Santri

Majalah Gontor adalah sebuah media yang menyediakan informasi dan pengetahuan seputar pendidikan, majalah ini banyak berkiblat pada keberadaan Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor sendiri yang terletak di Ponorogo Jawa Timur.

Sebagai media pendidikan, media ini telah banyak menginspirasi para praktisi pendidikan dalam menjalankan program pendidikan baik Islam maupun umum.

Majalah Edukasia adalah media pendidikan yang menyediakan pengetahuan dan informasi life skill, technical skill, mental skill, bahkan spiritual skill untuk pendidikan anak, dengan menyajikan berita yang inspiratif dan aplikatif serta aktual.

Pendidikan adalah sektor yang sangat penting dan tidak bisa ditawar-tawar untuk benar-benar diseriusi agar negeri kita Indonesia ini bisa berkembang dan maju. Salah satu upaya Darunnajah untuk memajukan pendidikan negeri ini yaitu dengan di terbitkannya majalah Edukasia.

Edukasia adalah kerja jurnalisme pendidikan Indonesia yang mengemban nilai-nilai ‘keselamatan’, yang bersifat terbuka dan tidak statis. Majalah ini di tujukan untuk orangtua yang memiliki putra/putri remaja yang berusia antara 11 sampai dengan 17 tahun sebagai alternatif solusi dalam mendidik dan memilih pendidikan yang layak dan tepat untuk keluarga muslim dalam era modern sekarang dan yang akan datang.

Dengan diluncurkannya majalah Edukasia ini, diharapkan bisa menjadi media pendidikan alternatif yang informatif dan representatif, serta memberikan ruang baca yang seluas-luasnya, sehingga bisa ikut mewarnai dunia pendidikan untuk generasi masa depan Indonesia.

Tujuan Kegiatan

Adapun tujuan dari kegiatan ini adalah: Ikut serta dalam membangun pendidikan di Indonesia secara modern dan informatif dalam membantu orangtua dan anak-anak dalam mengkaji isu-isu pendidikan yang sesuai dengan nilai-nilai kasih sayang.

The Obligation (Fard) of Hajj
fath’s

Hajj is one of the five institutions of Islam. The performance of Hajj as an enjoined duty and its superiority and the statement of Allah Taala:

“Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (Kabah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the journey.

And whoever disbelieves (i.e. desires Hajj) then he is a disbeliever of Allah and Allah stands not in need of any of His Creature.” (Surah Al Imran 3:197)

Pilgrimage is a duty to be performed at least once in a lifetime by every adult Muslim, man or woman, who is free of sound mind and able to undertake it. It is highly important that every Muslim who has fulfilled the conditions which make him “able” to perform pilgrimage should do so as soon as possible. If he postpones offering this duty from one year to another he may die before he has fulfilled his duty. He then meets his Lord having neglected a main pillar of Islam. It may happen that a person who slackens reaches old age, when pilgrimage becomes doubly difficult, before he has fulfilled his duty.

He who denies that pilgrimage is a duty of Muslims is not a Muslim but a Kafir, for, he denies a part of the religion of Islam which is necessarily known to every Muslim.

Conditions for Hajj to become obligatory (Fard) on any personThere are several conditions which must be met before pilgrimage becomes a duty for any particular person. If any of these conditions is not met, the person concerned is not necessarily required to offer pilgrimage. These conditions are as follows:

1. To be an adult. A person is an adult if he or she has attained puberty. If a child offers pilgrimage, it is valid and both the child and his parents are rewarded for it. Pilgrimage in childhood, however, cannot be a substitute for pilgrimage after one becomes an adult.
2. To be of sound mind.
3. To be free. A slave is not required to offer pilgrimage. If he does and he is subsequently set free, that pilgrimage does not relieve him of the duty to offer pilgrimage after he has gained his freedom.
4. To be aware that pilgrimage is a duty. This applies particularly to those people who are brought up in non-Muslim countries.
5. A woman who intends to offer pilgrimage must be accompanied by either her husband or one of her mahrams (those of her relatives whom she cannot marry). If she cannot find such company she is not required to offer pilgrimage. If such a companion is available but refuses to accompany her unless she pays his expenses, she is required to pay his expenses, if she is able to do so. If a woman takes the pilgrimage journey on her own, her pilgrimage is valid but she is not relieved of the sin of violating Islamic restrictions regarding travel by women. No husband may prevent his wife from offering her first pilgrimage if she wants to do so. If he tries to prevent her, she may undertake the journey without his permission.
6. To be able to offer pilgrimage. This ability is fulfilled if the following conditions are met:

