"The month of Ramadan is that wherein the Quran was sent down as guidance to mankind, as clear proofs of guidance, and as the Criterion. Let him among you who is present fast during that [month]. And whosoever is ill or on a journey, it is a number of other days. God desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you. [It is] so that you may complete the number and magnify God for having guided you, and haply you may give thanks."
Quran 2:185
And so it begins. Today is 1 Ramadan on the Muslim calendar and so the fasting begins, but is the point of it actually the fasting? I was reading a posting from a Shia Imam that I follow on Twitter and he made the point that as Muslims we almost misrepresent Ramadan not only to non-Muslims but also to ourselves. By this he meant that we always point out that it's the month that Muslims fast, which is, of course, true. However, he point, and he naturally cited this passage, was that in the Quran God introduces Ramadan by reminding everyone that it was the month when the first revelations were sent down: "The month of Ramadan is that wherein the Quran was sent down as guidance to mankind, as clear proofs of guidance, and as the Criterion." So, the point is that the month is about studying the Quran and that fasting is part of that, and not the other way around. Certainly being able to make an even more concerted effort to spend time with the Quran every day is the part of the month which I love the most. The fasting . . . well . . .
Actually, the fasting is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I remember years ago when I first converted I suddenly realized that Ramadan was about two weeks away, and I had this immediate realization: "Crap, Ramadan, how did I forget about that? Oh man, what was I thinking?" Truthfully, I was quite afraid before my first one, although I suspect that it was less about my physical well-being than my fear that I simply might not be able to pull it off. Actually, beyond being very grouchy the first few days it's not that horrible (although not a lot of fun). I often tell the story of my first Friday communal prayer during my first Ramadan, which, if I remember correctly, was probably about three or four days in, and the Imam was talking about the blessed month and how happy we all were, and all I could think of was, "Do you see anyone here having a good time?" If you're not in a Muslim household it tends to be a lonely time. It's very easy to fall into the trap of sitting around the house and moping. We often forget how much of our day centers around "renting" space in a coffeeshop to talk to friends; it's hard to justify sitting there if you're not drinking coffee or eating a piece of cake, and it feels sort of foolish to buy coffee to not drink just as a justification for sitting there (the ultimate placeholder). Your friends, understandably, don't reach out to you as much to meet because they feel guilty about eating and drinking in front of you, which they shouldn't do; you've made a decision to fast, and you have to own it, and that includes being around those who aren't fasting. The point is not to make the process as easy as possible. So, I'm always encouraging my friends to get together. And I will be going out today, including to the gym.
As I've often discussed, I have this consistent titanic struggle between the internal and external aspects of the faith, and while I'm not Totally dismissive of the external elements I also tend to give them a bit of a side eye. Ramadan is a great example. I think that as Muslims we can get so fixated on fasting that it becomes a thing in and of itself, which can definitely fuel our own vanity. Consequently, I will tell folks that I don't think that fasting all of the required hours are all that important (as I pointed out in a post the other day, if we lived in a different part of the globe we'd be fasting many less hours a day so this whole thing is very situational). And in some ways my objection is very valid. For example, one of the reasons, actually, truthfully, the main reason, why I became a Muslim is that I wanted/needed to become a better person for all the people in my life who depend upon me. If the entire family is actually sitting down at the same time (a rare event here at the Bleak House Orphanage for Sulky Teenagers) then I'm quite happy to break my fast an hour early so that we can enjoy the time together; to me, refusing to do so is actually just me being vain, because I want to prove that I can last another hour. Why did I start this journey in the first place? Having said all that, I do take it very seriously. Three years ago during my first Ramadan I would get up at 5:30 a.m., my normal wake up time, throw as much food and water into me as possible, and then fasted until after 8:00 with the Maghrib prayer. And then two years ago I woke up at 5:00 to begin the process. And then last year I woke up at 4:30 to begin the process. And this year I'm waking up at 4:00 to begin the process. And during this period I had no trouble giving grief, albeit gentle grief, to any member of the masjid who gave me what I considered a sanctimonious (or pitying) lecture on the fact that I wasn't fasting long enough. If I don't think it's very important it's interesting that I fast for a longer period every year. In the end I do think what matters is that you do with this month, cycling back to the first sentence of the passage cited above. While I read the Quran throughout the year, during this month I make a very concerted and structured effort to read all of it again, and that includes all the commentary in Nasr's Study Quran. There are worlds within worlds and I think it is incumbent upon us to study the Quran and not just listen to it being recited.
