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Eid Al-Fitr: Day of the Prize
By Zaid Shakir
27/12/2001
Two weeks ago, Muslims around the world celebrated the auspicious holiday of 'Eid al-Fitr, which is also called the "Day of the Prize." Abu Ja'far al-Baqir relates, "Whoever attains to Ramadan, fasts its days, stands its nights in prayer, lowers his gaze, guards his chastity, his tongue, and his hand; joins the congregational prayer, and arrives early for the Friday prayer, he has truly fasted the month, and has earned the full reward. He has gained the benefits of the Night of Power, and triumphed with the Prize of his
Lord."(1)
The prize mentioned by this and similar narrations is not given to just anyone. This prize only comes to one who diligently strives for the entire month. Our Noble Prophet relates, "Whoever fasts Ramadan with sincere faith, anticipating a reward from Allah, all of his prior sins will be
forgiven.(2) In a similar narration, we learn, "Whoever stands for prayers [during the nights of Ramadan] with sincere faith, anticipating a reward from Allah, all of his prior sins will be forgiven." The point to be made here is that one has to exert oneself, night and day, for the entire month in order to earn this prize. It isn't adequate to fast the weekends, when we are home from work, and then leave off fasting on workdays. Nor is it sufficient to pray
Tarawih, on those nights our favorite sports team has no televised games. Our exertion must extend throughout the entire month. By so doing, we truly cherish the prize that Allah has prepared for us, when we are finally blessed to obtain it.
'Eid al-Fitr is also a time to reflect on the meaning of the blessed month which has just left us. This reflection, done in the aftermath of such an intensely uplifting spiritual journey, may yield many insights. An insight that struck this writer, is how Ramadan is really a triumph of the human spirit, the spirit of that special creature that Allah describes in such lofty terms - saying for example,
"We have ennobled the human being…" [Al-Isra: 70]. He similarly says,
"We have created man in the best of moulds" [Al-Tin: 4]. This ennobling of the human being is based primarily on two gifts: his extraordinary intellect; and his potential for lofty spiritual aspirations. Man's unique intellect allows him to achieve that which nothing else in this creation is capable of. It is unthinkable that chimpanzees could build lofty skyscrapers, computers, or spaceships. Similarly, it would be difficult for us to conceive of dogs or dolphins consciously aspiring to enhance their relationship with their Creator, as they engage in an exacting personal odyssey whose destination is an ever-heightened level of spiritual refinement.
It is the cultivation of these twin faculties - our intellect and our spiritual aspirations -which allow us to escape the shackles of our carnal appetites, appetites which if unrestrained may cause us to be debased even beneath the brute animals. In this regard, the same Qur'anic verses which remind us of the beauty of the human being in his refined state, are followed by contrasting verses which highlight the ugliness of man when he is overwhelmed by his unrefined soul and its inclinations. The verse which mentions,
"We have created man in the best of moulds"; is followed by an ominous rejoinder,
"Then we cast him down until to be the lowest of the low" [Al-Tin: 4, 5]. Likewise, Allah's mentioning that ,
"He succeeds who purifies it [the Nafs]"; is followed by the warning,
"…and he is ruined who corrupts it." [Al-Shams: 9, 10]
The qualities we decide to cultivate go a long way towards determining the type of society we will create. In Ramadan, we cultivate qualities conducive to the creation of a society where divine knowledge and truth are respected. Ibrahim al-Nakh'i, the Mercy of Allah be upon him, is reported to have said, "The people who were ruined before you were ruined by three characteristics: excessive eating, excessive talking, and excessive
sleeping.(3) Ramadan reduces all three of these potentially destructive impulses. Our fast reduces our consumption of food. Staying up later than normal to pray the
Tarawih prayers, in addition to getting up earlier than usual to take our pre-dawn meal
(al-Sahur), reduces the hours we sleep. And our mindfulness of the fact that the reward of our fast is nullified by lewd, indecent, or false speech reduces our talking. The elimination of harmful excesses in these three areas helps to create a social atmosphere where the divine law and sacred knowledge are respected.
