Podcast
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Almost 15 days have passed since Ramadan. When a new country is established, or some particularly important events happen, people often celebrate or commemorate these important days every year, for example, National Day, Independence Day or certain religious festivals. The Qur’an was revealed to the world for the first time in the month of Ramadan, clarifying right and wrong, true and false, revealing men’s lies about their Creator, and appointing Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a prophet, as a teacher, to teach people to be good and avoid evil, teach people etiquette, righteousness and shame, and so on. The advent of the Qur’an is a major event in human history and we celebrate it every year, not just as a day’s celebration but as a month’s celebration.
Muslims celebrate in a unique way, not temporary, luxurious, ostentatious or full of eating, drinking and shopping, but instead by fasting, remembering Allah, obeying him, loving him, trying to get close to him, reciting His words, doing extra prayers, asking whatever is on your mind, and celebrating by doing more good deeds. In order to enrich and nourish our own soul, to show gratitude and consciousness to Allah. And this is the way to please Allah!
(2:183) O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous
Bukhari recorded that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “(Allah said), ‘Every good deed of Adam’s son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I shall reward (the fasting person) for it.’ Verily, the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk.”
Fasting is not eating or drinking after sunrise and before sunset, people often have different desires, and eating and drinking are the basic for survival, even if some people may not pay much attention to food, but when one is thirsty or hungry, it’s natural to have desire to eat and drink. This is the most basic and indispensable, and a desire that must be repeated every day. Therefore, if a person does not believe in Allah, why and for what one will control his desire for a month?
For many Muslims, fasting is also to get closer to Allah.
Apart from eating and drinking, intimacy between husband and wife is also forbidden. In order to allow us to have better self-control and get closer to Allah, and to increase our consciousness of Allah in our daily life, that is Taqwa, fasting is like helping us to let go of all distracting thoughts temporarily.
(2:185) The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
From this verse, it’s understanding that Ramadan is also the month of reading the Qur’an. So fasting, as mentioned before, temporarily puts aside all distracting thoughts for us, so that we can have more time to read and study the Qur’an, and reflect and ponder about what it teaches.
It also gives us some private time, based on the Quran, to examine whether our daily behavior is close to the teachings of the Quran, to try to solve and overcome the defects of our own character and behaviour, and at the same time, to establish and improve some of our own character and behaviour.
For those who cannot fast due to illness or travel, Allah has also given mercy and remedies. The most important thing is that whether we can fast or not, a sincere heart and heartfelt gratitude are indispensable.
Fasting is not only limited to physical enjoyment, but also spiritual training. “Taqwa” in Arabic, translated as God consciousness. Taqwa means giving up prohibited things, and in general terms includes both doing what is commanded and abstaining from what is forbidden.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it and offensive speech and behaviour, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.” (Al-Bukhari)
That means, when fasting: do not tell lies, do not speak vulgar words, do not say useless words, avoid watching or listening to useless things, do more good deeds, and share food with others, etc. Therefore, even if it is impossible to fast due to certain factors, spiritual fasting is not restricted by any factors. Therefore, one will not feel disappointed or lonely because one cannot fast physically, as fasting spiritually is equally important.
Sometimes, don’t feel guilty about feeling tired, or feel that you have to have a different kind of bliss to experience a fast. In fact, because of the struggle of the soul, if one still insists on fasting, self-discipline and asking for forgiveness, Allah’s reward will be extra.
However, the purpose of fasting is not only to show faith and respect to Allah, but also to change oneself. It is hoped that through physical and spiritual self-control, it can be maintained and continued after Ramadan, even if it is only a little bit, or It only lasts for a short while.
As mentioned in the article by the author Xie Song:
Only when a person can control his own desires, can he live freely and succeed. The reason why a person is tired/stressed in life, precisely because of too much greed in desire. Excessive desire blinds his eyes and prevents him from seeing what he has, so he doesn’t know how to be grateful and satisfied. Desire is a double-edged sword, beneficial and detrimental, or a driving force, which motivates people to make progress, or a fetter, which hinders people’s happiness. Desire is to serve people if it is controlled well, and to destroy people if it is not controlled.
(2:186) And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
Therefore, make good use of this Ramadan and keep asking for forgiveness and prayers for the blessings of this world and the Hereafter, as this verse mentions that Allah is very near, He answers prayers. While praying, absolute belief and trust in Allah, then we can obtain his guidance to follow the right path. Wishing everyone a successful Ramadan!
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