1. 1. Physical ability. Any intending pilgrim must have sufficient physical strength to do all the requirements of pilgrimage.
   2. He must not be too weak to travel and fulfill the duties of pilgrimage because of old age.
   3. His route should be safe. If he fears for his life or money this condition is not met.
   4. He should have sufficient money to meet his necessary expenses until he comes back.
   5. There should be no physical impediment which prevents him from undertaking the journey, such as imprisonment, torture or punishment inflicted by a tyrannical ruler.If someone who does not fulfil the conditions of ability offers pilgrimage, in spite of his inability, his pilgrimage is valid.

Things to do before one embarks on his journey

If a Muslim determines to go for pilgrimage or Umrah (mini-pilgrimage) he should do the following before he embarks on his journey:

1. Urge his family, friends and relatives to observe the Islamic teachings and to abide by Allah’s commandments.
2. Write down any loans he owes to others or he has given to others, so that everybody’s right is documented.
3. Write is will. He is recommended to leave a part of his money, not exceeding one-third, for the poor.
4. Repent of his past sins and mistakes and pay back to others whatever is due to them.
5. Select the best of his money for the expenses of his journey. By “the best of his money,” we mean that which he knows to have been earned from perfectly pure sources The best of this is that which is earned by personal effort or for service which was done to the best of his ability. Pilgrimage is done for Allah and Allah accepts only what is pure.
6. Resolve to undertake his pilgrimage or umrah purely for Allah’s sake Allah accepts only such actions as are undertaken for the sole purpose of earning His pleasure. It is sufficient for a believer to feel that from the moment he begins his journey he is a guest of his Lord, enjoying His blessings, and sharing with that large number of believers a trip of total devotion, purity, brotherhood and mutual love.

Essentials of pilgrimage

There are four essentials of pilgrimage which must be dome for it to be valid. Omitting anyone of these will invalidate one’s pilgrimage. These are:

1. Ihram
2. Attendance at Arafat at the specified time
3. The Tawaf of ifaadah and
4. Sa’i between Safah and Marwah
5. A fifth essential is added by al-Shafie school of thought, which is to shave one’s head (for men only) or to shorten one’s hair.Talbiyyah

Pilgrims are also recommended to repeat the traditional phrase declaring that they are responding to Allah’s call for them to offer the pilgrimage and complete it. They repeat these phrases as they go into Ihram.

Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik.Labbaik Laa Shareeka Laka LabbaikInnal Hamda Wannimata lak walmulk Laa Shareeka Lak

“I respond to Your call my LordI respond to You, there is no deity save You.All praise, grace and dominion belong to You.You have no partners.”

Men should utter this aloud while women should say it silently.Repeat this Talbiyyah frequently, and engage in the praise of Allah, in supplication for forgiveness, and in the enjoining of what is good and the forbidding of what is evil.

Hajj: The Journey of Lifetime
fath’s

About 5000 years ago the Prophet Abraham was ordered by God to lay the foundations of the Kabah—the House of God in Mecca—and to call people to make a pilgrimage to this House: “Exhort all men to make the Pilgrimage. They shall come to you on foot and on the backs of swift camels; they shall come from every deep ravine…” (Qur’an, 22:27)Today, responding to the call of Abraham and following in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, over two million people from every corner of the globe gather at Mecca to perform their Hajj.

Along with the profession of faith, daily prayers, a month-long annual fast and charity to the poor, Hajj is one of the five tenets of Islam. Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim, male or female, provided he or she is healthy enough to travel and has the means to undertake the pilgrimage.

