Some potpourri observations..
I was Google-ing (i.e., surfing through the net), which is more than pastimes these days. Just to satisfy my curiosity, I entered the word
"Ramadan" in the search box. There were 355,000 entries! I browsed through the first few pages or top entries. The fast search produced so much information about Ramadan and fasting. There were all those rules, pages after pages, presented so neatly and fastidiously [reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude]. I am not sure if I myself know or can enumerate all those rules. All these rules might give the impression that after all Allah is the ultimate RULEr and therefore rules are all that matters. The more we have
- to its minutest details - is better. Sometimes I tremble at the thought, whether persons such as myself, who might not be as fastidious, have any hope. If I consider all those rules, then my hope shrinks rapidly. On the other hand, when I read a Prophetic narration -
"God is kind and he loves kindness in everything" [Sunan Ibn Majah, No. 3684] - I feel reassured.
I: No sweat, non-Muslims!
As my google-ing continues, I come across a typical aspect of these books or compilations of rules. I
can't but chuckle. One of the subheadings: For whom the fasting is mandatory? Among the people for whom it is not mandatory are non-Muslims. It is mentioned that even if they fast, it
won't be accepted by Allah. As if, non-Muslims are standing on one leg to fast, especially the fasting during the Ramadan! Of course, non-Muslims might feel relieved that they have been spared by our generous rule-compilers.
II: In sanity
Another group of people on whom fasting is not mandatory are those who are suffering from insanity. Unless we have a concern that as a society we might coerce people in fasting, and therefore certain group of people must be duly spared, then it is a different matter, even though
"Let there be no compulsion in Deen" [Quran 2:256] is one of the fundamentals of Islam. Otherwise, is there anything that is mandatory on people suffering from insanity? One such compilation, and most such compilations are not much different, continues:
"...the fast of the insane person ...is not valid because he cannot comprehend the worship, and he cannot meaningfully declare intention (niyyah), without which the acts are
invalid." We must remember that those who have deduced all these details and those who enumerate these have done their work, while they are in sanity. However, one might wonder if an insane person fasts, would Allah reject his fasting? An insane person may not comprehend the worship, but if he still wants to offer, who has put us on the seat of judgment to say that his fast is invalid? So, are we saying that we should actually discourage such people from fasting, even if they want to? Or, should we inform and educate them that their fasting is invalid? Such information and ruling might jolt them to sanity!
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The other ludicrous aspect of pronouncing the fasting of such people as invalid is to say that such a person
"cannot meaningfully declare intention (niyyah)". Intention is a matter of mind, it does not need to be verbalized. Indeed, do the vast majority of Muslims, who do not know Arabic but verbalize (declare) intention in Arabic, know what they are verbalizing? I
can't help but wonder that there might be a sense of competition among the compilers and enumerators of all these rules as to who can come up with the longest compilation. Furthermore, while reading these compilations of rules, one might have a good sense as to why and how our jurisprudence
has gradually lost touch with the reality.
III: One Crescent, many accents
Most Muslim-majority countries don't have this problem, but the largest diverse Muslim group, in North America, every year goes through the crescent-sighting debacle. Let alone the Muslims of the United States, or just one state (such as New York), even one city (such as New York City)
can't have the month of Ramadan begin or end the same day. Some want to follow sighting of the crescent in their own neighborhood. For some, any sighting in North America is acceptable. For some, crescent sighting anywhere is in the world is fine. Some would follow their native country. Some would follow Saudi Arabia. Others would like to go by ISNA. And, then there are others who would like to go by predetermined calendar. One Ummah, one crescent, yet so many accents of schism.
There are Muslims in North America, who would like to see an official holiday on Eid. Good luck!
It's not going to happen until Muslims can set their priority straight. Until Muslims here (a) treat as a priority the unity of the Muslims in beginning and ending the Ramadan and (b) value that an official holiday for Eid is important at least for our younger generation, it is not going to happen. If we are to be united on this, we have to walk away from our parochial loyalty to groups, organizations, countries, etc. Rather, we need to be problem-solving oriented, within the
"spirit" of Islam. But also, if we are to secure an official holiday in this country for Eids, for all practical purpose, we have to go by pre-calculated calendar. It would be unreasonable to expect the employers and schools to accommodate the uncertain dates. They are not going to be that amenable to such holiday, when we tell them we
don't really know which day we are going to take off. Of course, if getting united and securing a holiday are not important as priority, we can continue free-style as we are doing now
- going our own ways. Does problem-solving approach mean anything to Muslims?
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