Some ulamas described Ramadhan as a Training Instituiion where good Muslims learn to face the hardships of life with patience and earn bountiful credits for whatever good deed that one does in the month.All prayers and good deeds ( Amal Soleh) will be rewarded 700 or more times than what is usually awarded in the normal month and abstaining from what is prohibited by Islam will earn one the same enhanced bonus.
Yes, we see Muslims thronging the madrasahs and mosques to overflowing capacity in Ramadhan , especially at night until after the marathon prayer session (taraweh) and the al-quran recital ( tadarus). There will be talks and lectures given by various Imams through the month.
But what do we see in the day especially late afternoon? People thronging the Ramadhan Bazaars, now found all over the country, to buy all kinds of goodies and delicacies for breaking their fast at the setting of the sun. You can find all the varieties of traditional and modern cookies and dishes being sold, so much so that non-Muslims also take advantage of the fare. You'll never find such offerings at any other time in the year. For all food connoisseurs in the world, this is the best time to visit Malaysia and tickle your taste-bud to no end.
I am sure that even in the war-torn Muslim countries, this is a time to cease fighting the evils of the world and politics, and concentrate on fighting the inner evils of the soul, if you've not already sold it to Satan. Why,you can even try to reprieve it if that has already happened. For the warlords and evil-mongers it's time to dig ( I quote Ken Wilber in Boomeritis) "beneath the veneer of civilized madness to find, it is devoutly hoped, an original human goodness long buried by the brutalities of a modern world rubbed raw by viciousness."
We still hear people saying that the Muslims are belligerent and warlike in nature. Talk to them in this fasting month, share their thoughts and reflections, their values and their ideals. You'll find that they are among the most friendly people in the world. Of course there are the extremists and fundamentalists - even the average Muslims could not see eye-to-eye with them.
2 comments:
Akhi Norzah,
A quote most apt!
Ramadhan is a respite, an intermission sort of. A holy month is inserted by the AlMighty in between other months. It serves to remind one to check, an awareness imposed on us that we cannot avoid every year.It allows us to ponder and backtrack on the one hand or to reflect and resolve to enhance of the other.The will of God! That's how I see it in a practical sense!
Hank
That's beautifully said, Akhi Kaykuala. If you heard what the US Presidential candidate said about the Muslim in Palestine and how they had murdered the Israelis, you wouldn't believe your ears. As one Iranian commentators said, it sounded like a joke. But it sure could reflect the thinking of the American people, that the Muslims are the trouble makers in this world while the Americans are the saviors.
And that is being said while we Muslims are honoring the moth of Ramadhan and praying for peace and Allah's forgiveness.
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