The Hajj period lasts from the 8th to the 13th of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, and as the pilgrims arrive in Mecca they are lodged in hotels and houses.

One very important obligation during Hajj is the wearing of unstitched clothing comprised of two sheets (women wear normal clothes with a scarf to cover the head). All hajis, rich and poor, black and white, are dressed in this way, so that all men of all countries look alike in identical, simple garments, and no pilgrim may then feel tempted to take pride of place over another.

The Sacred Mosque of Mecca, due to continuous expansion, can accommodate as many as 7 lakh pilgrims at one time. Here the pilgrims encircle the holy Kabah seven times, which symbolically represents how man’s life must revolve around God. Near the Kabah, are two small hills called Safa and Marwah—”Signs of God” as they are described by the Qur’an. The hills, which were previously outside the precincts of the Sacred Mosque, have now been enclosed within its boundaries. The pilgrims walk briskly back and forth seven times between these hills, a distance of about 394 metres. This rite is performed in memory of Abraham’s wife, Hagar, who ran helplessly between the two hills seven times in search of water for her baby, Ishmael, who was suffering from thirst. God was pleased and sent an angel to dig a well from which the baby could drink water. The well, known as Zamzam, still quenches pilgrims’ thirst.

On the first day of Hajj, the pilgrims set out for Mina, which is a small town about 3 miles from Mecca. Here the pilgrims stay three nights and three days. The town, which normally has no more than a few hundred inhabitants, bursts into life on the days of Hajj, when over two million people pour in to settle in tents to perform the rites of stoning the pillars that represent the Devil. It is the place where, in obedience to God’s commandment, Abraham took his son Ishmael to sacrifice him. At that very moment, Satan appeared here to tempt Abraham to disobey God’s command. But he threw pebbles at Satan to drive him away. So did young Ishmael and his mother. God was pleased with Abraham’s response and sent an angel with a ram to be sacrificed instead of Ishmael. In commemoration of this act, Muslims sacrifice an animal on the Eidul Azha. Today three pillars stand on the very spot where the incident took place. As one of the rites of Hajj, the pilgrims also throw small pebbles at these stone pillars, which symbolize the Devil within ourselves. This is meant to kill the soul’s desires and the ego.

From Mina, the pilgrims go on to Arafat, where the climax of the pilgrimage—”the Standing of Arafat” takes place. For this reason the Prophet said, “Arafat is Hajj.” The center of attention is the 200 feet high Mount of Mercy from which the Prophet Muhammad preached his last sermon in 632 AD. Seated on a camel, he addressed a crowd of 100,000 laying emphasis on the importance Islam attaches to human equality, regardless of social distinctions, the equal sharing of rights and duties by husband and wife, and the prohibition of usury, etc. Again, speaking with equal emphasis, the Prophet said: “No Arab is superior to a non-Arab and no non-Arab is superior to an Arab. No black man is superior to a red man and no red man is superior to a black, except through taqwa (fear of God). Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is deeply conscious of God.”

Here the pilgrims stand “before God,” praying and listening to sermons. Everyone invokes God in his own way: standing or sitting, motionless, going on foot, or mounted. After a short stay here the pilgrims returns to Mina via Muzdalifa. After staying again in Mina for two nights, they return to Mecca for the last encircling of the Kabah, which ends the Hajj. Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque and grave are situated, also attracts pilgrims in great numbers. Though it is not part of Hajj, the pilgrims, out of their great reverence for the Prophet, stay there for a few days also, praying in the Prophet’s Mosque and visiting historical sites.

In the present century the number of people performing the Hajj in any given year before World War II might have been as low as 10,000, but this figure has steadily increased, at present exceeding the two million mark—an increase which today is the cause of a major problem.The unfortunate tragedy of an outbreak of fire in Mina this year, causing over 300 casualties, has given the Islamic world a jolt and made us rethink the planning of the Hajj. The authorities in Saudi Arabia are sparing no effort to see that pilgrims are offered all comforts. However, many pilgrims, especially the elderly pilgrims from the Indian subcontinent, also contribute to the confusion because of their lack of experience. The system of giving private contracts to local people to supervise groups of pilgrims needs a total overhaul, as this results in the provision of poor facilities, particularly the arrangement of tents at Mina and Arafat.

