A time to rejuvenate faith

ONCE again, the month of Rama­dan is here, Alhamdulillah.

Many Malays engage in the cultural tradition of holding kenduri (feasts) such as a kenduri arwah or kenduri menyambut puasa to mark the coming month of great blessings promised by Allah the Most High.

During Ramadan, all acts of charity and goodness will be multiplied 700 times which means... a lot lah!

But surprisingly, many Muslims do not understand the importance of social transformation and nation-building that adds on to the higher power of iman, or faith.

I feel that many Malays only think of breaking fast and performing the Tarawih prayer at mosques as participating in acts that will elevate them spiritually. They fail to see the social transformative power of Ramadan at the national and humanity levels.

Firstly, Ramadan teaches pati­en­ce. If you are angry and project your temper, you might as well break your fast.

The Prophet said that if such persons still fast till Maghrib (sunset), they will only have hunger and thirst, and zero spiritual reward in the eyes of Allah.

There have been times when tempers were lost and bad words were uttered over non-Muslims opening restaurants or holding events involving eating in front of fasting Muslims. But that is the challenge of patience!

The highest reward is for those who practise patience in the middle of challenges. Eliminating chal­lenges by, say, sleeping all day and staying away from any temptation, means nothing.

Secondly, the feeling of hunger must elicit the highest charity to be given to poor people and the homeless.

Many Muslims race against one another to feed the poor and offer food to strangers. It is believed that if a Muslim offers food to another person who is fasting, both of them will reap the benefits of the fast and its blessing.

Ramadan encourages generosity at an unprecedented scale.

Rich Muslims are known to sponsor thousands and give millions of ringgit to mosques to prepare food for the breaking of fast.

I have experienced breaking fast in mosques in the United States and Scotland during my time studying in those countries. The food was always both wonderful and generous in quantity.

Non-Muslims are invited to partake too. This had nothing to do with trying to convert people, but were merely acts of simple human sharing.

The sahur, when we wake in the wee hours to eat before we begin our day-long fast, can be difficult. It is most challenging to tear oneself from bed and even more challenging to eat at 4am!

To me, this act has a secret purpose: to encourage the Tahajjud, or night prayer. The Tahajjud prayer requires one to sleep first and wake up to perform prayers for as many rakaats, or cycles, as one desires to evoke a closeness to Allah without anyone witnessing the act.

Or one can engage in the Taubat prayer, or prayer of repen­tance, and recount the not-so-good deeds of one’s life, making a promise and resolving to do ­better.

This act of self-reflection easily occurs in the silent air of the morning before the rush hour of life at 6am. This act of self-reflection can transform the individual and make him and her a better member of society.

Thus, to me, patience, charity and the act of self-reflection form the foundational message of Rama­­­dan.

It is said that during Ramadan, all the forces of evil, or syaitan, are chained by malaikat, the angels, and that allows humans to flower into a new form of being much closer to the divine, one that purges itself from racial bias, religious bigotry and material arrogance.

Ramadan is a month of clean­sing, and after this time, it is hoped that the spirit and its aura will linger unto the next month.

The optional Puasa Enam (six days of fasting) is instituted after the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

This act is harder as most Muslims will be enjoying the rewards of a month of fasting by indulging in merriment and eating, but those following Puasa Enam have to keep their peace and move about silently, patiently and in spiritual humility for six days straight.

After that, the fasting of Prophet Daud can be taken up; this is done on alternate days. The Prophet also encouraged Puasa Sunnat (non-obligatory) throughout the year, usually falling on Mondays and Thursdays.

Ramadan is the strongest act of rejuvenating faith into a powerhouse of social transformation. Not only will it benefit Muslims, but Ramadan must also be a blessing for the world as a time when patience and peace go hand in hand while charity and poverty console each other.

Selamat menyambut bulan Ramadan to all!

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.