Applying Ramadhan's values

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.