Making this Ramadan one of Learning, Growth and Discovery

Making this Ramadan one of learning, growth and discovery

BY NISA ISLAM MUHAMMAD -STAFF WRITER- | LAST UPDATED: APR 22, 2020 - 2:17:40 PM

Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims will be drastically different in the time of Covid-19 and social distancing. It is the ninth month on the lunar calendar, the month when the Holy Qur’an—the book of Islamic scripture—was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). This year Ramadan will start tentatively on April 24.

Ramadan is a time of great reflection, when Muslims strive to get closer to Allah (God) by fasting from sun up to sun down for those physically able, they read the Qur’an and work to reset their lives. Muslims use this time for increased prayer and to ask God more often to forgive them for their sins.

During the 30-day period Muslims strive to do greater deeds of kindness and good while refraining from evil, lying, backbiting and sin of all types. It is a joyful time for Muslims who look to get reestablished and reaffirm their relationship with Allah (God).

For those who cannot fast for medical reasons, they may be on medication, pregnancy, nursing a baby or other reason they can do other things instead like feeding the hungry or homeless during Ramadan.

However, this year, the global pandemic Covid-19 has brought everyday life for billions of people around the world to nearly a screeching halt and has drastically altered normal daily functions and activities. The Muslim world is no exception.

“Many of us cannot imagine how we will experience Ramadan for those who have only seen it as an external means to only engage with the Muslim community, engage with only those we know and break fast in only our local masjid,” explained Sultan Rahman Muhammad, student national imam of the Nation of Islam and Mosque Maryam during his Ramadan Readiness session live streamed with Student Minister Carlos Muhammad on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

“What will we do this year? What will we do for Taraweeh prayers? Taraweeh is for the purpose of bringing the community together. This year we have the opportunity and privilege to see the meaning of the rituals,” said Imam Sultan Muhammad during the April 12 broadcast.

Taraweeh prayers are a significant aspect of Ramadan. Muslims flock to the masjid to gather and pray in congregation.

“Taraweeh is derived from the Arabic word meaning ‘to rest and relax,’” explained Abdul Akbar Muhammad, an organizer of the Ramadan Prayerline. “They are not mandatory but, tarawe eh are strongly recommended and encouraged during Ramadan,” he said.

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a national organization to foster the development of the Muslim community, interfaith relations, civic engagement, and a better understanding of Islam sent this message to their members about how to conduct Taraweeh prayers in the time of Covid-19.

“Taraweeh prayers shall be performed at home within a family setting just like the regular daily Jama’ah (group prayers). The Taraweeh can be done by reciting shorter Surahs, repeating the same Surahs over and over again, holding the Qur’an in hand and reciting from it. It can be established individually and collectively,” noted the group in the information written by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah and approved by the Fiqh Council.

All around the world many of the rituals of Islam have come to a halt. Masjids are closed for congregational prayers during the day and Jumu’ah (Friday congregational prayer). The Kaaba, considered by Muslims to be the house of God; rests within the Grand Mosque of Mecca, at the Holy City of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

It is usually surrounded by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims making Umrah, a smaller pilgrimage, but it is now empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Hajj pilgrimage, a pillar of Islam, has been cancelled. This is the rst time Hajj has been cancelled since the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Muslims from countries all around the world converge on Mecca and Madinah to perform these sacred rites.

“It’s amazing and interesting,” Eric Muhammad, from Houston told The Final Call. He was part of a delegation that traveled to the Holy City for pilgrimage earlier this year. “To see hundreds of thousands of Believers up to a million for Jumu’ah and to see now zero... is something serious. I reflected on how many times our delegation would look out of the window to see what would be a good time; to go down to the Kaabah and it was always full of worshipers. So, to see it now, empty, is mind blowing,” he said.

The coronavirus has hit Muslim countries also. At presstime, there were over 90,000 cases with over 2,100 deaths in Turkey; 83,500 cases in Iran with 5,200 deaths; 10,400 in Saudi Arabia with 103 deaths and 8,400 in Pakistan with 176 deaths. Cases and deaths have also been reported in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Syria and Iraq.

In Nigeria, Covid-19 has made Muslim and Christian communities collaborate in what has been described as a show of love and unity. Religious leaders are putting their differences aside to unite for a common cause according to The National Catholic Reporter. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control reported as of April 19, there were 627 reported cases with 10 deaths and 170 recoveries.

Masjids and Islamic Centers have become creative with how they are building community to meet the needs of people who want some type of connection during Ramadan. There will be Zoom iftars and Taraweeh prayers where people can communicate visually and verbally.

Imams are offering nightly messages online to close some of the social distancing people are experiencing.

Imam Abdul Malik of New York will be joining other imams from around the country to connect the believers. He told The Final Call, “I will be offering Arabic classes online throughout the day on Facebook Live. We will break the fast together also and have live Taraweeh prayers. In the mornings we will give quick summaries of the different chapters of the Qur’an,” he said.

“We want to give the believers something they can use. We must be creative. We have the technology. Let’s do this!”

The Ramadan Prayerline will be a vital connection for Muslims around the world. This daily 5:00 a.m. EST program features a special guest speaker, historical commentary about Ramadan and the Hadith of the Day. The prayer line is entering the 14th year of connecting Muslims from over 50 countries who listen live and to the replays.

