Poetic Justice

One of my favourite  stories in the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman was Ramadan. It was illustrated and lettered in the Arabic tradition and was a masterpiece for a story written in that genre with classic lines such as:

“There were paths through the palace that none but Haroun Al Raschid knew; and this was because those who had drawn up the plans, and those who had built the paths, had all long since gone to their final reward: for it is seldom healthy to know the secrets of a king.”

Strangely enough, despite its title, the book had absolutely nothing to do with the month of Ramadan.

It did make me wonder though – What is the significance of Ramadan? Why is it considered so blessed? What were Muslims ordained to do in the month of Ramadan? What is the rationale of fasting? What is the length of the fast and what is permissible or prohibited during fasting? What about the Tarawih prayers?

The Quran says a number of things about Ramadan. In Surah Al-Baqarah verse 185, the Quran says:

Ramadan is the (month)
In which was sent down
The Quran, as a guide
To mankind, also clear (Signs)
For guidance and judgment
(Between right and wrong).

From that verse, we know that the Quran was sent down in the month of Ramadan and what is blessed is also apparent from that same verse – the ability to discern between right and wrong.

The verse then goes on to ordain as follows:

So every one of you
Who is present (at his home)
During that month
Should spend it in fasting,
But if any one is ill,
Or on a journey,
The prescribed period
(Should be made up)
By days later.
Allah intends every facility
For you; He does not want
To put you to difficulties.
(He wants you) to complete
The prescribed period,
And to glorify Him
In that He has guided you;
And perchance ye shall be grateful.

Muslims were therefore enjoined to fast during the month of Ramadan save and unless they were ill or were undertaking a journey (musafirs). In other words, while a religious obligation was imposed, dispensation from observing the obligation was similarly extended as ”Allah intends every facility for you; he does not want to put you to difficulties“.

Still, why should Muslims fast? Well, this is what the Quran says on this a few verses back:

O ye who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you
As it was prescribed
To those before you,
That ye may (learn)
Self-restraint – (2: 183)

Clearly, we fast in order to learn self-restraint. But what about what is permissible during the period of fast and during Ramadan? This is what the Quran says:

Permitted to you,
On the night of the fasts,
Is the approach to your wives.
They are your garments
And ye are their garments. (2:187)
…
And eat and drink,
Until the white thread
Of dawn appear to you
Distinct from its black thread;
Then complete your fast
Till the night appears … (2: 187)

From the above, it is clear that Muslims are not prohibited from being with their wives when they are not fasting. They are also not prohibited from eating or drinking from the time they break fast until the break of dawn.

This is rather different from how:

• Buddhists fast. They can drink some liquids but not eat.
• Catholics – on Good Friday, its two small meals and one regular meal. On Lent, no meat.
• Hindus – can vary but generally no food or water for 24 hours. (Interestingly, there is something called the Chandrayan Vrat which is a month long fast broken by 1 morsel of food on the first night and gradually increasing by 1 morsel until the 14th night and thereon the 14 morsels are gradually reversed to 1.)
• Jews – on Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, no food or water for 25 hours.

Still, those minor differences does not detract from the fact that fasting is common between all faith groups.

What about what happens after Muslims break fast? You know, when Muslims start going to the mosque in large numbers and it looks like the is a sea of white forms rushing to do some prayer or another. Its called the Tarawih prayer and normally last a couple of hours with the leader of the prayer (imam) reciting various verses from Quran.

Interestingly, Tarawih is not mentioned in the Quran but references to the prayer exists in Prophetic Traditions (hadith). Not so for tahhajjud (night) prayers though. It is mentioned specifically in the Quran and all Muslims are enjoined to perform it. In Al-Muzzammil verse 20:

Thy Lord doth know
That thou standest forth
(To prayer) nigh two-thirds
Of the night, or half
The night, or a third
Of the night, and so doth
A party of those with thee.

and verse 1-4:

O thou folded
in garments!
Stand (to prayer) by night,
But not all night -
Half of it -
Or a little less,
Or a little more;
And recite the Quran
In slow, measured rhythmic tones.

So, for those who were thinking they found an arguable reason to skip Tarawih, tahhajjud still beckons.  Ramadan Mubarak, my friends! And I am not referring to the novel …

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