Blessed Ramadan is back!

A few days ago I received this intriguing text on my cell phone:
" Hi, my name is Shabaan, my neighbour Ramadan with his wife Sawm and 3 children, Rahma, Rufraan and 'Itq, will be visiting you shortly. They will be with you for 29 or 30 days before flying back on Eid Airways. Enjoy their company they are great!"

Puzzled at first, wondering who's this Shabaan?!...I decided to call the number who'd sent me this text. A person with a familiar voice answered:
" Salaamualeykum Fay!"
"Wa aleykum assalaam Yasmeen!...is that you?..." I shouted surprised.
"Who's Shabaan?...and what's up with his neighbour?...
She replied all excited: "Ramadan kareem!"
Only then everything fell into place, "Of course!" I replied, laughing at myself, " Blessed Ramadan to you too!..."

What a lovely & refreshing way she had found to remind me and wish me a 'Kareem' Ramadan. We were indeed in the last or penultimate night of the lunar month preceding the month of Ramadan, namely, Sha'baan! Ramadan's wife, Sawm is no less but the Arabic word for Fasting, and their 3 children are the great favours Allah bestows gradually on his bondsmen & women throughout this month and they a are:

• 'Rahma', Blessed Compassion
• 'Rufran', Blessed Forgiveness
• 'Itq, Blessed salvation from the torment of the Hereafter

As for Eid, it's the celebration we have at the end of Ramadan! Hard to believe sometimes, but there it is, another year has passed since last year's Ramadan, time does really fly by...Many events too have come to pass this year and here we are again blessed to be witnessing and living through the beautiful days and nights of Ramadan more...

So Ramadan Kareem (blessed) to everyone making the most of it countless blessings.
May Allah bless as he wishes all of his creation in this wonderful month. Aameen

This year again, some American Christians are sharing with us the spiritual experience of fasting during the day, God bless them and make their and our call for peace & brotherhood be answered, Aameen.

All praise and thanks be to the one God whom we all worship, who has called you to worship Him after the manner of al-Islam, and us to worship Him according to the gospel of Jesus, whom both faith traditions hail as the Messiah: it is our deep wish that God strengthen you in your devotion to God, your love of God, and your trust in God during this month of Ramadan, and that everything that you do for His sake may be pleasing to Him.

We have joined you in keeping the fast of Ramadan this year, as a freewill offering to God accompanying our prayer for peace, justice, and a spirit of love to grow among the peoples of the Abrahamic religions. It is our desire that all over the world, if God so wills, Muslim, Jew and Christian can learn to stand together in brotherhood in the sight of their Creator, and encourage one another in faithfulness and good deeds. But we are mourning many of the deeds of our government and our people, as they continue to involve themselves in the affairs of Islamic peoples, and the lives of Muslim detainees held at United States facilities, without sufficiently caring or understanding what they are doing to the people whose lives they affect. To our sorrow, we see many American Christians trusting, supporting, and following policy-makers whose guiding principle seems to be "let us do evil, that good may come of it", as if they did not know that our own scripture explicitly condemns it (Romans 3:8). In repenting our own complicity in this, we hope to lead our brother and sister Christians into repentance.

Our power to make the world's leaders humble themselves, question their own behavior, and let their hearts be turned, seems very small. And yet we draw hope from our certainty that we are listened to by the true Ruler of this world, the Turner of Hearts, who sees everything and holds all power. This month we curb our natural appetites during daylight hours to be more mindful of the One to whom we must return, the Highest, our Helper. We perceive, sadly, that many American Christians lack understanding of what it means to be a Muslim. How better to change that than for some of us to join the Muslim world in its Ramadan fast? We also hope that such self-restraint as we gain from the fast might help restore a spirit of self-restraint to the worldly culture of the industrialized nations, in however small a way, for on our learning self-restraint now seems to depend the saving of the world from ruin.

Advised by Jesus himself to fast privately and without open display (Matthew 6:16-18), we make ourselves available for responses to this communication but without identifying ourselves individually by name. May God comfort you, sustain you in hope, and bestow on you every blessing.
Ramadan Fasters of Christ
christsfasters@aol.com

Prayer priority

A non-Muslim friend once asked me: -"In the early days of Islam, Muslims did not have many things to do. It was fine for them to pray five times a day. But our modern life leaves us with little spare time; so is it difficult for you to find the time to pray?"
My reply was, "it's all about priority..."

Prayer, in its prescribed form,i.e. as taught to us by God through his final messenger, Muhammad peace & blessings be upon him, is the second of the 5 fundamental pillars of Islam. Allah tells us (in the 3rd verse of the second chapter of the Quran), that in addition to the declaration of faith I bear witness there is no one/thing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger, Prayer is to be "established". Prayer is a real institution in Islam, not just an informal act. It is the major medium Allah has offered us to coummnicate with him, and that it 5 times throughout each and every day. Beyond its both spiritual and physical worldly benefits, prayer is a paramount regular meeting between The Creator, The Sustainer, The Most Kind & Loving and his human creation. Not to be missed really!...

Furthermore prayers are performed invariably during health or sickness and so if one is not able to stand, but can sit or only lye down, their prayer is still valid. In fact If one is so sick and cannot move at all except their eyes, then that is sufficient for them to signal the different movements of the prayer. Moreover if one misses or forgets any one time to pray, the opportunity to catch up ASAP is there whenever one is able to or remembers. Nothing should stand in the way of the prayer, not even our "Modern" hectic life. In fact if it was necessary to pray fourteen hundred years ago when the pace of life was slower, then it is even more important to pray in today's materialistic "super sonic" world in which we have become so engrossed that many have a poor connection, if any at all with Allah. Yet nothing more than prayer reminds us of the reality of our human existence and it is the first thing we will be questioned about on the Day of reckoning.

During each prayer, we recite Surat Al Fatiha (the first chapter in the Quran), which is actually a conversation between the worshiper and Allah. Performed, with sincerity of intention and concentration, it will strengthen the person's Faith and provide comfort, hope and perseverance in times of trouble. Prayer not only stimulates a person to do good deeds, cleanses him/her from his/her minor sins, but is also a comprehensive soothing & uplifting process, at both the physical and spiritual levels, which ultimately leads to a state of inner peace. So, is it difficult to find time to pray?... Yes, it can be sometimes... but more so difficult and a real shame would be not to make the time for this extraordinary meeting.