Applying Ramadhan's values

A.Chaedar Alwasilah, Dean, Faculty of Language and Arts, Indonesia University, of Education (UPI), Bandung, chaedar@bdg.centrin.net.id

Once a year, all Muslims are obliged to fast for a whole month during Ramadhan, which means, literally, "extremely hot". The Arabic word for fasting is shaum or shiyam, meaning to restrain oneself, thus suggesting that during the month of Ramadhan all Muslims should control their desires, lust, and ambition for excessive worldly gains.

The remaining 11 months of the year are more than enough for amassing wealth and fortune, and Ramadhan is the most appropriate month for cooling off and reflecting upon what has been accomplished during the year. Muslims are always reminded of the importance of developing a balance between our worldly lives and the hereafter, and between the vertical communication with Allah and the horizontal communication with other human beings.

Ramadhan has both a spiritual and a social dimension. It is spiritual in the sense that Muslims should believe that fasting is an indicator of total submission, devotion, and dedication to Allah the Almighty. As with the syahadat (the testimony that there is no God except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger), the five daily prayers, zakat (giving alms to the poor), and the haj, the fasting in Ramadhan is a pillar of Islam.

The Koran states that fasting is a ritual enforced on past generations of human beings, and thus implies that fasting has universal and everlasting values. The practice of abstaining from food, drink, and sex for spiritual reasons exists in almost every religion.

Fasting is social in the sense that its implications should be noticeable at social, as well as individual, levels. When one can restrain oneself from enjoying one's natural rights such as eating and drinking, then one can logically restrain from dispossessing others' belongings and rights. Through history, we have learned that social conflict often occurs when a person violates the rights of others.

A fasting person is highly recommended to break their fast as soon as dusk falls, and to have breakfast at dawn. This means that a fasting person is taught to develop time-awareness and self-discipline, while also suggesting that fasting is a ritual where physical health and spiritual bliss come together.

It is indeed exhausting and laborious for most fasting persons to avoid natural, bodily needs, but it is even more exhausting and laborious to restrain him or herself from lying, gossiping about other people, breaking a promise, and giving false testimony.

Unlike proclaiming syahadat, performing daily prayers, giving alms, and going on the haj, fasting is an unobservable ritual act. Nobody knows whether someone is fasting or not unless they confess, and it is hoped that this honesty is mutually reciprocated.

The predawn meal and breaking-the-fast meal act like magnets, bringing together the whole family who were scattered outside the home. The husband-wife, parent-children, and brother-sister relationships are strengthened and love is fostered. A fasting family thus has the potential to be a responsible component of society.

It is during Ramadhan that mosques attract the most visitors to mass prayers, thus suggesting that the holy month also promotes communal unity. It is the month which promises fasting Muslims the most hope, motivation, and enthusiasm, and further, rewards and compensation for all good deeds are multiplied during the month.

It is said that the prophet Muhammad was a very generous person, particularly during Ramadhan. This reminds Muslims that the quality of Ramadhan depends on the quality of their activities. Ramadhan teaches us to be sensitive to the fate of the needy, particularly in these difficult times.

The holy fasting month is the month when the Koran was revealed to Muhammad, which is commemorated on the 17th day of Ramadhan. Fasting persons are recommended to recite and meditate on the Koran. Every year, Muslims beat drums as a signal to stimulate the habit of reading and to resound the campaign for mass literacy.

Allah imposed the holy fasting month of Ramadhan for the individual and social benefits elaborated above. Thus, fasting for Muslims is a form of revitalizing the thrust of self-control, self-discipline, time awareness, honesty, family reunion, love, social cohesion, reading habit, and mass literacy.

As the most populous Muslim country, Indonesia should set a good model of applying the values of Ramadhan in social activities, and Muslims should be critical of themselves as to what extent the values of Ramadhan are manifested in their daily lives. Ramadhan is observed every year, as the prayers are performed every day. If these religious duties are observed merely as a formality, they would not have any effect on social life.