THE MONTH OF CONTEMPLATION
Patience and Self-Control
RAMAZAN is a month of restraint and worship, of caring and thanksgiving, repentance and piety. The multitude of benefits of Ramazan inspired the Prophet to exclaim: “Welcome to the one who purifies! “ There is a very special connection between the Quran and Ramazan, for Ramazan is the month in which the Quran was revealed. The Quran makes special mention of this, while making the fast obligatory for its followers. In the words of the Quran: “The month of Ramazan is the month when the Quran was sent down as guidance for mankind with clear proofs of guidance and the criterion by which to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month, let him fast; but he who is ill or on a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on.” (2: 183-185)
The Quran is specially recited during this month so that believers may reflect upon it, understand its deeper meaning and make it a guiding force in their lives. At night the Quran is also recited during the Tarawih (extra prayers during Ramazan) prayer.
In the month of Ramazan, the fasting person abstains from food and drink from dawn till dusk. It is only after sunset that he satisfies his hunger and quenches his thirst. In this way he learns the art of desire management and so builds up his self-control. By exercising restraint for one month in a year, he is able to lead a life of self-discipline in all matters for the rest of the year.
By exercising restraint for one month in a year, a fasting person is able to lead a life of self-discipline in all matters for the rest of the year.
The main aim of fasting is to lessen a person’s dependence on material things and strengthen his spiritual resolve, so that he may enter the higher realms of piety. Fasting is thus a stimulus for spiritual and intellectual development. Once made aware of his own helplessness, he connects to God with sincere prayer.
The practice of fasting is also largely aimed at saving a person from distractions. It produces sincerity in him. It draws a person’s attention away from the external world and into the internal world. Hence fasting prepares him for the study of the Quran. And when a person studies the Quran with a well-prepared mind, he can understand the teachings of the Quran in greater depth.
The equivalent of spirituality in the Quran is rabbania, that is, a God oriented life. This expresses what the Quran means when it refers to spirituality. Spirituality, according to the Quran, is that mental state in which God-oriented thinking can develop in the individual. Such thinking reflects in his overall personality; his behaviour with others becomes Godoriented and his daily life becomes infused with divine hues. Thus Ramazan provides a framework within which devotees may improve themselves. Ramazan thus becomes a month of spiritual activism.
The main aim of fasting is to lessen a person's dependence on material things and develop a Godoriented thinking which will strengthen his spiritual and intellectual development.
The fasting person repeatedly reads in the Quran that God is the Sustainer, that is, while man is the taker, God is the Giver. Everything that a person receives in this world, right from his existence and the oxygen he inhales to stay alive to the sunlight necessary for his survival, everything is God’s gift. When a person starts to think in this way, he experiences a tremendous change within. He begins living in society as a giver-member. He becomes a creative member of society.
Fasting inclines one to become a student of the Quran and, by seriously studying the Quran, one discovers those principles by which one may develop one’s personality and become a positive thinker in the full sense.
In this world the aspirants to wealth and fame do
not meet with success throughout their careers.
Many are the trials and tribulations through
which they must pass before they can savour the
fruits of their endeavours.