Month of blessings comes to an end

The Muslim community are enjoying their last ten days of this blessed month of Ramadan. This period is one of intensive spiritual activities and community engagement for Muslims. Whilst we are looking forward to happy spiritual accomplishments and, at the end of this blessed month, to a joyous Eid festival, we should also hope to see positive changes in our character and to our outlook on life.

Ramadan is a month of fasting for the sake of Allah, in complete devotion to Him and as such is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is a beautifully spiritual experience for those whose desire is to become closer to the Almighty, the Creator, the one God, He who alone is worthy of our devotion and worship. The more we travel along this path in the pursuit of this beautiful experience, the more we may enjoy the blessings of understanding our purpose in this life and discovering what accomplishments matter most to us.

Generosity has always been the hallmark of Ramadan. This generosity began when Almighty Allah granted this blessed month to humanity through Islam and manifests itself in many different ways. In a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him said: ‘Your Lord has made breezes through the days of your years, so make sure you benefit from them; because if you manage to get a breeze out of them, you may never go unblessed’. (Al-Tabrani)

This is a translation of the Hadith in which the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, describes blessed days like Ramadan, the Day of Arafah, the Night of Power, or other days and hours which Allah has blessed them, as ‘breezes’, which are a refreshing experience.

Ramadan is one annual breeze that comes to refresh our hearts and spiritual life and strengthens us as a community and reconnects us with our Lord, Allah. It is also the longest continuous period of spiritual activities which embodies many of our spiritual and religious commitments. In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says: ‘All the deeds of the children of Adam are meant for him except for fasting. It is for Me and I will reward for it’. This Hadith shows the especial spiritual status of fasting in the Sight of Allah. Allah has dedicated a special gate to the Paradise named al-Rayyan, through which only fasting people would enter the Paradise.

The generosity of Allah is also manifested through His forgiveness and infinite mercy to all those who seek it for themselves. We humans commit all kinds of wrong-doing in our lives. If such wrongdoing is a violation of people’s rights they may not be forgiven, but all other sinful acts are granted forgiveness by Allah when we ask Him to forgive us.

Once the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet and asked him to say Aameen (Amen) on three of the supplications that he made. One of these supplications was: ‘Whoever gets to Ramadan and did not get himself forgiven, may Allah remove him from His mercy’ and then he asked the Prophet to say Aameen and he responded by saying Aameen.

This Hadith shows how important it is to seek forgiveness from Allah in this blessed month, so that a person can revert to a purer status in order for him to be reconnected with Allah.

Engaging with the Quran is one such means that will bring a person closer to Allah. The Quran is the word of Allah that came to us as His Guidance and mercy for our lives in this world and the Hereafter. Allah emphasises this point to remind us what the month of Ramadan is all about. It says in the Quran: ‘The month of Ramadan is in which the Quran was revealed, as guidance for mankind, and clear Signs of guidance and Criterion’. S2 V185

This was a very special occasion of divine engagement with mankind, celebrating the accomplishment of Allah’s Guidance and revelation through His Prophets and Messengers. The night in which the whole Quran was brought from the ‘House of Honour’ to the lowest heaven in preparation to be revealed to the last Messenger of Allah, is marked as the Night of Power or destiny’; Lailatul Qadr.

There is a whole surah in the Quran which only talks about this Night. It says: ‘Behold! We revealed this Quran on the Night of Power. And what do you know what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels along with the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord with all kind of decrees. All peace is that night until the rise of dawn’. S97

In another description of this Night, Allah says further in the Surah 44 Ad-Dukhan: ‘We revealed it on a Blessed Night, for We were intent on warning. (we revealed it on the Night) wherein every matter is wisely determined, by Our command.’

The Muslim community celebrate this Night with extra and longer salaah, recitation of the Quran, charitable deeds of all kinds, engaging in supplication and dua and by turning to Allah through every means available to them.

Ramadan is the greatest opportunity for expressing the spiritual nature and devotion of believers in Allah, One and Only the Almighty, Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. The Night of Power and destiny is the crowning moment when we can bridge the gap between ourselves and our God, Allah the all Merciful. We need to realise the shortcomings in our lives before we can become better and purer. The fasting of Ramadan and the opportunity offered in this Night of Power can bring us back to a world of humanity and brotherhood and to the realm of Allah. May Allah count us amongst His righteous servants and grant us his forgiveness and mercy.

