[This is the second and final installment of the special video message
delivered by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat
Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius (atba) on the 10th
day of Ramadan, on July 30, 2012. The first part of the
essay was published here at the Sahih Al Islam Blog on August 02, 2012 and is available at: http://sahih-al-islam.blogspot.in/2012/08/a-ramadan-in-times-of-elect-of-allah.html
].
Unfortunately many Muslims today have
a bad conception of fasting and the activities of the faster. They stay as in a
state of hibernation and spend most of their time in bed. If they come to fear
Allah, they stand only for the hours of prayers (Salat) and then they go to sleep again. This sleep makes
them become lazy. And their (spiritual) activities decrease. Ramadan is a time of intense activity for the
true believers, who will gladly deny food and drink, and make enormous efforts
in the path of Allah.
Moreover,
a thing of concern for us today is the innovation in the Iftaar of the believer,
that is, the breaking of the Fast. Nowadays Muslims brothers and sisters are
making the Iftaar become a feast, a
moment of excessive rejoice and eating and drinking. The Iftaar of the faster should have been simple for the breaking of
the fast is an act of Ibaadat (worship).
This
practice to make a feast out of the Iftaar
in the month of Ramadan are known to occur nowadays in the Muslim Arab
countries, and it is most unfortunate that in a little island like Mauritius
this practice has become widespread among the other Jamaats.
Recently
on my Dawa mission, I have met Muslim brothers and it is sad to see that now
they are losing their valuable time in preparation of great “Iftaari” or Iftaar
party. It is a shame for the Muslims to have reached such a point that the
blessed norms of the month of Ramadan are not respected at all. Muslims
automatically fast and rejoice excessively at the breaking of the fast.
It
is known that our Nabi Kareem (saw) has
encouraged the believers to break the fast really quickly and to go to perform
their Maghrib prayer as soon as possible after the Iftaar, for it is a joy for the faster to break his fast and
meet with his Lord. But to make a feast out of it? This is indeed out of the
question!
There is no place to eat more than usual during Ramadan. A balanced diet, even in small amounts less
than normal consumption, is sufficient to keep a person healthy and in shape
during this month. Eating a surplus of more varied menus; more food, rich
in fat are far from the prescription of the Quran and Hadiths during Ramadan.
This will fatten people who eat this way.
The Holy Prophet (saw) has said: “A few bites,
must be sufficient (for man) to stay on his feet. (If he desires eating), the
best would be that he fills one-third of his stomach with food, one-third with
drink (water), and the last one-third must be left empty (for air).” (Tirmidhi, Ibn
Majah)
Behind
the practice of fasting, there is the question of a diet for the health of the
creatures of Allah, so that they remain healthy and focus more on all forms of
prayers in Islam. One must not forgo the Quran and Sunnah in order to establish
his own rulings. Muslims lose their way when they deviate from the pure
teachings of Allah and of His noble prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saw). If one
follows the Quran and Sunnah, especially so in the month of Ramadan, the month
of training for the rest 11 months to come, then the true Muslim shall benefit
from it, be it at physical, moral and spiritual levels.
Ramadan is not a month
wherein to hold feasts and to be lazy. It
is actually a trial for the Muslims to test the level of his faith and
obedience to Allah by complying to the commandments of Allah, in such a way
that once they accomplish it as it should be done, they obtain Allah Himself as
their reward. May it be so, Insha-Allah.
May
Allah give the Muslims all round the world the Tawfiq to forgo Shirk and Bidah in all forms and to re-establish
them on the Shahada: Laa Ilaaha Illallah. May Allah bring
the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (saw) as one pure body, and may the Divine Truth
be established in all glory. May this
month of Ramadan bring such great lessons for the Muslims so that we all awake
from our long sleep of ignorance and negligence and stick to the Rope of Allah
firmly and definitely till our last breath in this world. Insha-Allah,
Ameen.