On the days of Mina and Arafat, when everyone lives in tents, all safety precautions should be taken, in particular, the placing of a strict ban on the cooking of food. Pilgrims should not be allowed to carry gas stoves, and should be asked to rely on packed food and fresh fruits. But the real answer to fire casualties would appear to be the use of fire proof tents.

As far as possible, elderly pilgrims should now avoid going on pilgrimages and should opt rather for a hajj-e-badal (i.e. hajj performed by someone else on behalf of the pilgrim). The example of countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand is worth emulating as most of their pilgrims are young people. There is also the excellent practice in their countries for couples to go on the Hajj just after getting married. Moreover, as the Hajj is compulsory only once in a lifetime, people should limit themselves to performing it only once. This would to some extent reduce the pressure on the available facilities.

Strenuous and unflagging efforts are a must if the Hajj is to be made 100 percent safe for the ever-increasing annual influx of pilgrims from all over the world.

Hajj
fath’s

About 5000 years ago the Prophet Abraham was ordered by God to lay the foundations of the Kabah—the House of God in Mecca—and to call people to make a pilgrimage to this House: “Exhort all people to make the Pilgrimage. They shall come to you on foot and on the backs of swift camels; they shall come from every deep ravine…” (Qur’an, 22:27)

Today, still responding to that original call of Abraham and following in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, over two million people from every corner of the globe gather at Mecca to perform their Hajj.

Along with the profession of faith, daily prayers, a month-long annual fast and charity to the poor, Hajj is one of the five tenets of Islam. Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim, male or female, provided he or she is healthy enough to travel and has the means to undertake the pilgrimage.

The Hajj period lasts from the 8th to the 13th of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, and, as the pilgrims arrive in Mecca, they are lodged in hotels and houses.

One very important obligation during Hajj is the wearing of unstitched clothing comprised of two sheets (women wear normal clothes with a scarf to cover the head). All hajis, rich and poor, black and white, are dressed in this way, so that all men of all countries look alike in identical, simple garments, and no pilgrim may then feel tempted to take pride of place over another.

The Sacred Mosque of Mecca, due to continuous expansion, can accommodate about one million pilgrims at one time. Here the pilgrims encircle the holy Kabah seven times, which symbolically represents how man’s life must revolve around God. Near the Kabah, are two small hills called Safa and Marwah—”Signs of God” as they are described by the Qur’an. The hills, which were previously outside the precincts of the Sacred Mosque, have now been enclosed within its boundaries. The pilgrims walk briskly back and forth seven times between these hills, a distance of about 394 metres. This rite is performed in memory of Abraham’s wife, Hagar, who ran helplessly between the two hills seven times in search of water for her baby, Ishmael, who was suffering from thirst. God was pleased and a miracle took place—a spring gushed forth from which the baby could drink water. The well, known as Zamzam, still quenches pilgrims’ thirst.

On the first day of Hajj, the pilgrims set out for Mina, a small town about 3 miles from Mecca. Here the pilgrims stay three nights and three days. The town, which normally has no more than a few hundred inhabitants, bursts into life on the days of Hajj, when over two million people pour in to settle in tents to perform the rites of stoning the pillars that represent the Devil. It is the place where, in obedience to God’s commandment, Abraham took his son Ishmael to sacrifice him. At that very moment, Satan appeared here to tempt Abraham to disobey God’s command. But he threw pebbles at Satan to drive him away. So did young Ishmael and his mother. God was pleased with Abraham’s response and sent an angel with a ram to be sacrificed instead of Ishmael. In commemoration of this act, Muslims sacrifice an animal on the Eidul Azha. Today three pillars stand on the very spot where the incident took place. As one of the rites of Hajj, the pilgrims also throw small pebbles at these stone pillars, which symbolize the Devil within ourselves. This is meant to kill the soul’s desires and the ego.

