AFRICAN ECON :: THE OPTIMIST VOICE

EDITORIAL

Fasting as a Great Teacher

Fasting for religious reasons by any individual regardless of religious identity or differences has a lot of benefits, otherwise people across religions, would not engage in it. It teaches numerous lessons for living people, while adding to practical benefits even beyond the religious realms. To many Nigerians however, it has lost its meaning. That is why many people dread its arrival instead of welcoming it. A revival of some of the benefits is in order, so we may reawaken the zeal to reap such benefits.

One of the most important lessons is self-restraint. As creatures that God portray as special when he created them (humans), asserting to his angels that they do not know, when they inquired as to the wisdom of creating a creature with will power, who has the capacity to “corrupt” the earth and cause much “bloodshed” (which of course the angels detest), just as the jinn did previously with destructive consequences. Well one reason is, Allah loves his creatures and loves for them to be guided and good and has much hope for them. In self-restraint we find a tool to maximize our spiritual aptitude and capacity to be good creatures as He would love for us to be.

Fasting is one of the most endeared practices of a believer to God. Of the five cardinal pillars of Islam for a believer to hold onto as a Muslim (i.e. Belief in One God, Prayer, Fasting, Zakat Charity, and Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca), Allah says fasting is His, and he rewards it generously. Though all five practices are for our individual spiritual benefit in afterlife, and adds to our personal scale of righteous actions with no benefit whatsoever to God or to add to his majesty, He picked fasting.

It is so much loved by God for his creation because it provides a means of freeing the human from the lowly animalistic practices, to angelic ones, a quality that has the capacity to bring one in closeness to God. Angels in nearness to God do not eat, drink or go around causing needless corruption and harm to others, but engage in glorifying and other righteous actions in the direct command of their creator God. We mimic that in Ramadan and for that brief time try to emulate such actions for the good of our souls and pleasure of our God.

It asserts the purpose of life for the human, to rise above all other worldly animals using the higher gift of intellect to control natural urges. It then becomes a means of actualizing God’s plan for man, to live in a garden made especially for man in nearness to Him, having spiritually cleansed himself body and soul in recognition of higher ideals. It is for that same purpose that fasting is said to have been prescribed to earlier generations of all who received God’s guidance. And we see evidence of that all around us, for not only people who follow other scriptures of God also fast (Jews and Christians), others without an acknowledged book in the Quran, such as the Buddhist and their monks, all have recognized some form of strict regimen of restriction of food and sexual appetites.

Fasting opens a path to higher moral standards, a standard meant to be maintained throughout the year until Ramadan shows its face again. With each succeeding year, therefore, we grow higher in spiritual and physical balance to our lives. God loves it because it is man at his best. One is basically following Allah’s instruction the whole day. You can eat and drink, and these are actions allowed at other times of the year, but because God says do not, even while alone with no one watching, you obeyed and did not eat. You restricted a halal action because of God’s commandment. Likewise you are allowed your spouse in marriage at other times, but for a month within a year, even that aspect is regulated to certain hours only, and for many hours of everyday for that month, you are commanded against it. You obeyed because Allah said so.

It disciplines us into acquiring and maintaining the habit of becoming “God conscious” (Taqwa). At other times we generally lose this quality due to man’s diligence in feeding his selfish nature, and the diligence of Satan to misguide. God consciousness (Taqwa), is attained because throughout Ramadan, we are always alert and aware of our actions lest they violate our fasting. A typical example is, even when we pass by a restaurant while hungry, we do not stop as we usually do during other times throughout the year. When we smell food, we still pass by it though we have gone hours without eating. Likewise, when someone pushes refrigerated pure water through our window at traffic light in the heat of the day, we consciously know not to buy and drink it. When our soul demands it as it does at other times, we immediately say no to it, we say you cannot have it because we are fasting today. We are always conscious of the state of our Godly observance.

We even use it to further our aptitude in reciting, learning, and understanding of the Holy Book. We engage in intensive Quranic study such as reading it on our own in the exact form and wording as it was revealed one thousand four hundred forty one years ago; plus daily attendance of commentary of the Quran (Tafsir) at our localities. Then there is the nightly communal prayer, taraweeh, and the night vigil prayer for the last ten nights of the month (Qiyam–ul-layl). That is Taqwa, being in constant service, awareness, and obedience to God’s law.

We should maintain it beyond Ramadan

Should we then drop these acquired moral aptitude, and higher plane level of existence that God loves immediately after the month of fasting and go back to those same individualistic approach to life. Remember the pangs of hunger, taught us to commiserate with the poverty stricken within our society who live that same life every single day of the year. Actually in response to their need, having learnt how they feel, we are obligated to share our provisions with them within that month (Zakat-ul-Fitr). That actualizes the adage from both our major religions in Nigeria that we love our neighbors (fellow humans) as ourselves. We just do not love them as ourselves in Ramadan; we are taught and made to act on it. In the name of every member of our family regardless of age, we give provision to the needy. How humane!

As soon as Ramadan passes however, some of us do an “about turn” to all these virtues acquired. Regardless of how passionately during that month we pray to God to forgive our past errors, and provide our needs, we forget to confer the same rights to others. We not only refuse to help fellow Nigerians as taught by the virtues of Ramadan, we actually instead continue to eat away illegally from the resources meant to provide the poor the seriously needed health care, agriculture, education and other basic needs. We have to continue to resist those same foul actions we resisted in Ramadan. A godly people should remain godly all the time. A reformed atheist (Strobel, 2004) says it best when he recounts in his book “The Case for a Creator” how and why he held his earlier atheistic belief thus; “For me living without God meant living 100% for myself, freed from someday being held accountable for my actions. I felt unleashed to pursue personal happiness and pleasure at all costs…and I was liberated to indulge as much as I wanted without having to look over my shoulder at God’s disapproving gaze.”

Please let this Ramadan be the last time you will relapse back to acting the likes of those described by the reformed atheist above. Fajr (Dawn), Chapter 89 of the Quran, coincidently the mark at which fasting begins every single day of Ramadan, lists the oppressive leader (representative of the people or appointee) as the one that God in the past: “…poured on them the disaster of His punishment. (13). and what exactly did they do to earn His wrath? In the same Chapter (Surah) it goes on to say “Nay, but ye (for your part) honor not the orphan (17) And urge not on the feeding of the poor. (18) And ye devour heritages with devouring greed. (19) And love wealth with abounding love. (20) In short, such leaders entrusted with lives, properties and wealth of the people refused to rule justly, and were overtaken by greed. They abused the people especially the weak, handicapped and orphans. Let us vow to incorporate the lessons of the existing Ramadan and continue to grow in purity of conduct and love for our fellow men and women.  These are lessons that everyone need to embody, from the highest ruler to the lowest peasant.

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