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Sunday, January 28, 2018

Fasting in Islam Link with Human Freedom and Dignity



LINK BETWEEN FASTING AND HUMAN FREEDOM AND DIGNITY

The Qur'an states that the divine compensation which is exacted for accidental homicide by a Muslim of a Muslim includes "freeing of a believing slave" or, for those who find this beyond their means, "fasting for two months continuously." (Qur'an 4:92)

Hence the freeing of slaves is invested with a special degree of spirituality in Islam since it is equivalent in status to prolonged fasting. Now this is an achievement of great significance indeed for it permits the process of the dismantling of the institution of slavery to proceed in a manner which ensures the full rehabilitation of the freed slaves.

The negative after-effects of slavery and, in particular, the damage to the human personality, are still very visible in the western hemisphere more than a century after the abolition of slavery in western civilization. The descendants of freed slaves in the United States of America are yet to be successfully integrated into American society. The explanation of this pathetic situation lies in the fact that slavery was abolished in response to basically economic compulsions. Humanitarianism appears to a have played a minor role in the whole affair. No evidence exists of any significant spiritual motivation in the dismantling of the institution of slavery.4

We wish to suggest that this is the basic reason why western civilization has been able to live with, or at least to tolerate western-imposed apartheid on the soil of the very continent from which the West enriched itself by enslaving a free people. In other words, apartheid is a manifestation of the spiritual bankruptcy of secular western civilization.

In India, on the other hand, the caste system imposes a very real form of slavery on millions of people in that hapless country. It is of crucial importance to note that there is a form of colour discrimination which is involved in the caste system. The fair-skinned Aryan is never at the bottom of the social order. That is reserved for the dark-skinned indigenous Indians. Although the caste system has been denounced by many great Hindu spiritual and religious leaders and Hindu reform movements, as well as being made illegal by the Indian constitution, it continues to survive and to impose terrible sufferings on low caste and caste-less Hindus to this day.

In Christianity as in Hinduism, there appears to be a no basic linkage between fasting on the one hand, and the recognition of human freedom and dignity on the other. And it is the consequent inability to mobilize the spiritual consciousness and bring it to bear on such social problems as caste in India, apartheid in South Africa, and the integration of the descendants of freed slaves into American society which explains the continued existence of these manifestations of social cancer.

Islam's basic achievement really lies in the functional linkage it has established between fasting, on the one hand, and charity, chastity and recognition of human freedom and dignity, on the other. The one envelops the others in a spiritual embrace of profound practical consequences.

1. Ibn Arabi - The Bezels of Wisdom, translated by R. WJ.Austin, SPCK, London, 1980, pg. 274
2 Ibidp275
3 Answer to a question posed to Dr. Ansari by the author.
4. See the excellent work ofDr. Eric WIlliams 'Capitalism and Slavery'.

To Be Continued ....



Sunday, January 21, 2018

Fasting in Islam Link with Charity



LINK BETWEEN FASTING AND CHARITY

In much the same way that the Qur'anic stamp of approval for sexual relations during the nights which follow the days of fasting leads to the spiritualization of sex and chastity, so too, does the Qur'anic exemptions from the compulsory fast for those who are ill or on a journey, permitting them to make up for the 'missed' days after Ramadan, lead to a certain religious pragmatism, realism and moderation. When religion ceases to be realistic and practical it soon loses its appeal to the masses. It is precisely for this reason that the Qur'an comments, in the context of the exemptions: 

"God intends every facility for you: He does not want to put you to difficulties."
(Qur'an 2:185)

Those, on the other hand, who are permanently incapable of fasting either because of the nature of their illness or because of the disabilities of old age, are permitted to feed the poor in lieu of fasting. And this reference to charity brings us to the social dimension of fasting. Ramadan is the month when God is most charitable to His creatures. Thus the Prophet is reported to have said: "When Ramadan begins the gates of heaven are opened... The gates of mercy are opened... The gates of hell are locked and the devils are chained." Indeed during Ramadan: " ...some are freed from hell by God, and that happens every night." This generosity and charity from (above also found expression in the life of the Prophet who, according to Ibn Abbas:

"When the month of Ramadan began, set every prisoner free and gave to every beggar. "