Islam desires that Muslims not only respect the divine law and sacred knowledge, but it desires that our lives become a reflection of these twin phenomena. Allah says in His Majestic Qur'an,
"…rather you should be Rabbaniyyin, owing to the fact that you both teach and study the scripture" [Ali 'Imran: 79]. The word "Rabbaniyyin" is an attribution from the word
Rabb or Lord. Islam desires that we be lordly people, not in the sense that we in any way vie with our incomparable Creator, but in the sense that our lives are a reflection of His divine law, shaped by the sacred knowledge He has sent into the world through His Noble Prophets and Messengers. The "Rabbannni" is therefore a wise, discerning, forbearing, judicious, knowledgeable believer. He also is a believer who responsible, therefore, he is capable of leading, when called on to do so. All of these are qualities associated with the word "Rabb."
The attainment of these qualities is facilitated by the fact that the "Rabbanni" both teaches and studies the scripture. In other words he/she leads a life steeped in the divine revelation. The ability to lead such a life is greatly enhanced by Ramadan, and fittingly so, for Ramadan is the month in which the Majestic Qur'an was first revealed. Allah states,
"The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed. A source of guidance and clarity, and a standard for distinguishing [right from wrong]" [Al-Baqara: 185]. It is related that even the other scriptures were revealed during Ramadan. Imam Ahmad produces a Hadith in his
Musnad, from Wathila bin al-Ashq'a, on the authority of the Prophet, Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, that he said, "The scripture revealed to Abraham were revealed the first night of Ramadan. The Torah was revealed after six nights of Ramadan had passed, the Injil was revealed on the
thirteenth of Ramadan, and the Qur'an was revealed after twenty-four days of Ramadan had
passed."(4)
It has been the practice of the Ummah to devote itself to the Qur'an in Ramadan. It is related that Imam Malik, the Mercy of Allah be upon him, would cease teaching prophetic tradition and jurisprudence during Ramadan, and devote himself to the recitation of the Qur'an. It is related that both Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam al-Shafi'i would complete the Qur'an 60 times during Ramadan. Al-Aswad is reported to have completed the Qur'an every other night during Ramadan. Ibrahim al-Nakh'i is reported to have completed the Qur'an every other night during the last ten days of Ramadan. For the balance of the month, he would complete it every three days. It has been mentioned that Sufyan al-Thawri would leave all of his voluntary worship during Ramadan and devote himself exclusively to the recitation of the Qur'an. This devotion to the Book of Allah during Ramadan surely must be considered one of the keys that unlocked the doors of success for those early generations of Muslims.
The capacity to recite and to understand the Scripture, the yearning to lead a life of righteousness, the longing to know and meet our Lord, are some of the distinctions of the human being. The angels did not fully grasp this higher aspect of man's nature, hence, when informed by Allah that He would establish man as a vicegerent on Earth, they asked,
"Will you place therein one who will work much corruption, and shed much blood; while we exalt your praise and uphold your sanctity?" [Al-Baqara: 30].
Ibn Rajab mentions in Lata'if al-Ma'arif that perhaps one of the wisdoms behind the descent of the Angels on the Night of Power (Layla al-Qadr) is the following: "[It is as if Allah is saying] to the Angels, You doubted in man when you said,
'Will you place therein one who will work much corruption, and shed much blood…?' While I said to you,
'Surely, I know that which you know not! Go to them this night and witness them standing in prayer, humbly prostrating themselves, and bowing down in worship, in order that you may know that I choose them on the basis of
knowledge.'"(5)
We should understand that Ramadan is a catharsis for this community, one that helps to dispel the clouds of darkness that can gather around our hearts, darkening our inner light. It is essential that this light is strong and clear during these dark and stormy days in order that it not only lights our path as we negotiate our way through this life, but it also transcends beyond us to light the way for the entire world. We have an obligation to go out and engage the world, illuminating the way for a strayed humanity. Allah has brought us to life with this truth, and illuminated our path. We have to go amongst the people to share this incomparable blessing with them. Allah mentions in His Majestic Book,
"Can one who was dead, and We raised him to life and placed for him a light with which he walks among humanity, [be] like one whose similitude is engulfed in total darkness from which he can never emerge. Thus is the conduct of the disbelievers made fair-seeming to them" [Al-An'am: 122].
Those of us who converted to Islam understand perfectly well the death mentioned in this verse. Many of us were dead in a human sense, leading lives ravaged by drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and the mindless consumption of any and every worthless commodity we were mercilessly brainwashed into desiring. We were the living dead, embodying a state aptly described by one of the Arab poets:
The one who expires and comes to rest isn't dead.
