A Ramadan story

Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan because they have been exhorted to do so by the God Whom they worship in order that they may acquire “Taqwa”. The Arabic word Taqwa has been translated as “self-restraint” but has much wider connotations.

Taqwa includes patience, forgiveness, acceptance, generosity and treating people with love. Taqwa is also a state of the heart felt by the heart rather than pronounced by the tongue. Muslims are told in the Qur’an: “Ittaqoo-(A)llah” which translates as “Fear Allah.” While “fear of Allah” is a component, it is balanced with love of and gratitude to Allah, hope for His Mercy and awareness of His Infinite Blessings.

The prescription for the fast and the attainment of Taqwa is addressed to “O ye who believe …” It was this phrase which struck me when I discovered that a young man, a practising Hindu - who recently entered my life and has endeared himself to me - was engaged in the month-long Fast of Ramadan. While some of my non-Muslim friends also fast during this month, I was awestruck when he explained why he was fasting.

It turned out that a few years ago his Muslim friend whose health is a bit precarious had insisted on keeping the fast, only to collapse from weakness. Despite provision made in the Qur’an to those for whom the fast might prove a hardship, this young man was adamant that he wanted to comply with the behest of His Maker. It was then that my young friend along with three others - a Catholic, a Presbyterian and a Muslim undertook to fast on his behalf. The ages of these four young men range between 28 and 48 years.

For the past three years, these “magnificent four” have kept the Ramadan Fast in the same manner as the adherents of Islam, rising in the early hours of morning to take Suhoor, abstaining from food and drink, conjugal relations and idle talk between the hours of dawn and sunset and often - due to work schedules or necessity - breaking their fast at sunset in the same manner as the Noble Prophet of Islam i.e. with two or three dates and a drink of water.

Muslims have just celebrated Eid ul Fitr, “the festival of a people who have chosen piety and submission to God as their way of life. It is a day of thanksgiving and remembrance of Allah, of forgiveness, moral victory and peace; a day of congregation, brotherhood and unity.” Today, I salute the “magnificent four” who undertook to “carry their friend” during this holy and blessed month and pray that their sacrifice and compassion for “their brother” will serve as a template for those who, in their insatiable greed for power, pomp and pelf, seize every opportunity to try and divide with their obscene remarks and racial slurs the people of this country.