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The mention of the month of Ramadhan brings to mind fasting, recitation of the Qur’an, attending mosque, increasing blessings, communal and family bonds and iftar (breaking the fast). Behind these true but apparent characteristics of Ramadhan, there is a deep call to humanity, not just to Muslims, to challenge their intellect, morality and spirituality.

Often these themes are tackled through the topics of self-development and increased attention on what God desires from us. However, when we look closely at the driving forces behind self-development, we find the intellectual miracle of the Qur’an, the protection that fasting offers and the tool of contemplation that is meant to lead to spiritual ascension towards God. We would like to comment on each theme and hopefully offer readers a closer examination of how Ramadhan is challenging Muslims and humanity as a whole.

Intellectual expansion

The revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad is obviously a significant event in the Muslim calendar, known as Laylat al-Qadr (The Night of Power). On this 23rd night of Ramadhan, Muslims engage in increased worship and reflection and are told to appreciate the substance of the Qur’an. What is this substance? The Qur’an’s substance is the depth and variety of its subjects ranging from moral exhortations, historical incidents and scientific realities to laws, philosophy and ethics. Coupled with this is its ‘tasreefi’ arrangement i.e the manner in which it juxtaposes verses in an intellectual and poetic structure in order to incite the reader to contemplate on the messages in relation to himself/herself. This arrangement is something which the Arabs during Prophet Muhammad’s time could not produce and humanity is challenged to produce a chapter like the Qur’an. The confidence of the Qur’an is in its intellectuality and this is precisely its enduring miracle – the ability to engage the human mind with its messages.

In this respect, Ali b. Abi Talib, the 1st Shi’a Imam, states in sermon 110 of Nahj al-Balagha: “Learn the Qur'an for it is the fairest of discourses and understand it thoroughly for it is the best blossoming of hearts. Seek cure with its light for it is the cure for hearts. Recite it beautifully for it is the most beautiful narration.”

One of the main purposes of Ramadhan is to engage the human mind in intellectuality – whether this is the Qur’an or gaining knowledge in general. It is a month in which material pleasures, which often gives the human being temporary satisfaction, are meant to be replaced with immaterial pleasures - namely seeking knowledge.

Moral improvement

Clearly, one of the obvious goals of Ramadhan is abstaining from food and certain physical pleasures during the duration of the fast. However, the abstinence of the physical is not a physical act in itself. Its aim is to reduce a human being’s dependence on material sustenance which we can become addicted to (for example, eating too much food, being extravagant etc...) and instead, replace it with spiritual sustenance that is appropriate for the soul. So, for example, by not eating throughout the day, I become a simpler person, less fussy, less greedy and so on and so forth to the point where my soul does not require an over-dependency on food. It is precisely strengthening and protecting the soul through moral endeavour that constitutes the primary objective of the fast.

In this respect, Zayn al-Abidin, the 4th Shi’a Imam, states: ‘The right of fasting is that you know it is a veil which God has set up over your tongue, your hearing, your sight, your stomacand your private part to protect you from the Fire. If you abandon the fast, you will have torn God's protective covering away from yourself.’ (Risalat al-Huquq, http://www.al-islam.org/sahifa/treatise.html)

Fasting paves the way for moral improvement because it makes the individual abstain from the very things which would incite him/her to base desires – whether this is in the realm of eating, sex, speaking ill of others and hearing unnecessary things. The combination of legal injunctions and ethical goals make the fast a moral challenge, inciting the individual to reflect on what type of existence he/she wants for himself/herself.

Spiritual ascension

Spiritual ascension is perhaps the culmination of the above two factors – that contemplation and moral striving are meant to lead to increased nearness to God. This transcendental growth expands the Godly awareness of an individual, known as taqwa or God-consciousness. This elevates the soul of the human being to feel the presence of God in his life and the duties he owes to Him. What occurs is a kind of contentment, moral focus and love for God that seems to eclipse all other pleasures in life. Ramadhan offers the opportunity for a human being to train himself in order see the Godly reality which he is missing, on account of his dependency on worldly attachments. This of course does not mean abandonment of the world but rather living in the world in a Godly manner, helping humanity and increasing its morals.

It is perhaps these 3 themes of Ramadhan which combine to form the month’s prime impetus and that is to challenge the individual to reach a higher state of true happiness, within himself and others – a message God neatly encapsulates in Surat al-Asr (no.103): “I swear by the time, most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.”

The Centre for Islamic Shi’a Studies

13th August 2010/Ramadhan 1431