From Mina, the pilgrims go on to Arafat, where the climax of the pilgrimage—”the Standing of Arafat” takes place. For this reason the Prophet said, “Arafat is Hajj.” The center of attention is the 200 feet high Mount of Mercy from which the Prophet Muhammad preached his last sermon in 632 AD. Seated on a camel, he addressed a crowd of 100,000 laying emphasis on the importance Islam attaches to human equality, regardless of social distinctions, the equal sharing of rights and duties by husband and wife, and the prohibition of usury, etc. Again, speaking with equal emphasis, the Prophet said: “No Arab is superior to a non-Arab and no non-Arab is superior to an Arab. No black man is superior to a red man and no red man is superior to a black, except through taqwa (fear of God). Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is deeply conscious of God.”

Here the pilgrims stand “before God,” praying and listening to sermons. Everyone invokes God in his own way: standing or sitting, motionless, going on foot, or mounted. After a short stay here the pilgrims return to Mina via Muzdalifa. After staying again in Mina for two nights, they return to Mecca for the last encircling of the Kabah, which ends the Hajj. Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque and grave are situated, also attracts pilgrims in great numbers. Though it is not part of Hajj, the pilgrims, out of their great reverence for the Prophet, stay there for a few days also, praying in the Prophet’s Mosque and visiting historical sites.

To go on Hajj is to meet God. When the pilgrim performs the Hajj, he is filled with awe of his Creator: he feels that he is leaving his own world, and entering God’s. Now he is touching the Lord, revolving around Him, running towards Him, journeying on His behalf, making a sacrifice in His name, throwing pebbles at His enemies, praying to the Almighty and seeing his prayer answered.

Zakat
fath’s

Zakat is the fourth ‘pillar’ of Islam. Zakat means setting apart for Allah every year a certain portion of one’s savings and wealth (generally 2.5 percent) and spending it upon religious duties and on needy members of the community. The fulfillment of this duty is, in fact, a kind of reminder that all one has is in trust for Allah. Man should, therefore, hold nothing back from Allah. To whatever one may amass in one’s lifetime, one’s own personal contribution is insignificant. If the Supreme Being, who is at work in the heavens and on the earth, refused to co-operate with man, there would be nothing that the latter could accomplish single-handed. He would not be able to plant so much as a single seed to make things grow. Nor could he set up any industries, or carry out any other such enterprise. If Allah were to withdraw any one of His material blessings, all our plans would go awry, and all our efforts would be brought to naught.

Zakat is the practical recognition of this fact through the expenditure of money. Islam requires man to consider his personal wealth as belonging to Allah and, therefore, to set apart a portion for Him. No maximum limit has been prescribed, but a minimum limit has definitely been fixed. According to statutory Zakat, each individual must abide by this and spend a fixed minimum percentage of his wealth every year in the way prescribed by Allah. In so spending his wealth, he is permitted neither to belittle the recipient nor to make him feel obliged or grateful to himself. His wealth must be given to the needy in the spirit of its being a trust from Allah which he is making over to the genuine title-holders. He should feed others so that he himself is fed in the Hereafter, and he should give to others so that he himself is not denied succor by Allah in the next world.

Zakat is a symbol of one’s obligation to recognize the rights of others and to be in sympathy with them in pain or in sorrow. These sentiments should become so deep-rooted that one begins to regard one’s own wealth as belonging, in part, to others. Moreover, one should render service to others without expecting either recognition or recompense. Each individual should protect the honor of others without hope of any gain in return. He should be the well-wisher of not just friends and relations, but of all members of society. Zakat, first and foremost, makes it plain to people that their entire ‘possessions’ are gifts of Allah, and, secondly, dissuades the servants of Allah from living in society as unfeeling and selfish creatures. Indeed, throughout their entire lives, they must set aside some portion for others.