Rather the dead are the living dead.
Rather the dead are those who live in a state of deep depression,
Stricken by grief, with scant aspirations.(6)
In conclusion, many divergent visions are vying for the hearts and minds of humanity. One nascent vision is defined by human concerns, another nearly hegemonic one is defined, at the end of the day, by corporate greed. In making such a stark pronouncement, I am not trying to imply that the only significant actors at work in western societies are corporations. Nor are I implying that something as simplistic and obscurantist as a clash of civilizations is at work. The forces advocating a humanistic worldview may be just as prevalent in the "materialistic" West, as they are in the "spiritual" East. Similarly, western capitalism finds some of its staunchest allies among the dictators, land barons, and entrepreneurs of the East.
However, the churches, mosques, and synagogues, the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, the NAACP, and other humane associations lack a seat on the Trilateral Commission; aren't represented on the Council on Foreign Relations; nor do they have access to the cadre of unelected, unaccountable private citizens currently setting the ultimate parameters of this country's "War on Terrorism." Large private corporations, whose CEOs and top operatives move freely between corporate boardrooms and the halls of Congress and the White House are the most instrumental forces in determining the acceptable limits of political involvement, economic activity, and even what will ultimately constitute low-culture. Some of these operatives are led by their arrogance and hubris to think that they can determine, like Nimrod before them, who can live and who will die.
Fortunately, entrenched corporate and governmental power is being challenged by humane groups - groups whose concern for the common good of humanity takes precedent over their concern for profit margins and monopolies. Groups such as the American Friends Service Committee, the Positive Futures Network, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Naropa University's Center for Engaged Spirituality, United Religions Initiative, the Peace and Justice Foundation, and many others are beginning to challenge the premises and policies underlying the near hegemonic control of the rich and powerful over our government's foreign and domestic policies, control which has translated into untold misery for the increasingly impoverished masses of the non-Western world.
Ramadan encourages us to engage the world as we fast. One who sleeps the entirety of a fasting day must repeat that day. We are encouraged to take a predawn meal in order to have the necessary strength and vigor to continue our daily routines. We interact with the world from a base of heightened spirituality, a keener intellect, and decreased carnal desires. This is a subtle lesson for us that we must expand on. We have to engage the world at all levels - the social, religious, political, economic - and perhaps most importantly, the human, in order to bring the exalted teachings of Islam to bear in our collective efforts to make a better, more humane future for our coming generations.
Just as Ramadan emphasizes to us Muslims that as human beings we are far more than physical creatures, we have to emphasize to the world that Islam has far more to offer than the turmoil, suicide/martyrdom bombers, stale formalism, and irrational political discourse many pundits seek to reduce our religion to. We are the heirs of a proud civilization that left its indelible mark in all areas of human endeavor. We are also the heirs of a highly developed system of spiritual refinement. If we are able to capture the humanizing spirit of Ramadan, and use that spirit to sustain us throughout the year, perhaps we can begin to reclaim the most vital aspects of our glorious past.
Notes
1. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Lata'if al-Ma'arif, Damascus, Syria: Dar Ibn Kathir, 1996, p. 374.
2. The sins mentioned in this and similar narrations are the lesser sins (al-Sagha'ir). These sins are atoned for by the servant's regular acts of worship, without formal repentance. Our Noble Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah upon Him, said, "The five obligatory prayers, and one Jumu'ah to the next, are an atonement for the lesser sins committed between them, as long as the major sins are avoided." Related by Imams Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, and Ahmad.
3. Quoted in Ibn Hajar al-'Asqilani, al-Isti'dad li Yawm al-Ma'ad, Beirut, Lebanon: Maktaba al-Ma'arif, no date, pp. 22-23.
4. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, Muassasa al-Risala, Beirut, Lebanon: vol. 4, p. 107.
5. Ibn Rajab, p. 350.
6. These two verse are attributed to 'Adi bin al-Ra'laa. Quoted by Ibn Hisham, Qatr
al-Nada', Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, 1994, p. 318.
A recording of the 'Eid Khutbah which this message is based on can be ordered online from
www.rumibookstore.com
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