love, half the people hate. and where is my place between the halves that are so well-matched?’’ the answer lies in the koran: ‘‘repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! between whom and thee there was enmity will become, as though he was a bosom friend’’. truly this is the answer of ramadan.
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