One very wrong way of conducting oneself in any social set-up is to live in expectation of worldly gain from the services rendered to others. An example of such behavior is to lend money in the hopes of getting it back with interest. Where this is a common practice, exploitation becomes rampant, with everyone trying to subjugate and plunder others. As a consequence, the whole of society is plagued with disorder. No one, be he rich or poor, can be happy in such a set-up. If a man is correctly motivated, he will be of service to his fellow-human beings only in the hope of receiving a reward from Allah: he will give to others with the divine assurance that he will be repaid in full in the next world. In a society where there is no exploitation, feelings of mutual hatred and unconcern cannot flourish. A climate of mutual distrust and disorder is simply not allowed to come into being; each lives in peace with the other, and society becomes a model of harmony and prosperity.

On the legalistic plane, Zakat is an annual tax, or duty, in essence and spirit: it is recognition on the part of man of the share which Allah, and other men, have in his wealth.

Fasting is prescribed once a year, in the month of Ramadan. One fasts every day of the month, from the first light of dawn until sundown. During that time one abstains completely from food and drink. According to the Quran, there are two purposes of fasting:

1. To make one cautious in life
2. To make one thankful to God (Quran, 2:183,185)

Food and drink is man’s most basic necessity. When he is consumed by hunger and thirst, he sees how weak he really is; he realizes how much he is in need of the succour of God. This experience makes him aware of his duties as God’s humble servant. This feeling leads to caution in life. Then in the evening, when he eats and drinks, he sees how God has made complete provision for his needs. His heart is filled with gratitude. He praises God, and offers thanks to Him.

The Prophet is reported as saying that God rewards good deeds from tenfold to 700 fold. His reward for fasting, which is especially for Him, will be infinite. In another Hadith he is reported as saying, “There are many who fast and receive nothing in return, but hunger and thirst.”

What is the difference between one fast and another, while in appearance both are alike. In actual fact, the appearance is not all that there is to it. The act serves only as a symbol of the essence. One who observes fasting in its essence as well as in its outward form will deserve the promised reward. On the other hand, one who attaches importance to symbols alone will have nothing to his credit when he comes before God. Fasting of the latter type is of no value in the eyes of God, since the true value of something that is symbolic in its nature is always determined by the will to virtue, which it represents.

The outward form of fasting is to abstain from food and water. This abstinence symbolizes the fact that man is at God’s disposal. He should, therefore, be willing, at all times, to sacrifice anything for His sake; even if it involves relinquishing such basic necessities as food and water.

Obviously one who refrains from taking food and water on specific days, but does not do likewise regarding other things forbidden by God, like telling lies; persecuting his fellowmen; perpetrating injustice and so on mistakes the symbols for the essence, appearance for reality. Such a man cannot expect to deserve a reward from God.

The real fast is that of one whose whole life is cast in the same consistent mould: who applies in all his affairs, the constraints and bounds that God has laid down; who checks his tongue from abusing others; who stays his hand from persecution; who halts in his steps towards injustice. As the prophets said “ Such a man can be likened to a horse tied to his rope, which moves only as far as his string permits him. He cannot transgress.

The essence of fasting thus is to eschew all evil ways throughout the year. The true fast is that from which one learns a lesson.

The animal of sacrifice has been called ‘Shaeera’ (Symbol) in the Quran (22:36). Mention is also made of the fact that neither its flesh nor its blood will ever reach God: it is human piety, which will reach Him (22:37).

This shows that in Islam certain things which are significant as symbols and embody some inward reality. The animal of sacrifice is one of them. The word ‘Shaeera’ refers to a tangible symbol indicative of some profound reality. For example, God requires His servants to sacrifice – for His sake – all un-Islamic feelings and ambitions. This is a psychological sacrifice. God has commanded man to sacrifice an animal as a symbol of that psychological sacrifice.

While slaughtering an animal a Muslim utters these words: my prayers and my sacrifices, my life and my death, are all for God, Lord of the Creation. His doing so expresses the idea that the sacrificing an animal is no more than an outward symbol of an inward reality. Only those who, while slaughtering their animals, have it clearly in their minds that they are in fact sacrificing their very existence for God, have made a true sacrifice. To them the slaughtered animal becomes a tangible symbol of having eliminating selfish desires and cravings.

