Fasting's best lesson virtue of self-restraint<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Practicing fasting during the holy Ramadhan
\nmonth is always spiritually enriching.<\/p>\n
Abstaining from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse
\nbetween dawn and dusk is simply the means to attain the spiritual
\nexperience, but it is certainly not the ends.<\/p>\n
For those who feel they have reached that level of experience,
\nthere is a deep sense of happiness that far outweighs the pain,
\nif you can call it that, of foregoing food and drink and all the
\npleasures of worldly life during the daytime.<\/p>\n
Fasting is also intended to promote a sense of social
\nsolidarity among Moslems. By fasting, they will feel what it is
\nlike to go without food for a few hours, a fraction of what many
\nof their less fortunate brothers and sisters have to endure for
\nlonger periods every day.<\/p>\n
This particular aspect of fasting has probably diminished over
\ntime, especially for those who live in big cities. Working within
\nthe comforts of air-conditioned offices and driving in air-
\nconditioned cars, most people no longer have to sweat it out to
\nget through Ramadhan the way they used to a decade or two ago.<\/p>\n
Noted Moslem scholar A. Mustofa Bisri believes that what
\ncounts most is the intention of fasting. It determines whether
\nyour fasting is accepted or not.<\/p>\n
Gus Mus, as the 53-year-old father of six daughters and a son
\nis popularly known, talked about the essence of Ramadhan with The
\nJakarta Post by phone from his residence in Rembang, Central
\nJakarta, on Friday.<\/p>\n
Questionb: What differences do you see in fasting today and
\nduring your childhood?<\/p>\n
Gus Mus: There are significant differences. During our
\nchildhood, we observed Ramadhan only to imitate adults. It was
\nmore for the fun of it. Sometimes we secretly drank while taking
\na bath. And I also experienced a totally different Ramadhan
\nduring my days at an Islamic boarding school.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, I always spend the fasting month at home with my
\nfamily. So together we welcomed Ramadhan, perform the fasting
\nritual and celebrate Idul Fitri together. It is the time when we
\nmeet most, more so than any other month of the year.<\/p>\n
Q: Ramadhan is supposed to teach Moslems about suffering and
\ndeprivation that the poor often experience. But people in big
\ncities may have difficulties in feeling that spiritual
\nexperience. They often go on diets and they have air-conditioned
\noffices and cars...<\/p>\n
G: We (Moslems) have always believed that the essence of fasting
\nis to promote the virtue of self-restraint. I can't see any
\nreason why we have to reduce our routine activities during
\nRamadhan. My personal experience, for example, is that I always
\nhave a full teaching schedule during Ramadhan. My only spare time
\nis after sahur (meal before sunrise) and before the dawn prayer,
\nso I always have lots of work during the holy month.<\/p>\n
Q: But some people reschedule their activities or even slow down
\ntheir work...<\/p>\n
G: People certainly adjust their activities, such as changing
\ntheir eating schedules, and for some it takes a while to get used
\nto this new rhythm. In the first few days, for example, some
\npeople probably sleep longer hours during the day because they
\nstayed up late the previous night. But there are also people who
\nsimply become lazy. It happens everywhere.<\/p>\n
Some people do not see the religious value of fasting, but
\nthey fast nevertheless and adjust their eating schedules. These
\npeople gain nothing, as Prophet Muhammad once said, they only
\ngain hunger and thirst, but nothing else.<\/p>\n
Q: But for some people in big cities fasting is made easier.<\/p>\n
G: Certainly. There are air-conditioned buildings everywhere. And
\nif you feel hot, you can always go to air-conditioned shopping
\nmalls, walk into a supermarket or watch a movie at a cinema. And
\nbefore you know it, maghrib (sunset and time to break the fast)
\narrives.<\/p>\n
But for them, Ramadhan simply becomes shifting their meal
\ntimes. They are killing time until maghrib. They're not really
\nall that different from children who fast only to anticipate the
\nmoment to break the fast.<\/p>\n
Q: In the old days there were no modern facilities like what we
\nhave today.<\/p>\n
G: Essentially, it's not all that different. People were killing
\ntime until maghrib. The difference today is there are a lot more
\nthings to do to pass the time. Those who fast for purposes other
\nthan religion will gain nothing spiritually.<\/p>\n
Q: Who then should we blame? The person or the time?<\/p>\n
G: The person. Time has no interest. Allah loses nothing. Fasting
\nis essentially a personal interest. If you don't need anything
\nfrom Allah, you don't have to fast. But if you do, you must play
\naccording to the rules. You can't just do only what suits you.<\/p>\n
Q: What about those who spend the day working until maghrib?<\/p>\n
G: The quality of fasting depends on your intention. If you see
\nfasting as a way of going on a diet, you'll get the benefits of a
\ndiet. If you fast to impress your friends, you will impress your
\nfriends. If you fast in the name of Allah, you'll be rewarded
\nlikewise.<\/p>\n
Q: So hanging around in malls while fasting is wrong then?<\/p>\n
G: No. It's not wrong because Allah knows the maximum capacity of
\nhuman beings. It is equally wrong if someone forces himself to
\nfast without breaking it.<\/p>\n
Q: What about casual workers, like construction workers, who have
\nto fast in the middle of hot days?<\/p>\n
G: Allah rewards his subjects accordingly.<\/p>\n
These people may gain higher rewards for getting through the
\nday fasting in very difficult conditions. For example, if most
\nother people are given a score of 10 for fasting, construction
\nworkers could get a score of 700 or even seven million. As a
\nsaying of Prophet Muhammad goes, those who read the Holy Koran,
\neven if they cannot read it properly, will be rewarded twice:
\nonce for reading it and the other for making the effort.<\/p>",
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