“This lockdown has provided Muslims with the time to reflect. During Ramadan we are sheltering in place which has allowed some of us to get close to our families. The Ramadan Prayerline will be a vital source of information and inspiration for believers each morning. We want them to stay connected to Allah and make each day of fasting better than the day before,” Abdul Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam, told The Final Call.

“We have a wide range of speakers that will touch the hearts of our listeners in a variety of ways. Once again we will start with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan who will give us the meaning and understanding of the time,” he added.

This is a time for families to get to know each other better, continued Akbar Muhammad. “This is a time for us to get to know each other better. It’s time to study and ask Allah to guide us. We never thought that Allah would bring us to where we are today.”

Many parents are looking for ways to connect their children with Ramadan activities during the stay at home orders and social distancing mandates. The online platform NFAStudios.com, which produces original content, is offering a Children’s Program, Teach and Train, during the four weeks of Ramadan.

“We went to mothers and fathers to see what they wanted. The first week will focus on prayer and ablution,” producer Ayana Muhammad told The Final Call. “We’re really excited to bring this programming to our audience.”

Angelica Lindsey-Ali known on social media as The Village Auntie is offering a 31-Day Guided Journey for Sisters, “Through this four week cycle, we will explore how to use self-care, community, and spirituality, to experience personal break throughs during this blessed month,” she said.

“We will focus not only on setting spiritual goals but we will also look to examples from Islamic history of strong women who have defied odds and set standards of scholarship, sisterhood and sacrifice. Finally, we will also cover the importance of holistic nutrition from the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the essential component of God centered self-love.”

The United States currently incarcerates more than two million people, predominantly Black and Latino. Almost half a million of these people are being held on pretrial bond (bail). Money bail penalizes poverty and reproduces racism. A significant number of those incarcerated are Muslims.

Muslim advocates found in a 2019 report that about nine percent of the overall state prison population is Muslim. In Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and D.C., the share of Muslim prisoners is around 20 percent or higher. The significant presence of Muslims in prison stands in stark contrast to Muslims’ share of the U.S. population, which is just one percent.

The Believers Bail Out is a community-led effort to bail out Muslims in pretrial incarceration and ICE custody as a form of zakat. Zakat (charity), one of the central tenants of Islam.

The Qur’an (9:60) specifies eight uses for zakat, including helping the poor, the needy as well as the freeing of slaves or captives. People being held in pretrial incarceration because they can’t afford bail qualify for zakat.

Formed in 2018 by Muslim scholars and community members in conjunction with Sapelo Square and Chicago Community Bond Fund, Believers Bail Out is currently run by a national group of volunteers. They seek to create sustainable change in our society by focusing on three major areas of concern: the prison-industrial complex, anti-Muslim racism, and anti-Blackness.

“After months of hard work, we’re so thrilled to officially announce our 2020 virtual Ramadan Calendar on the theme of Reimagining Communities! Stop scrolling and add these dates to your calendar NOW! Join us as we build our global Muslim perspectives for a world without cages!” Believers Bailout organizers announced.

Their events include a day long digital “National Day of Action, May 1, featuring community organizers, artists and speakers discussing how their faith informs their work to reimagine community and build a world that is healthy, safe and just for all.”

Some Muslim communities are planning massive food delivery programs to feed the needy who can’t get out, first responders who are too tired to cook and the sick who need a meal.

“Before the worldwide shut down I cooked fish for two masjids each weekend,” Imam Abdul Jalil Muhammad of Washington, D.C., told The Final Call. “There was no way I could say no to the request for cooking and food delivery now because the Qur’an says to have your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds. One of our chief concerns is that we don’t have enough time to read the Qur’an, study our religion or the life of Prophet Muhammad. Allah has given us this time now,” he said.

“In studying the life of Prophet Muhammad he was always striving to increase his good deeds and being of service to the Ummah (community). I’ve reflected upon that during this coronavirus epidemic and will be delivering food during Ramadan to low income families.”

In Dallas, Texas, where Imam Naim Sabree works with two masjids, he told The Final Call, “This Ramadan is a wake up for the Muslims. The masjids were full of people, deen (religion) and good deeds. The women and children at home were void of what the religion is all about and the good deeds it offers. Now that has changed, we are home where we can share the deen and good deeds.”

The last 10 days of Ramadan are special as Muslims wait for Lailat al Qadr, the “Night of Power.” It is the night when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by Allah. However, the exact date is unknown, so Muslims strive to pray Taraweeh each night to receive special blessings on the Night of Power which the Qur’an says is better than a thousand months.

Ramadan concludes with the Eid al-Fitr (return) celebration after the sighting of the new moon. This festive celebration is typically done at the mosque with prayers, family, friends and food.

“This Ramadan will be ideal to get back to the ideals of Islam, public minimum, private maximum,” Imam Amin Nathari of Jacksonville, Fla., and head of the Islam in America Movement, told The Final Call.

“We’ve become so consumed with the masjid that it was our focus. Now the essence of our worship can rightly be our relationship with Allah. It will require you to develop a deeper relationship with your Lord. Those things like iftars and Eids didn’t happen during the time of the prophet like they do now,” said Imam Nathari.

“It will be a mercy. Sometimes Allah will bless you by taking something away. We became so consumed with the ritual iftar, Taraweeh that we forgot the real obligations of the religion. We must do self-examination to be better and stronger Muslims on the other side. Now you will focus on your relationship with Allah. We were so caught up in the pomp and circumstance of Ramadan that we forgot the real meaning.” (Final Call staff contributed to this report.)