Ramadan: a spirit of rejuvenation

Once again, we, the Muslim community, are celebrating the much awaited and loved month of Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islamic calendar. As soon as many people hear that we fast from from dawn to sunset, they gasp and ask how do you do it? We answer that it is not that difficult. Indeed, if people realised the benefits we gain from fasting for this long period, they too would also look forward eagerly to this month. The Quran says: ‘And that you should fast is better for you, if you only know’.

The spiritual benefits of fasting are, of course, well known to believers. Personal concerns about our religious commitments, in our devotional worship and ibadaat on a daily basis, reconnecting with Allah the Almighty, the fixing of broken or neglected relationships, or rejuvenating our social fabric and community relationships, all benefit from the act of ‘fasting’. Ramadan provides solutions for all these and much more that has a negative impact on our life.

Islam’s obligatory commitments and its moral and educational guidance are not meant only to serve the spiritual aspects of human life. They can also benefit our physical wellbeing and enhance the quality of our life style in all aspects. Allah says of this in the Quran: ‘Soon shall We show them Our Signs on the horizons and in their own beings until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a witness over everything’? S41 V53

Allah’s Signs are manifested through the benefits that we gain from the practices of His obligations upon us, especially in the improvements to our health. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, said: ‘Fast and you will be healthier (or you will gain health)’. 

The benefits of fasting have long been recognised by the medical community. Much research and its reporting in medical journals has revealed that, amazingly, fasting provides or aids cures for many health problems.

One research paper that attracted my attention was by Yoshinori Ohsumi. I read an article submitted by Dr Jason Fung MD titled ‘How to renew your body: Fasting and autophagy.

What is autophagy? The word, in Greek, literally means to eat oneself. But essentially it is the body’s mechanism for getting rid of all the broken down old cell machinery (organelles, proteins, and cell membranes), when there is no longer enough energy to sustain it. It is a regulated, orderly process to degrade and recycle cellular components.  In the process of autophagy, the sub-cellular organelles are destroyed and new ones are rebuilt to replace them. Mr Yoshinori Ohsumi discovered the mechanisms for autophagy and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

So if this is the process of autophagy, how does it work and what activates it?

The article says: Nutrient deprivation is the key activator of autophagy. In fact, fasting (raises glucagon) provides the greatest known boost to autophagy. (Glucagon is kind of opposite hormone to insulin.) As we eat, insulin goes up and glucagon goes down. When we don’t eat (fast) insulin goes down and glucagon goes up. This increase in glucagon stimulates the process of autophagy.

The article goes on saying: ‘Fasting is actually far more beneficial than just stimulating autophagy. It does two good things. By stimulating autophagy, we are clearing out all our old, junky proteins and cellular parts. At the same time, fasting also stimulates a growth hormone, which tells our body to start producing some new snazzy part of the body. We are really giving our bodies the complete renovation’.

‘You need to get rid of the old stuff before you can put in new stuff. The consequences of accumulating old junky proteins all over the place can be seen in two main conditions – Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and cancer.’

‘What turns off autophagy? Eating. Glucose (or decreased glucagon) and proteins all turn off this self-cleaning process. So this process of autophagy is unique to fasting – something not found in simple caloric restriction or dieting.’

Interestingly, there are recommendations for fasting between 12 to 16 hours or even a bit longer, if we are to benefit from this process. Islam’s guidance of ‘intermittent fasting’ seems to be the right one and shows us that fasting is not only considered the devotional act of a believer but it delivers health and physical wellbeing to mankind. It shows God’s well planned and the all-encompassing benefits from His obligations to human beings. 

Fasting in Islam also helps people develop a better character and human values by removing bad habits and refraining from evil.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, said: ‘Fasting is a shield. So one should not get involved in idle talk (indecent talk) or in ignorance. If someone is provoked into fighting or by being sworn at by someone, he should say I am a person fasting.

In another hadith, the Prophet said of the purpose of fasting:  ‘If a person does not abandon the habit of falsehood, in saying and practice and acts of ignorance, then there is no need from Allah that he relinquish his food and drinking’.

In the hadith, there are three types of speech that a fasting person should stay away from:

‘Fala yarfuth’: Rafath is talk or conversation that is of a sexual nature in any shape or form.

‘Laa yaskhab’:  raising one’s voice in argument, or any agitated action that takes away the serenity of the moment.

‘Laa yajhal’: Jahl literally means ignorance. Here in this context, it is more of an impatient attitude, agitation, or failing to demonstrate forbearance.

Ramadan grants us all these benefits to our lives; spiritual, mental, physical, social and moral. We should welcome the blessed month of Ramadan and pray to Allah that He grants us all the benefits that it brings with it and makes us better human beings and wise believers.