As a consequence, spending freely of one's substance in charity is an integral part of the institution of fasting in Islam. It is significant that the compulsory fast of Ramadan was not promulgated by the Qur'an until the Muslims had migrated from Makkah and had settled themselves as an organized community in Madinah. This was so precisely because fasting in Islam is not a strictly private affair but has a social function to perform in alleviating the condition of the poor, the destitute, the under- privileged and the weak in the society. So integral is this care for the poor and needy to the religious way of life that the Qur'an considers its neglect to be a repudiation of religion:

"Seest thou one who repudiates religion? Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness) and encourages not the feeding of the indigent. So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their prayers. Those who want (but) to be seen (of men) but refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs."
(Qur'an, 107:1-7)

It should be clear that the institution of fasting in Islam makes a vitally important contribution to Islam's championing of that noble cause. Indeed what Islam accomplishes in fasting is nothing less that the spiritualization of charity, for this is the implication of the linking of charity with fasting.

The momentum generated in the month of Ramadan in respect of the spiritualization of charity, is enhanced at no less a place than the house of God itself (the Kaaba in Makkah), when during Hajj and Umrah, the pilgrim who is forced by illness to shave his hair before the completion of the rites, is required to compensate for this either by fasting or by feeding the poor. (Qur'an, 2: 196) Thus even in the House of God Himself, fasting and charity have the same status.

In a contemporary world in which 'aid' as a form of 'imperialism' is so common, Islam's spiritualization of charity is sorely needed.


To Be Continued ....

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Fasting in Islam Link with Sex and Chastity



LINK OF FASTING TO SEX AND CHASTITY

In their month-long retreat during the fast of Ramadan Muslims are specifically permitted, as we noted earlier, to approach their wives during the night which follows the day of fasting. This union of husband and wife during the nights of Ramadan injects a spiritual content into sexual relations and then elevates that spiritualized sex to a status worthy of participation in a spiritual retreat. Now what Islam achieves here is nothing less than revolutionary, for the satisfaction of the sexual needs of man have almost universally been held to be incompatible with his highest spiritual strivings. The religious mind through the ages has maintained an aloofness from sexuality which it has either held in contempt or reluctantly tolerated. Islam makes a break with the immediate past and works for the integration of man's sex life into the period of his most intense and sustained spiritual mobilization In doing so it spiritualized the sex bond and establishes a philosophy of sex which is the sine qua non for the emancipation of woman in this modem age.

So long as sex is considered to be incompatible with man's spiritual strivings woman's status in society will always be problematic. Such a philosophy of sex, which excludes sexual life from the world of the sacred, and which recognizes no reality for woman beyond her material reality, almost naturally causes man to eventually approach woman for the satisfaction of lust and base carnal passion. Whensoever this occurs the mind creates an image of woman as a toy, a plaything and an object to be used and abused; and herein lies the explanation for the continued exploitation of woman in the modem world. The feminist movement in the western world seems to have completely overlooked this aspect of the problem.

As soon as sex is spiritualized, as it is in the fast of Ramadan, man approaches woman with light rather than lust. And in the flame of spiritual illumination sex attains a status which is truly sacred, a gift from God through which a man and woman attain peace, tranquillity, intense pleasure and contentment and most important of all, a union and unity which facilitates the approach to The One. It is in this context that we can properly examine the statement of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam): "Three (things) have been made dear to me (by Allah) in this world of yours - women, and fragrance (of perfume), and prayer has been the cooling of my eyes."

Ibn Arabi, in his famous work Fusus al- Hikam, comments on this saying of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) in some detail:

"Then God drew forth from him (namely man) a being in his own image, called woman, and because she appears in his own image, man feels a deep longing for her, as something yearns for Itself... Thus, women were made beloved to him, for God loves that which He has created in His own image...,1

For Ibn Arabi the love for woman is founded on the conception of woman as a being who emerged from man. Now whatever may be the merits of this conception of woman (which is basically a Christian conception) on which Ibn Arabi bases his explanation of the statement of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), it does not appear to be supported by the Qur'an which speaks of spiritual· creation of the male and the female from the same nafs (self). From that single nafs did Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) create its mate. (Qur'an 4: 1) No gender has been specifically recognized for that original nafs.

