|
Cont'd from page 2
[2:183] O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
When our thirst becomes a test, we should remember God’s blessing of water. [56:68-70] Have you noted the water you drink? Did you send it down from the clouds, or did we? If we will, we can make it salty. You should be thankful. [25:48] He is the One who sends the winds with good omens of His mercy, and we send down from the sky pure water.
We humans must have water to survive. We also need water for our animals and our crops: [31:10] He created the heavens without pillars that you can see. He established on earth stabilizers (mountains) lest it tumbles with you, and He spread on it all kinds of creatures. We send down from the sky water to grow all kinds of beautiful plants. [32:27] Do they not realize that we drive the water to barren lands, and produce with it crops to feed their livestock, as well as themselves? Do they not see?
God has even blessed us with the means to store water so we will have access to it even during droughts. [39:21] Do you not see that GOD sends down from the sky water, then places it into underground wells, then produces with it plants of various colors, then they grow until they turn yellow, then He turns them into hay? This should be a reminder for those who possess intelligence.
As I fast daily during the month of Ramadan, I try to remember God’s blessings and use this opportunity to be thankful for all the blessings God has bestowed upon me and to implore Him to continue to bless me. I pray that He will allow me to complete my fast and make it easy for me.
[2:186] When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me.
The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be guided.
Supplication: A Form of Worship
[40:60] Your Lord says, “Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Gehenna, forcibly.”
[20:26] “And make this matter easy for me.
May the Most Merciful bless us all with an easy and successful Ramadan.
* * * * *
I’m sitting here on our old futon in the main room of our cabin up in the central New Mexico mountains. It is peaceful and quiet here and I often feel close to God, almost as close as during the Ramadan fast.
I’m thinking about Ramadan because I finished reviewing a chapter I wrote about the wonderful month of Ramadan in a book I am revising. I’m also trying to be as conscious of God before and after Ramadan as I am when I am fasting. And I know that time seems to fly by. The fast will be here sooner than I think. Additionally, much of the joy of a special time comes from the anticipation of it.
What makes Ramadan so special? That seems to me to have several possible answers:
· There has been research done on the health benefits of fasting, especially intermittent fasting like the Ramadan fast.
· Fasting during Ramadan helps me gain control over my desires to eat and drink and so strengthens my will.
· Millions of Muslims around the world fast from the earliest light of dawn until the sun sets.
This gives the fast a social quality for many, and perhaps the fact of so many people fasting at the same time strengthens Ramadan’s spiritual qualities, much as praying or studying the Quran together does for me.
· So far, I have mentioned things that do not relate directly to specific scriptural verses. However, the Quran, which is the word of our Creator, tells us to fast to express our appreciation for His guidance:
[2:185] Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation.
· Moreover, the Quran itself was reveled on the 27th night of this special month:
[97:1] We revealed it in the Night of Destiny.
· When I am fasting every time my stomach growls or my throat feels parched, I think of God. These physical things help remind me of God, so I commemorate Him more frequently (26:227, 73:8, and 76:25).
[73:8] You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.
[76:25] And commemorate the name of your Lord day and night.
· At the end of Ramadan, I am often blessed to observe the retreat to the mosque for the last ten nights of the month (2:187).
Perhaps all these factors play a part in making this month a precious gift. And many more probably exist for me and for others too. Whatever the reasons, Ramadan has been my favorite time of the year since I first began to fast. I pray that it is special to you too.