ZAIN ALI reflects on the month of Ramadan with its rhythm of fasting, community and prayer.

Each year I teach an introductory paper on Islam at the University of Auckland. There are many ways to think about Islam and I try to engage with my students by reflecting on history, philosophy, theology, politics, feminism and art. What I find interesting is that, despite all the different topics we cover, they almost always gravitate toward the five pillars of Islam. It’s probably because the five pillars are easy to remember, especially when writing an essay come exam time.

Pillars of Islam

The five pillars are relatively straight forward, they are: (1) the shahada or declaration of faith, that there is no deity worthy of worship except God, and that Muhammad is the messenger of God, (2) salat or the five daily prayers, (3) zakat understood as charity, (4) sawm which is fasting during the month of Ramadan and (5) Hajj the pilgrimage to Mecca.

A number of Muslim scholars note that when you reflect on the five pillars, four of the five involve actions. Islam is then seen as a lived tradition — belief is important but faith is deeply connected to how we live. Given that we are in the run-up to the Lenten season, I will reflect on sawm or fasting during the month of Ramadan.

Fasting

Fasting, Ramadan-style, involves abstaining from food and water during daylight hours. As is tradition, we wake before sunrise and have a meal (suhur) and then go about our daily lives until sunset, when it is feast time (iftar). As it happens, each year Ramadan occurs ten days earlier than the previous every year. The result is that over a 20-30 year period here in New Zealand at least, Ramadan will shift through the seasons.

This year, Ramadan occurs during winter, so the days are short and the fasts are relatively easy. During summer it’s a different story. I recall having to wake at four in the morning and having to fast till nine in the evening.

Breaking the Fast

Ramadan is also a time for family, especially when it is time to break fast. As I reflect on my childhood, iftar was a highlight. Mum would always put on a spread — cool juice, dates, fruits, fresh samosas, meatballs and Nestle’s chocolate almonds (a must-have for a truly Kiwi iftar). Now that I am a parent I do the same for my children. It’s often the case that grocery bills can increase during Ramadan. This may seem odd, but it’s due to custom, where people invite family and friends home for the iftar feast. If you have Muslim neighbours, Ramadan may be good time to say hello (or salaam).

As an adult, it’s often the little things that I notice, like the taste of water after a day of fasting. A sip of water tastes almost as sweet as honey.

Prayer

After breaking fast and a quick dinner, many will head to their local mosque for tarawih prayers. These prayers last between one and two hours — the prayers will be held every night of Ramadan, which can be 29 or 30 nights.

The prayers are very focused; each night the Imam or person leading the prayer will recite a portion of the Qur’an from memory. If you attend all the tarawih prayers, you will have heard the whole Qur’an recited from memory. The Qur’an has between 6,000-7,000 verses and if the Imam is a skilled reciter, it is like listening to a beautifully moving hymn — much like listening to Luciano Pavarotti singing Ave Maria.

Reflection

A number of years ago I attended all of the tarawih prayers which for believers is a moving experience. There are a number of Qur’anic passages that give me pause for thought. A case in point is the verses relating to the passion of the Christ.

Commenting on the crucifixion, the Qur’an (4:158) says: “And their saying, we did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God; whereas they killed him not nor crucified him, but it was made to appear so.”

This passage has given rise to three broad interpretations among Muslim thinkers: (a) the crucifixion was akin to a mirage. The event never really took place. God made it appear that Jesus was crucified; (b) that someone else who was made to look like Jesus was crucified, perhaps Judas or another disciple; and (c) that Jesus was actually crucified, and the Qur’anic denial serves to rebut those who boasted about crucifying Jesus. That is to say, that those who boast do not have control over life or death. It is God who is in control and the crucifixion was part of God’s plan, so “they”, the ones who boast, were not the ones who took his life.

Given these diverse readings, I am happy to go with the third interpretation which is in accord with our knowledge of the historical Jesus.

Similarly, when I reflect on the Bible there are many verses that give me pause for thought. For example, Psalms 56:8: “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not recorded in Your book?” It’s reassuring to think of God as someone who cares deeply about our welfare, as someone who collects our tears, as it were.

Another set of thought-provoking verses relates to the temptations faced by Jesus during his 40-day fast in the desert. It strikes me as a spiritual truth that “man does not live by bread alone” — that meaning and value transcend the material.

I believe the Ramadan fast helps us realise something similar, that we could very easily have a drink or a sandwich without anyone knowing, but we don’t — we transcend material desires and impulses and turn toward God. The fast is a turning away from the material and a move toward the spiritual.

The other striking feature of the temptation narrative is the role of the devil. He is the tempter and the puzzle, for me anyway, is why he chooses to tempt Christ. Does he seriously think he can cause Christ to slip, or is this just his perverse idea of a fun day out? To meet Christ in person would have been to meet someone who emanated the divine light and yet the devil thumbs his nose at him — this may explain his fallenness. It’s a fallenness that we are also prone to when we become blind to the good in others, and are blind to the darkness within ourselves.

According to Muslim tradition, during Ramadan the devil is locked away. This has two implications: first, it is encouragement to seek the truth, beauty and goodness of God’s light, through prayer, charity and contemplation during the fasting month; second, it is a warning. If the tempter supreme is locked up we cannot really blame another for the darkness within.

May God guide us toward truth, beauty and goodness as we head toward the Lenten season and the month of Ramadan. 

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 224, March 2018: 12-13.