So, let's get started. I always start at the end of the Quran, as much as the Quran has an end, with surahs 113 and 114 and then work my way forward into the increasingly lengthy surahs.
Quran 2:185
And so it begins. Today is 1 Ramadan on the Muslim calendar and so the fasting begins, but is the point of it actually the fasting? I was reading a posting from a Shia Imam that I follow on Twitter and he made the point that as Muslims we almost misrepresent Ramadan not only to non-Muslims but also to ourselves. By this he meant that we always point out that it's the month that Muslims fast, which is, of course, true. However, he point, and he naturally cited this passage, was that in the Quran God introduces Ramadan by reminding everyone that it was the month when the first revelations were sent down: "The month of Ramadan is that wherein the Quran was sent down as guidance to mankind, as clear proofs of guidance, and as the Criterion." So, the point is that the month is about studying the Quran and that fasting is part of that, and not the other way around. Certainly being able to make an even more concerted effort to spend time with the Quran every day is the part of the month which I love the most. The fasting . . . well . . .
Actually, the fasting is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I remember years ago when I first converted I suddenly realized that Ramadan was about two weeks away, and I had this immediate realization: "Crap, Ramadan, how did I forget about that? Oh man, what was I thinking?" Truthfully, I was quite afraid before my first one, although I suspect that it was less about my physical well-being than my fear that I simply might not be able to pull it off. Actually, beyond being very grouchy the first few days it's not that horrible (although not a lot of fun). I often tell the story of my first Friday communal prayer during my first Ramadan, which, if I remember correctly, was probably about three or four days in, and the Imam was talking about the blessed month and how happy we all were, and all I could think of was, "Do you see anyone here having a good time?" If you're not in a Muslim household it tends to be a lonely time. It's very easy to fall into the trap of sitting around the house and moping. We often forget how much of our day centers around "renting" space in a coffeeshop to talk to friends; it's hard to justify sitting there if you're not drinking coffee or eating a piece of cake, and it feels sort of foolish to buy coffee to not drink just as a justification for sitting there (the ultimate placeholder). Your friends, understandably, don't reach out to you as much to meet because they feel guilty about eating and drinking in front of you, which they shouldn't do; you've made a decision to fast, and you have to own it, and that includes being around those who aren't fasting. The point is not to make the process as easy as possible. So, I'm always encouraging my friends to get together. And I will be going out today, including to the gym.
As I've often discussed, I have this consistent titanic struggle between the internal and external aspects of the faith, and while I'm not Totally dismissive of the external elements I also tend to give them a bit of a side eye. Ramadan is a great example. I think that as Muslims we can get so fixated on fasting that it becomes a thing in and of itself, which can definitely fuel our own vanity. Consequently, I will tell folks that I don't think that fasting all of the required hours are all that important (as I pointed out in a post the other day, if we lived in a different part of the globe we'd be fasting many less hours a day so this whole thing is very situational). And in some ways my objection is very valid. For example, one of the reasons, actually, truthfully, the main reason, why I became a Muslim is that I wanted/needed to become a better person for all the people in my life who depend upon me. If the entire family is actually sitting down at the same time (a rare event here at the Bleak House Orphanage for Sulky Teenagers) then I'm quite happy to break my fast an hour early so that we can enjoy the time together; to me, refusing to do so is actually just me being vain, because I want to prove that I can last another hour. Why did I start this journey in the first place? Having said all that, I do take it very seriously. Three years ago during my first Ramadan I would get up at 5:30 a.m., my normal wake up time, throw as much food and water into me as possible, and then fasted until after 8:00 with the Maghrib prayer. And then two years ago I woke up at 5:00 to begin the process. And then last year I woke up at 4:30 to begin the process. And this year I'm waking up at 4:00 to begin the process. And during this period I had no trouble giving grief, albeit gentle grief, to any member of the masjid who gave me what I considered a sanctimonious (or pitying) lecture on the fact that I wasn't fasting long enough. If I don't think it's very important it's interesting that I fast for a longer period every year. In the end I do think what matters is that you do with this month, cycling back to the first sentence of the passage cited above. While I read the Quran throughout the year, during this month I make a very concerted and structured effort to read all of it again, and that includes all the commentary in Nasr's Study Quran. There are worlds within worlds and I think it is incumbent upon us to study the Quran and not just listen to it being recited.
So, let's get started. I always start at the end of the Quran, as much as the Quran has an end, with surahs 113 and 114 and then work my way forward into the increasingly lengthy surahs.
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