Muslims performing Tarawih prayers on the eve of Ramadan at Masjid Wilayah, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday evening. |
RAMADAN commemorates the time of year during which the man who would be the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad bin Abdullah, peace be upon him, took his annual retreat into the hills behind Mecca to fast and meditate in a spiritual cleansing.
About three weeks into that seclusion in the year 610, Muhammad underwent the shattering experience that marked the commencement of the Revelation of the Holy Quran — the affirmation and seal of the great message of Abraham (Q3:95).
Ever since, Ramadan has been observed by Muslims as a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayer and spiritual observance (Q2:184-185). The classical Arabic word for this abstinence is siyam or sawm. It refers to a condition of stillness, expressing an ideal tranquility of mind, heart and soul.
A mundane interpretation of the Fast says it is meant to remind Muslims of what it feels like to be poor and hungry. To some extent this is valid (though millions of Muslims would need no such reminder), but the Fast is much deeper. It seeks to cleanse the physical body by asserting the discipline of the will. As such, fasting is an exercise in transcendence.
Yet, Ramadan is not meant to be a sequestered, joyless time. The duties of life are not to be forgone; work continues by day, if at a gentler pace to allow for leaner fuel. By night, families are meant to commune at the Breaking of Fast, and married couples are encouraged to intimacy (Q2:187) — many Muslim cultures consider children conceived during the month of Ramadan to be doubly blessed.
Most of all, Ramadan is a time for the suspension of hostilities. The Quran is too knowing of human nature blithely to call for peace and goodwill, but for this one month, there was to be no warring. Instead, antagonists were to reflect on themselves in contemplation of who they are, what they are intended to do, how they are to do it, and above all, why (Q4:94).
Ramadan is a time of contemplation towards clarity; of the analysis of motives and deeds.