Fasting is another such symbol. Abstinence from food is in reality a symbol of abstinence from sins. Food is a prime necessity of man. Refraining from food is an expression of the willingness of a servant of God to forsake everything, even food and water, for the sake of his Lord.

Abu Huraira, a companion of the Prophet, relates that the Prophet said:

Whoever does not refrain from lying and acting dishonestly while he is fasting is not required by God to refrain from food and water. (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud)

The essence of fasting is to abstain from sinful action. Whoever continues to perpetrate sinful action while on a strict fast is following only its outward form and ignoring it in essence. God has no need of such meaningless act of worship.

Fasting and Self Purification
fath’s

Fasting is an exercise in self-discipline. During the month of Ramadan, the believer abstains in the daytime from food and drink of his own free will. It is only after sunset that he satisfies his hunger and quenches his thirst. In this way, he builds up his self-control. By practicing restraint for one month in a year, he is able to lead a life of self-discipline in all matters for the rest of the year.

Apart from man, there are in the universe innumerable other things, all of which – having no free will of their own – adhere strictly to Allah’s law. Man, however, is not in the same category as these things, for Allah has given him the freedom to choose which path he will tread. Not withstanding this divine gift of freedom of will, it is still the desire of the Almighty that man should, by his own choice, tread the path of obedience.

It is therefore to condition him to follow the path of restraint that the rule of fasting has been laid down. No mere annual ritual, fasting is a form of training undergone every ninth month of the Muslim year. It is not just a matter of temporarily enduring hunger and thirst; it is a lesson in the permanent practice of patience tolerance throughout one’s entire life.

While on a fast a man may have food and water before him, despite his hunger and thirst, he will make no move to eat or drink. He exercises self-control and then Allah desires that he should also exercise the same restraint whenever he has the opportunity to display his ego and his arrogance. He must not fall into unjust ways just because the bait is tempting and all doors have been opened for him. If man is to earn Allah’s favor, he must eschew the path forbidden by Him, and set his feet firmly on the path of modesty and humility.

The path followed perforce by the universe has to be adopted by man of his own free will. That is why it is desirable that he should lead a life of self-imposed curbs. The unflinching self-restraint, which prevents him from eating or drinking while on a fast, is the virtue that will guaranty moral behavior throughout his life.

MORAL PIETY

In the Hadith, Ramadan is called “month of patience” (Mishkat al-Masabih, 1/613). This month is meant to serve as a training course, which will enable the individual to lead a successful life in this world by keeping his negative feelings under control. Negative feelings, it must be remembered present the greatest obstacle to human progress. Fasting is the pious way to solve this biggest of human problems.

As the Hadith says: “There is a Zakah for all things, and the Zakah of the body is fasting” (mishkat Al-Masabih 1/639). Here, the expression Zakah is used in the sense of purification. There is, indeed, a way of purifying everything. Just as bathing purifies the body, so fasting purifies the soul.

According to Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad observed: “Whenever one of your is invited to a meal while he is on a fast, he should inform his host that he is fasting” (Mishkat 1/611). According to another tradition the Prophet gave this very sound advice; whenever one of you is on a fast, he should be soft in his demeanor. In the event of being abused or provoked, he should simply say that he is on a fast” (Mishkat, 1/611).

Leading a life of restraint for a whole month produces a transformation in one’s thinking. It enables one to offer a positive response even to others negative behavior. Even strong abuse and other types of provocation will not push the fasting-believer into retaliating in the same coin. Rather than sink to that level, he will simply explain that he is on a fast. His own heart tells him that by observing a fast he has pledged himself to piety and that he cannot contemplate any evil action.

In this way, fasting inculcates in man the necessity to abstain at all costs from anti-social activities, and from all ungentlemanly words and deeds. He is thus brought to a life of moral restraint in this world.

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