In so far as biological creation is concerned the Qur'an says that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) has caused (all) mankind to emerge from the earth in the manner of trees and plants. (Qur'an 71: 17) It also states that the nutfa (sperm) becomes an alaq (fertilized embryo which clings to the wall of the womb). And it is at this stage that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) causes either the male or the female to emerge. (Qur'an, 75:37-9)

Ibn Arabi is more convincing when he speaks of woman as a medium in which, and through which, man can contemplate God:

"When a man loves a woman, he seeks union with her, that is to say the most complete union possible in love. And there is in the elemental sphere no greater union than that between the sexes. It is precisely because such desire pervades all his parts that man is commanded to perform the major ablution (i. e. to take a bath after sexual intercourse). Thus the purification is total, just as his annihilation in her was total at the moment of consummation. God is jealous of His servant that he should find pleasure in any but Him, so He Purifies him by the ablution, so that he might once again behold Him in the one in whom he was annihilated, since it is none other than He whom he sees in her. "
[p.274J1
Indeed woman is the most perfect such medium, according to Ibn Arabi:

"Contemplation of the Reality without formal support is not possible, since God in His Essence, is far beyond all need of the Cosmos. Since, therefore, some form of support is necessary, the best and most perfect kind is the contemplation of God in women. "
[p.275J2

It is important that we should note that the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:"Three things have been made dear to me . . . ". He did not say: "Three things did I love." The implication is that it was the Divine will which ordained that women be loved more than all the world. The reason, as Ibn Arabi explains, is that of all the Ayat (signs and symbols) of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) which exist in the world, woman is the closest Ayatullah (symbol of Allah) to man. She is the closest 'window' to heaven! Hence man should approach woman with the respect which is due to the sacred. And, through woman, he should seek to approach his Lord.

Yet another approach to the subject is to be found in Dr. P.R. Ansari's observations that "the satisfaction of the sexual need bears a certain relationship with an expansion in man's spiritual release."3 This is not to say that the celibate is incapable of spiritual progress. It is rather a view to the effect that in negating sex in order to pursue spiritual growth, man is, in fact, disregarding an in-built mechanism in his own nature which constantly balances the physical and the spiritual.

Finally we may note that the spiritualization of sex, which is initiated in fasting, makes a significant impact on sexual morality since it establishes the firmest possible foundations for chastity. It is in the context of the permission to approach wives during the nights of Ramadan that the Qur'an finds it appropriate to observe that:
"They (your wives) are apparel for you, and so are you for them."
(Qur'an 2:187)

Thus when a husband goes to a woman other than his wife for his sexual satisfaction, he is, in fact, depriving his wife of her clothing and thus subjecting her to a certain kind of nakedness with all its attendant vulnerability, embarrassment and shame. Chastity is an imperative for stable and happy family life. And this is the foundation of the stable family unit without which an enduring civilization cannot be established.


To Be Continued ....

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Fasting in Islam The Link with Judaism



FASTING IN ISLAM - THE LINK WITH JUDAISM

Ramadan is the month of spiritual retreat for Muslims. They are permitted to eat and drink until the break of dawn and must abstain from food, drink and sex until sunset. (Qur'an, 2:187)

Prior to the revelation of the Qur'anic verses relating to fasting, it would appear that the Muslims fasted without taking an early morning meal. Ibn Abbas has commented on those Qur'anic verses as follows:

"When the people offered the night prayer, they were asked to abstain from food and drink and (intercourse with) women. They kept fast till the next night."
[Sunan AbuDaud, Kitab al-Siyam]

This was the way that the Jews and Christians fasted,. for the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) has said: "The difference between our fasting and that of the recipients of previous scriptures (Jews and Christians being specifically referred to) is eating shortly before dawn."
[Mishkat al-Masabih, Kitab al-Siyam.]

The fact that the Muslims fasted the way Christians and Jews fasted is not only indicative of the original Islamic attitude towards Christianity and Judaism but, also, provides invaluable evidence of how Christians and Jews fasted in those early days.

With the revelation of the new shari'ah (sacred law) the Muslims were now required to fast from dawn to sunset for the entire month of Ramadan. The change from the previous law of fasting to the new (as well as other such changes) is referred to in the Qur'an as 'Naskh' (abrogation or supercession):

"We do not abrogate any Ayah (revelation) or cause it to be forgotten but (that) We (replace it) with that which is superior to it or similar to it".
(Qur 'an, 2: 106)

No verse of the Qur'an itself was ever abrogated. Abrogation was always with reference to previous revelations. Secondly, even when a shari'ah was abrogated for the Muslims, it still remained operationally valid for those on whom it was enforced, until, of course, they chose to enter into the Ummah of Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam).

To Be Continued ....




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