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Fast 4 A Purpose
By Altaf Husain
08/08/2001
Muslim youth are asserting their Islamic identities much more today than even as recent as five years ago. Many are actively involved in their local communities as well as on the national scene. The youth feel a special sense of responsibility towards improving the condition of the Ummah and are working very hard to shoulder their share of the work. Some are working to increase political involvement, others are working on disaster and relief issues, and yet others are serving as interns in national and local Islamic organizations. Are they overwhelmed with the condition of the Ummah? Some may be. But others feel that they can do something, even if it is only a
du'a for their brothers and sisters suffering around the world. And that is precisely how the idea of fasting for a purpose came about.
You're thinking…a Ramadan reminder almost 4 months early? Actually, this is not about fasting in Ramadan. It is about fasting today and any day throughout the year. Ibrahim Moiz, President of the Muslim Students Association's Great Lakes Council - along with a few other young Muslim brothers, namely Aziz Abdul Rahman, Atif Bukhari, Faisal Ghori, and Esa Syeed, who are interns at the Washington D.C. headquarters of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) - came up with the idea of having a communal fast throughout the year.
As the summer began winding down, the young men decided to share in Islamic activities like holding a
qiyam program in their apartment and fasting the day before. The fast was meant to commemorate the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
(sal allahu alayhi wasallam) as well as being intended to remind the brothers of the suffering of Muslims in Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir, Palestine and other parts of the Muslim world.
Each brother started contributing ideas on how to enhance the program and before long someone had suggested sharing the idea with other youth. As president of the MSA council, Ibrahim felt he could write and convince other members to join along and fast in their own areas. He then spoke with the president of MSA National and was able to secure national endorsement for the idea. An idea was suggested to hold the fast in correlation with some major contemporary event. The date August 6th was chosen to mark the eleven-year-long attack on the civilian population of Iraq!
What started out as an informal conversation between young Muslim interns, turned into a national event. On Monday August 6, 2001, Muslim youth and adults were invited to fast for several reasons. First, fasting on a Monday is from the
sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (sal allahu alayhi wasallam). It was the Prophet's habit to fast on Mondays and Thursdays and it was coincidental that the anniversary of the Iraqi sanctions fell on a Monday as well. Second, this specific fast is intended as a reflection of the solidarity that Muslim youth in North America feel for the Muslims suffering around the world. Third, the campaign to fast for a purpose infuses a spiritual element in the fast-paced and sometimes overwhelming student Islamic movement in North America.
To recruit people to "fast for a purpose", Ibrahim and the other brothers sent out mass emails about the August 6th fast. An email account was set up so that people with questions and those who were joining the fast campaign could stay in touch:
fast4apurpose@aol.com. The brothers also made a presentation about this idea to the MSA National executive committee and the Greater Metropolitan Washington area MSA workers, who met in Virginia this past weekend.
Did many people fast on August 6th? The totals are not in yet…and we may never know the final number. One of the frustrations that the youth will face with such a campaign is the apathy that is so rampant among the larger Muslim youth population. Even if people decided to fast because of this campaign, most of them have not responded to Ibrahim's request that they notify him using the special email address he set up.
Another notable point of such a campaign is that many youth feel somewhat "on their own" in terms of their involvement with the student Islamic movement. Parents are often too caught up in their own worlds to really pay attention, let alone to appreciate the work that their children are doing. But that should not be the case. Whenever parents are heavily involved in the lives of their children, we see the children feel a sense of achievement!
In this case, Abu Ibrahim helped out by announcing the fast after Jumu'a prayer in Flint, Michigan this past Friday.
While the numbers of participants may remain unknown, at least the student Islamic movement will record Monday, August 6, 2001 as the day the students fasted to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters suffering around the world.
Such efforts are an indicator that the revival of Islam is amongst us. One thing is for sure: At least the five brothers who initiated this idea will have the reward of reviving the
sunnah of fasting on Mondays, which was recommended by our beloved Prophet Muhammad
(sal allahu alayhi wasallam).
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