A Time to Fast

The month of Ramadan begins next week for the 1.5 billion Muslims throughout the world. One-fifth of the planet’s population will recalibrate and re-focus their lives for 29-30 days of fasting from food and drink, and hopefully from obscenities, abuses, extremes, hates, aggressions, wrongs, and indecencies. We fast from the food and drink from dawn to sunset, but for all of these corrupted behaviors, the fast is 24/7.

Hopefully, we will experience relief from the extremes and abuses in Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and other States where God-Consciousness has been pushed to the side by hate, revenge, ignorance, narrowness, sectarianism, nationalism, sexism, envy, jealousy, immorality, indecency, and inhumanity. None of this is Islamic and no conscientious Muslim can support, justify, or participate in such despicable behavior as murdering innocent civilians, kidnapping young girls or students, or hating another simply because they are religiously, culturally, or racially different.

The Muslim world craves relief from this callousness fed and directed from within. Ramadan brings a sudden end to the abuses and aggressions. It revives the conscience. It exposes the criminal and the crimes. It awakens the best of ourselves and decimates the excuses and justifications for wrong.

If one can fast from food, drink, and sex for 16 hours every day, and give up sleep for hours of prayer each night, for 29 or 30 days, we should become immune to the beckoning and influences of corruption throughout the year. If I can withhold the natural necessities that sustain me, and survive and thrive, certainly I should be able to resist the unnatural and inhuman overtures of wickedness. Every Muslim has this opportunity and obligation during this month.

May Ramadan bring relief from atrocious and misguided behaviors of any who claim to be Muslim, and may these 29-30 days of fasting, restraint, prayer, reflection, and God-Consciousness give us the strength, and inspire others, to live the entire year upon the best and highest principles of human decency, compassion, regardfulness, and peace for the benefit of humanity.

submitted by Imam Plemon T. El-Amin