Mahmoud Ahmad
The holy month of Ramadan is on us. The month of worship and mercy, the month in which we are supposed to feel for the poor and the needy. It is the month in which we make peace with ourselves and with others, and it is the month in which we are encouraged to give more charity and donate money to those in need.
We should do whatever in our power to help and to stand with those who need our assistance. It is a month when we are supposed to stop and reflect on our actions and correct our wrongs. It is a month in which we are expected to evaluate ourselves and take actions to rectify our shortcomings and improve ourselves such that we emerge as good human beings.
Though many of us are doing great lip service to the whats and hows of this holy month, I would like to ask everybody that how many of us are actually practicing what has been asked of us, and how many of us will carry on with the good values they gained in Ramadan and apply them on themselves throughout the year?
There are many who are egregious with their simplistic thought that Ramadan is a month of acting. Acting to be a good person when they are not. Acting by shedding tears during prayers when they are crocodile tears. Acting to give when in reality are tight-fisted, and so on. How can people raise their hands in supplication and ask God for mercy when they themselves are doing injustices to their domestic help or drivers or workers in their company? How many out there who are completely devoted in worship, refuse to pay the salary of their domestic help or driver when they reach their homes. How many of us pray to God for mercy while treating their wives and children badly and neglecting their responsibilities toward them?
There are those who sadly think that Ramadan is a month for staying up late and sleeping all day until minutes before breaking their fast, which was forced on them by their sleeping the whole day. What good is their fasting and what kind of rewards are they expecting? What astonishes me all the time is the people at work who find Ramadan the perfect excuse for their negligence. I often hear this refrain when I complain against the negligence of someone or against rude behavior, “sorry I am fasting?”
Fasting has nothing to do with negligence, sloppiness or rude behavior and they should stop using Ramadan as an excuse.
I send a message to men and women who are neglecting their responsibilities toward their parents to use Ramadan as a motivation to treat them nicely and to win their hearts. There are many who are neglecting their parents, especially during their old age and when they are bereft of any utility. It is then these people will use every excuse to keep their distance from them.
A small visit to the elderly homes or charities in all cities will reveal the tragic situation to the full. Many people have left their parents in these homes, although some of them are able physically and financially to care for them, but they wanted their parents to be other people’s problem.
I hope this month will bring some sense into these people and reconnect them with their parents and win their hearts and love before they die.
Ramadan is the month for us to make peace with those that we hate or have fought with in the past. If our good deeds are to be accepted, then we should be the one to break the ice and connect with others, especially relatives. If someone did something wrong toward others, then he/she should correct it and apologize for it. For those who have deprived their workers of their monthly salaries, now is the time to make amends. I wish people would take it easy on their domestic help and not exhaust them with long working hours, especially during this month. Some families lose their minds and force their domestic help to work all day cooking and cleaning and serving.
We, as people, should not take the noble meaning away from Ramadan and show this month as the month of shopping, staying up late to watch TV all night long until dawn and join others in prayers for show when one’s heart is not in it. That is not Ramadan. Our worship is not complete when we read Qur’an all day and treat other people badly. Our worship is not complete when we stay up late praying and we deprive people who work for us from their simple rights. It would be really noble if families allowed their workers to spend their Ramadan and Eid with their families back home. If we take a little time to look at them, we will see their pain and suffering of being away from their homes while we are enjoying the best of times together as a family.
If we cannot discipline ourselves from behaving badly or being bad toward others, then Ramadan will have no meaning. If we, however, succeed in making a wrong correct, then let us apply what we have gained in this holy month throughout the year. The God in Ramadan is the same God throughout the year.
I conclude here with this saying, Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do you know who is bankrupt?” They said, “The one without money or goods is bankrupt.” The Prophet said, “Verily, the bankrupt of my nation are those who come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and charity, but also with insults, slander, consuming wealth, shedding blood, and beating others. The oppressed will each be given from his good deeds. If his good deeds run out before justice is fulfilled, then their sins will be cast upon him and he will be thrown into the Hellfire.”
The writer can be reached at mahmad@saudigazette.com.sa
Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
