Committing to a just society at Ramadaan
MUCH of the Muslim world is in a mess – often as a result of the toxic machinations of geopolitics.
As the situation in Syria gets more complicated, and as US president Donald Trump makes the error of withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Muslims around the world will begin, next Tuesday night, the month-long fast of Ramadaan – when the holy book of Muslims, the Qur’an, was revealed.
During this period, all adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn until sunset for the entire month. Essentially, the fast requires abstention from food, drink and sexual intercourse.
However, it is more than that, hence the greater sense of religiosity among Muslims during this period. “Fasting has been prescribed for you, as it has been prescribed to those before you, so that you may learn self-restraint,” says the Qur’an.
That “self-restraint” is to play itself out in various ways apart from the fast.
A striking aspect of the fast is its relevance to the social sphere.
Tariq Ramadan, a worldrenowned scholar, reminds us that there is no true religious practice without a personal investment in the human community; the serenity of our solitude before the Creator can exist only if it is nourished daily by our relations with our fellow beings, and this commitment to community is heightened in Ramadaan.
So accordingly, during this month, Muslims are called upon to give practical and concrete expression to their heightened consciousness of the plight of the poor and the starving by sharing a little of their wealth and possessions with them.
The struggle to alleviate poverty is not only one of the important goals of fasting, but it is an integral part of what it means to be a Muslim.
Such an emphatic definition is given in the Qur’an as follows: “(The truly virtuous are those) who feed the poor, the needy and the captives for the love of God, [saying in their hearts] ‘We feed you purely for the sake of God alone, we seek no reward nor thanks from you’.”
It is thus clear that feeding the poor and caring for the marginalised in our society is at the heart of Islam.
Most Muslims even suggest that one of the significances of the fast is identification with those who are poverty-stricken, so that they may feel their pangs of hunger.
“Worldly pleasures” are also reduced and most would take part in additional prayers.
And during this month, special food is prepared in many households and, generally, women bear the burden for much of the preparation. Thus apart from attempting to increase their worship and service to God and
His creation, women also find themselves having to increase their service to their families – often in extravagant and unnecessary ways.
No doubt the month of Ramadaan is important in the religious imagination of Muslims in South Africa and, indeed, throughout the world.
Ramadaan is being observed during a difficult socio-political context for Muslims.
So the fast means Godconsciousness, self-restraint, greater charity initiatives and awareness of the social realities of hunger and want.
Hopefully it also means greater support for South Africa and the world’s poor and continually disadvantaged.
The Muslim Youth Movement of SA did well to remind
Muslims that they should use this Ramadaan to rededicate themselves not only to renewing their faith and connection with God, but also to the task of creating a just society.
This is sorely needed in our country, with inequality becoming entrenched and poverty rife.
The current context thus raises the challenge of ensuring that this renewed energy in religion, particularly during the fast, is directed towards the objective of development, and the global struggle against all forms of oppression.
The first day after Ramadaan is the festival of Eid al-fitr – this year on June 14. The fast has ended and the festivities begin.
It is usually a day for families to get together, with much greeting, hugging, laughing and feasting.
But at least one of the social responsibilities of Ramadaan is not forgotten. Traditionally, the day of Eid cannot belong to those who do not cleanse their wealth with special charity on this day.
Buccus is senior research associate at the Auwal Socioeconomic Research Institute, research fellow at UKZN School of Sciences and academic director of a university study abroad programme on political transformation. He promotes #Reading Revolution via Books@antique at Antique Café in Morningside.