Tamil Nadu

Ramadhan, the month of piety

The Sacred month of Ramadhan, for the Muslims, the world over, is a season of piety and prayers, charity and compassion, fasting and fraternity. It was made obligatory by Almighty Allah to every healthy adult Muslim except the sick and the traveler. It begins with the sighting of the new moon of Ramadhan, ninth month in Islamic Calendar and ends with the sighting of the new moon in the succeeding month of Shawwal. The period of fasting is either 30 or 29 days. It rotates i n all the major seasons of the year, sometimes in the winter of short and cold days and sometimes into summer of long and hot days, thereby acclimatising the faster to all the upheavals of various climes and times, infusing in him a high sense of adaptability to meet any eventuality in life. Even in the severest summer, when he is alone in the innermost chamber of his room, he desists from the temptation of quenching his thirst even by a single drop of water, as his innermost conscience tells him “God watches my action.” Truly a heavenly prescription, instilling in him a high sense of spiritual, moral and physical discipline. It helps in chartering his life in noble planes, thereby abjuring all evil thoughts and actions. The Quranic injunction ordains to the Muslims to abstain from all foods and drinks and sexual intercourse from the sight of dawn (Sehri) till sunset (Ifthar).

The Quranic verse tells further that Ramadhan is the month in which the Holy Quran was sent down as “a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgement”. Prophet Muhammed (Sal) says “And whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food or drinks.”

Fasting is a moral nourishment and strives to establish the supremacy of the soul over body. The Apostle of Allah says “when the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of Heaven are flung open and the gates of Hell are shut up and the devils are chained.”

Fasting stands alone as the only act of worship not seen by anyone except God. It reins in animal passion and desires, as these appetites are strengthening carnal lusts.

The Apostle of Allah has told his noble wife Hazrath Aisha (R.A.) “Persist in knocking the door of Paradise”, when she asked, “with what shall I knock the door of Paradise?, he replied, “With hunger.”

Fasting is not broken at random. The observance of prescribed timings of beginning and breaking the fast in consonance with Divine injunctions, has its own virtue, a system institutionalised by Prophet Muhammed (Sal) to which the entire Ummath is awake, cultivating in them a high sense of brotherhood and unity of God. The culmination of fasting is celebrated by all the Muslims, wherever they are, by assembling in huge congregational prayers – offering thankfulness to God Almighty, in vast spaces before noon – the spirit of camaraderie pervading the atmosphere.

Lion FIRDAUS K AHMED,

District Chairman – Lions Club International.

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