By Imran Malik
The blessed and holy month of Ramadan is in full swing. About two billion Muslims around the world observe the ritual of fasting from dawn to dusk during this 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Fasting during Ramadan is just not an act of worship during which one abstains from eating, drinking and spousal relations but it’s a practice to build spirituality and social empathy.
Ramadan is a time for self-reflection and to be intentional to self-train one’s mind and body to adhere and regiment to a more spiritual routine that can be observed through the year.
The 29/30 days of fasting in this month depending on the lunar cycle, is a boot camp for not a weight watcher program but again to assist with strengthening one’s spirituality and being more aware and responsible for others around us — family, kinship, neighbors, community etc.
Ramadan, for Muslims is a month full of blessings, giving back, atonement, internalization both at personal and communal levels. It’s a month of spiritual cleansing and strengthening with the thought process to build social empathy towards others. It is for this reason that right during this month of spiritual purifications, Muslims are also ordained to practice Zakat/Charity (purification of one’s wealth) by giving 2.5% of one’s annual savings towards communal charity.
The idea is that helping others both financially and with in-kind we all become partners in alleviating social financial burdens and that automatically is a value-add for lifting others. A society where everyone is there to lend a hand to each other makes it organically vibrant and tranquil. The act of paying Zakat/charity is made as one of the five fundamentals of faith along with —
* Shahadah/Confession: believing in One God (Allah) and Mohammed as His last messenger)
* Salah/Prayers: 5 daily obligatory prayers. Fajr (at Dawn), Dhur (around noon), Asr (mid-way between noon and sunset), Maghrib (sunset), Isha (nighttime)
* Siyam/Fasting: 29/30 days of fasting during the month of Ramadan
* Zakat/Charity: paying 2.5% of one’s annual saving in charity to purify the wealth
* Hajj/Pilgrimage: journey to the city of Makkah during the prescribed days of the month of Zul-Hijjah and perform the obligatory rituals per Islamic faith, at least once in a lifetime as permitted by one’s economical means and health.
Ramadan is also called the month of Quran — the Muslim Holy book, that was revealed to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). It’s believed that the revelation of this book to the Prophet started in the month of Ramadan in the valley of Makkah and in the cave of Hira by the archangel Jibreel/Gabriel. Per Islamic belief it took 23 years for Quran to be fully revealed to Mohammed (PBUH) at various times during his lifetime as a Prophet.
It is for this reason that reading, reciting, and even memorizing Quran becomes an increased and elevated practice among Muslims during the month of Ramadan.
(Imran Malik is an interfaith leader and practitioner of Islamic faith in greater Columbus area. Malikiahrs@gmail.com)
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