Ramadhan: burden or blessing?

Ramadan is less than a week away now, and 1.8 billions Muslims all over the world have to start fasting which means giving up food, water and luxuries they consume every day, and beginning to distance themselves from worldly attachments. This concept of fasting for an entire month seems so difficult and laborious, yet when you ask most Muslims about this time of year, all they will express to you is the excitement they feel when the month begins.
Don't get me wrong, most of us don't particularly like the fasting aspect, as it takes up a great deal of energy and exertion. For Muslims living in the UK, fasts are stretching to 17 hours which is a gargantuan amount of time where one cannot eat or drink. But with that comes many luxuries that Muslims look forward to that they may not be lucky enough to experience during the rest of the year. The thirty days of Ramadan is essentially a detox from the world, and a practical exercise where individuals try to rid of their bad habits. There's a beautiful sense of family spirit, a time when family and friends gather to enjoin in good deeds and break their fasts together at sunset. This breaking of the fast is known as 'Iftar' in Arabic. In most cases, those of us that can afford to, hold and attend festive gatherings, with an abundant supply of food, and invite one another to our homes, so we can break fast together. It's somewhat ironic that in a month when food is so restricted, we probably eat more in this month than other times in the year.



To add to that, fasts aren't just limited to cutting out food and drink. They require also blocking out any immoral acts and activities. It's not too practical to listen to music, drink alcohol, smoke, or even sit around watching tv whilst you're in the state of fasting. That would completely ruin the purpose as to why you're fasting in the first place. And intention is very important to Allah. He always looks at what you're true genuine intention and reason is when you do something. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'Actions are according to intentions.' When it comes to Ramadan and fasting, there are several different reasons why Muslims give up so many things they enjoy:

• It is ultimately to please Allah. This is why we stay away from the things God dislikes, and enjoin in the acts He does like. Whilst life in general holds many purposes: to work hard, enjoy yourself, find happiness etc, the ultimate purpose of life for a Muslim is to worship and please Allah, and Allah alone. The word 'Islam' comes from the root word 'Salama' which means to submit. Submission. Once an individual has achieved this high level of submission, they have conquered an integral aspect of their religion. In addition, Ramadan is incorporated under one of the five pillars of Islam 'Sawm' which means fasting, and hence by taking part in this and completing this pillar annually, they are taking the necessary means to ensure they are a practising Muslim.
• One of the reasons God actually prescribed this month of fasting as an obligation and duty, is to make us understand and sympathize with the one billion that are living in poverty and don't know where their next meal is coming from. It's easy to share an emotional video of starving kids, or watch an advert about poverty statistics, but one cannot truly feel the pain of destitute communities without experiencing Ramadan. And even then, at least when the time comes for us to break fast, we have an extravagant layout of all our favourite dishes, and eat till we are full. The 14 million in Yemen, 50% of Palestine and 86.9 million in Nigeria, which is roughly half of the population and is the country with the highest poverty rate in the world, do not share the same right of eating what is rightfully theirs. The powerful and elite try to over complicate matters regarding poverty for their own selfish advantages, yet statistics tell us different. The world currently produces enough food to provide for ten billion, yet we're only a population of seven billion. What's worse, is that developed countries like America waste $160 billion dollars  in food according to the New York Times. So feeling that hunger all day, without a drop of water to cool you down from the burning sun, really forces you to ponder on circumstances in developing countries. I myself can say that after experiencing Ramadan ever since I was a young child, the gratitude I feel now is of great importance. Ramadan has helped me to appreciate the blessing of food, and not waste it so often, when children younger than me don't even have the leftovers we chuck away.

Besides the actual fasting aspect, what else does Ramadan offer? Is it an excruciatingly painful month of dieting, where all we do is pray from dusk till dawn? Not at all. History tells us that Ramadan is actually the month of the Qur'an (Muslims holy book) and was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in his hometown Mecca, in the Cave of Hira. The first word Angel Gabriel revealed was 'Read,' which highlights the significance of education and knowledge in Islam. The idea that girls shouldn't go to school, because it is a religious duty that they must stay home is ludicrous. Just because extreme governments like that of Iran, insult womens rights, it doesn't mean they have derived their menacing restrictions from Islam. This is why, especially in the month of Ramadan, we try to read the Qur'an and gain as much knowledge as possible.

As I already mentioned, most of can't wait till Ramadan comes, and even non practising Muslims are a part of that excitement and joy of Ramadan. Because as I said: it's just that time of year that brings blessings upon blessings. A time where friends forgive, family squabbles are broken, neighbours visit one another, food is given to the poor. A time when nobody swears, nobody bullies or abuses, when nobody hurts another. A practical way of bettering yourself, and gaining extra reward. Ramadan in a final word, is a blessing.