Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Pillars of Islam | Spirit of Ramadan
Ramadan is a month of spiritual activism when devotees try to awaken their spirituality. It is a scheme to improve human beings. Roza is for personality and intellectual development. This is done by desire-management, experiencing helplessness and connecting to God with true prayers. This should become the way of life for the whole year. This makes observing rozas the most rewardable act and not the mere act of abstaining from food and water.
The spirit of Ramadan is the spirit of abstinence. In Arabic, fasting is known as ‘Sawm’ meaning abstinence. Abstaining from food and drink during the month of Ramadan is aimed to awaken the ‘sawm spirit’ of the believer.
Food and drink are two of man’s basic necessities. These are the last things one should be asked to abstain from. Asking a person to abstain from them is like giving a strong and powerful message that you have to abstain from all the things God has forbidden you, much as this may go against your wishes. A fast which is devoid of the sawm spirit will not be acceptable to God or be rewarded.
There are many Ahadith (plural of Hadith—words of the Prophet) highlighting the importance of the spirit of Ramadan. According to a Hadith, God does not accept the fast of one who does not desist from lying and dishonest practices. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1903)
Another Hadith tells us that, “The fasting person if abused or provoked should not retaliate. True fasting acts as a shield for evils. God will shield such a person from hellfire.” (Sunan An-Nasa’i, Hadith No. 2234)
The above Hadith tells us that when one is faced with evil, one should return good for evil. God does not accept the fast of one who does not desist from lying and dishonest practices. In this way fasting saves us from negative psychology, inculcates positive thinking and enables us to stay calm even when provoked.
According to another tradition of the Prophet of Islam, Ramadan is the month of patience. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 20323). It does not aim at mere abstinence from food and water but is to reinforce the virtue of patience and not to blindly follow one’s desires. God has given free will to test if man can use his freedom properly. There is a Hadith, a believer is like a tethered horse that moves only as far as its rope allows (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 11335).
One needs to tie oneself willingly with the rope of God’s laws. Thus, one who fasts, imposes self-discipline and surrenders to the will of God.
The rationale behind fasting for a month is made clear by psychological studies. It tells us that thirty days are required for a habit to be inculcated. It is not an overnight miracle but a lengthy process. The practice becomes a part of the personality only when it is observed every day for at least thirty days, and it is only then that it may continue for at least a year. In this way Ramadan is the month of awakening spiritual activism within oneself.