Prayer and Foliage/Compassion and Consistency

Prayer and Foliage
by Aaria Ahmed

The leaves are changing colors. The street and air are filled with hues of red, orange, yellow. The wind is crisp, calling on autumn to take its place in time. This year it seems that time has flown by quicker than its usual pace. It seems in the span of a year, so many anomalies have occurred which -in turn- redefined the world, the space we live in.

Today Muslims around the world observed the first of the new moon. It is the moon signifying the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year. It is the month in which the Qur’an was sent down as the final testament, as the final word of God. It’s a month were Muslims are to abstain from food, drink during daylight hours. It’s a month to purify your soul and be rid of all filth which may have left a layer upon the heart.

It’s another chance to try again.

This is the month where boyfriends and girlfriends choose to break up, or take a break. It’s a time when students turn in bottles of alcohol for bottles of Rooh-Afza. This month, associations on college campuses around the world hold Iftars and offer dates and water to all who wish to rejoice in the celebrations of opening fast together. It’s a time when families congregates in the wee hours of the morning and eats sehri together; Where paratas and chocolate cake are consumed in order to fill-up prior to holding-out an entire day. It’s a time when extra prayers are said in congregation, when the Quran is recited in its entirety over the course of a month. It is over the course of this moon cycle that children are going to learn the meaning of restraint, of discipline, of sacrifice and of compromise. It is an ephemeral time when faith and prayer make sense.

So in this month I wish to say a prayer as follows:

I pray that Allah grant patience to the mother who lost her son to a fire, for the sister whose brother was mercilessly murdered without reason, to the father whose son drowned in front of his friends in a lake. I pray that Allah grant peace to the mother who departed in an accident, leaving her four little children to cope with the vast emptiness she left behind. I pray that Allah grant hope to the woman who left her abusive husband with her two-year old child, to cope in this cruel world with no one to turn to. I pray for the little girls who are sold by their fathers for money he must use to feed his hungry children. I pray for justice for the murderers, the chicane fools who starve their adopted sons, and beat their adopted daughters.

I pray for peace in places where nothing but gun shots have ever resonated. I pray for security in a place which has no boundaries. I pray for the safety of the men who fight for their country, against men who fight for their religion. I pray for peace, and love and happiness. I pray that every child has a moment to smile, a day to remember, before he dies, as a fond memory. I pray that no mother is ever shamed in front of her family, leaving her hopeless, humiliated. I pray that no girl is condemned to a life time of prevarication for a mistake she once made as a child. I pray that the bombastic tyrants which rule parts of this world are stripped of their integrity and pride, revealing the truth. I pray that our dreams become our children’s realities. And when Ramadan returns again in the fall next year and subsequent years, I pray that I am alive to appreciate the foliage and pray, as many have prayed for me before.

Ameen.


Compassion and Consistency
by Temporal

During most of the time of Prophet Muhammed (saw) Ramadan used to come every year at around the same season. The lunar calendar was adjusted every three years to insert an additional month of Nasi. This adjustment was abrogated only during the last few years of his life.

Other than not being a free floating Ramadan with an emphasis on piety there was nothing special about this month.

Those (Muslims) who submit totally to the will of Allah are supposed to be caring and humble people. They look after the poor. They create social awareness, work for an egalitarian society and a just world, help the poor, the weak, the minorities and the disenfranchised.

This is supposed to be a lifelong endeavor incumbent upon every single able Muslim, not confined to a certain period in their lives, to a certain season, or a certain day. A lifelong statement: a lifelong mission for every able Muslim.

Ramadan was set aside as a Holy Month so the able Muslims can do more of the above. In addition to being a responsible member of a fledgling state and society (then), they should fast, so the privileged and the wealthy can share in the hunger (and pain) of those at the bottom rung of its society. They should provide more alms and charity for the poor and downtrodden than they normally did: an yearly physical and mental tune-up.

Instead, what do we find these days?

For a moment please see the onset of Ramadaan from the eyes of a non-Muslim observer. And if you find some truth, something that bothers you or disturbs you than ask yourself the all important why?

It appears that once a year the worldwide Muslims suddenly discover that Ramadan is on. They make plans for fasting and big meals at the end of the day. They follow up this month long day-hour break from food and drinks with a day of feasting and celebrations. This is mandatory for all able bodied adults. During this month they appear to curtail work, and often appear broody, bleary and short on the fuse.

Some pray more in this month. I think prayers are alright only if they are followed up with action. Otherwise they are as effective as repeating a favorite film song in the shower: a purposeless mantra.

So instead of a prayer I will close this by asking you to ask yourself some questions and then do something about the answers you discover:

+ What does it mean to be a Muslim?
+ In what way are you different?
+ If you were not born in a Muslim family what would you be?
+ Is it more important to be a good Muslim or a good person?
+ What does jehad mean to you?
+ Do you pray because you want to or because you have to?
+ Are you a good corporate citizen?
+ Are you considerate to other life forms?
+ Should charity be exclusively to Muslims?
+ Do you volunteer & help those in need?
+ Do you endeavor to be a better insaan than your neighbors?
+ Which is a higher priority in your life Huqooq ul Ibad or Haqooq Allah?

For Muslims everyday should be a special day. S/he should behave humbly, and honestly, and with consideration for fellow human beings every day of the year. I abhor collectively attaching special significance to any particular period or day. We cannot be bad or less good at one time and make up for it another time.

Islam as I understand teaches us humility, compassion and consistency. And prayers without deeds grow no foliage.