Asking the clergy about learning from Ramadan
Ramadan, which starts Friday, is a month of prayer and of fasting from dawn to dusk by Muslims around the world. It also involves Muslims visiting mosques and temples daily for services. We asked, "How can people of all faiths learn from Ramadan?"Our clergy discuss how Ramadan teaches understanding and faith.
Imam Muhammad A. Jabbar, Masjid Darul Qur'an, Bay Shore:
People learn about self-restraint, patience, self-control, sympathy, charity and empathy for those less fortunate. Here in America, we have all the blessings of God: cold water, electricity, ample food, etc. Other parts of the world are deprived of what we can take for granted. We need to remember how blessed we are and also not forget the suffering of others.
Ramadan teaches us to have sympathy and to want to help care for those who have less than us. It teaches us sympathy with the poor, indigent and unfortunate. The one thing that Muslims and non-Muslims alike can learn is sympathy and charity.
You don't have to look across the world to find someone who needs your help. You can look to your neighbors who may be in need. We are taught that if our neighbors to the left or right cannot afford Eid ul-Fitr, the end-of-Ramadan feast, we should invite them into our homes to share our feast.
Omer Chaudhri, interfaith committee member, Islamic Center of Long Island, Westbury:
It is about reinvigorating your faith. The unique thing about fasting as it is presented in the Quran is that there is no personal aggrandizement involved. Maybe if you're giving to charity, praying publicly or performing other acts, you could kind of show off. With fasting, others shouldn't really even know you're doing it. It is between you and God, and, therefore, a great way for Muslims to reconnect with their faith. So, I would encourage everyone to ask themselves how they can reconnect with their individual faith.
Secondly, the communal nature of Ramadan reminds us how important community is to faith. If I had to fast alone for 30 days, it would be harder. I'm doing this with family, friends and others at our center. That makes it easier and takes it to another level when I remember that a billion people around the world are doing the same.
And, we're not just giving up food. We're also giving up such vices as lying, gossiping, backbiting, just to name a few. Our goal is to be a better person in all aspects of our lives.
Imam Ahmadullah Kamal, Long Island Muslim Society, East Meadow:
Ramadan teaches us fear of God. It doesn't mean fear in the traditional sense. It means that whatever he commands us to do, we will accept and obey. Why do we fast? Because we are commanded by God to fast. If you fear God, you will do all things he commands.
The other things we learn during Ramadan -- sympathy, self-restraint, self-control, charity -- will come during the month of fasting.
While you're fasting, you're not to think about the next time you're going to eat. You think about how you can be a better person. You should think about the things your soul is hungry for, not the hungers of your body. You remind yourself that you're just going hungry for one month, while the less fortunate go hungry the whole year.
Even when we break our fast at the end of the day, it is not about the food. There are prayers and other rituals that remind us why we have fasted all day. We are reminded that we should love everything and everyone because Allah created everything and everyone.
This is a month of sacrifice. Allah gives us the strength to endure each day of fasting. At the end of the day, we thank Him and pray for healing for the whole world, for each person, Muslim and non-Muslim.
