Ramadan 2020: Allah Will Bring About a New Islam
BY IMAM SULTAN RAHMAN | LAST UPDATED: APR 23, 2020 - 12:58:30 PM
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With just a few days left until the Holy Month of Ramadan, we fast and pray in preparation to ready ourselves to enter Ramadan reimagined. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches, “Allah will bring about a new Islam.” We are forced this Holy Month of Ramadan, by what Allah has permitted, to recreate how we celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan with the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the absence of the ritual and cultural celebrations the meaning and value of these principles remain.
Allah (God) Reveals in Chapter 2, Verse 183 through 185 of the Holy Qur’an:
“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil. For a certain number of days. But whoever among you is sick or on a journey, (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days. And those who find it extremely hard may effect redemption by feeding a poor man. So whoever does good spontaneously, it is better for him; and that you fast is better for you if you know. The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the Criterion. So whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or on a journey, (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days. Allah desires ease for you, and He desires not hardship for you, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for having guided you and that you may give thanks.” —Holy Qur’an, 2:183 - 2:185
Ramadan refers to the ninth month of the lunar calendar, in which obligatory communal devotion and fasting for the Muslims is held every year. The word Ramadan means to burn; to scorch or to roast; burn or roast away the ego and sin of self. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has stated, “Allah (God) damns the ego.” We must rid ourselves of the ego of self, so through our submission to His Will, He Will Guide our hands, Guide our feet, Guide our tongues, and Guide our lives to a new reality in which we may live in a Universal Government of Peace formed in our submission to His Will.
Fasting is understood by the word sawm in Arabic, meaning ‘to be still’ or ‘motionless’ as in to abstain from food, to eat sparingly or abstain from some particular foods, especially to abstain from low desires and refrain from activities unbecoming of the righteous character of a Believer by voluntarily fully practicing our natural way of life. It is a period of abstention or self-denial. The connotation of the word to be still also refers to abstinence from something that is natural to human existence. Literally, the word sawm (fasting) means to rise up and to stand still without movement.
During the Holy Month of Ramadan, we seek through the exercise of fasting stillness of the heart, mind, and spirit, as well as a stillness in our lives from the forces of greed and stinginess. Through charity and the cultivation of pleasant and sincere qualities, we may revive ourselves through heightened discipline in service to Allah, Most High, for the purpose He has ordained for our very life’s existence.
If we reflect on the words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in How to Eat to Live, Book 2 page 55, he has taught us that fasting “is prescribed for us in the Law of the Religion of Islam, the Holy Qur’an, all Muslims who respect fasting should take the fast of Ramadan.”
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The Hon. Elijah Muhammad also mentions in How to Eat to Live Book 1, Page 46, “During this month, eat before day and after the sun goes down (if you wish) but not during the daylight hours. This also goes for drinking; drink whatever you are going to drink either before dawn or after dark. The eating before dawn is for those of us who love to eat breakfast in the mornings. But if you eat one meal a day, you may eat that meal either before dawn or after dark. It is better for your health, however, to eat one meal after dark.”
Eating before dawn is called Suhur, or the early breakfast meal that one takes during the Holy Month of Ramadan. This early breakfast meal, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad states humorously, “the eating before dawn is for those of us who love to eat breakfast in the morning, but if you eat one meal a day you may either eat that meal before dawn or after dark.”
This guidance depends upon our individual or personal physical condition and allows us to plan our consumption of food based upon preference or specific dietary needs. It is required to eat or drink at least something small before sunrise, be it water, fruits, dates, or grapes before the sun rises to represent our intention to fast of any intake of food or water until after sunset. Suhoor is eating something of nourishment of food or water that provides the needed hydration and sustenance before fasting.
In the western Hemisphere, at this time of year, we are now coming into summer but we are still looking at an approximately 15-hour day fast, so we should be taking in as much water as possible in the early morning before our Fajr prayer.
We find the beginning of the month of Ramadan in the phase of the new moon. The new moon is completely black and from that new moon you begin to see the first quarters develop into what we know as the crescent. There are variations of the exact time and day in which the hilal or crescent may be seen, yet fasting begins with the sighting of that new moon. So, as we prepare for such a blessed month, let us remember to strengthen our regard for Allah, with certainty of His Presence or ‘Taqwa.’ This word means to have regard for Allah, to be conscious of Allah’s Presence, and to worship Allah seeing Him. Worship Allah seeing Him, meaning we are seeing Allah in the sign of His creation and in every circumstance we encounter—all we see in His creation is but a sign of an inner reality of the trials and blessings of the God-centered life.
We are observing the signs of the tree, we are observing the signs of the bee, the ant; we are most deeply observing the signs, not only in the outer world of the universe in Allah’s creation, yet the crown of creation and the best of molds is the human being. So, we also must look within ourselves during this Holy Month to deeply understand our personal drivers and direction—those things that move us forward, that we call our goals and aspirations. What is it that drives you and I? Are we driven by the Spirit of Allah to accomplish the mission that is given to the Believer to establish freedom, justice and equality within self? Set yourself in Heaven at once, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught, that we have an opportunity to reach heaven. When our actions are in accord with Allah’s Will; our way and actions become The Way and Actions of Allah (God), Most High, by submission of our actions to His Guidance. “Allah has created you and what you make.”— Holy Qur’an, Chapter 37 Verse 96.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated, “May Allah build our will in this month to resist the temptation of evil. And may He bless us to resist the voice of Satan, that will whisper into our minds: “Oh man, this is hard! I can’t do it”—stop it! Right now, say: “I Can Do It! I Must Do It! I Will Do It!” and see what kind of servant you will be at the end of just the first day of this blessed fast.”
Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad is Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and great-grandson of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
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