Link with Charity
In much the same way that the Qur’anic stamp of approval for sexual
relations during the nights which follow the days of fasting leads to the
spiritualization of sex and chastity, so too, does the Qur’anic exemptions from
the compulsory fast for those who are ill or on a journey, permitting them to
make up for the missed days after Ramadhan, lead
to a certain religious pragmatism, realism, and moderation. When religion ceases
to be realistic and practical it soon loses its appeal to the masses. It is
precisely for this reason that the Qur’an comments, in the context of the
exemptions:
“Allah intends ease for you: He does
not want to subject you to difficulty.”
(Qur’an,
al-Baqarah 2:185)
Those, on the other hand, who are
permanently incapable of fasting either because of the nature of their illness
or because of the disabilities of old age, are permitted to feed the poor in lieu of fasting. And this reference to
charity brings us to the social dimension of fasting. Ramadhan is the month when Allah Most High is most charitable to His
creatures. Thus the Prophet (sallalahu ta‘alah ‘alaihi wa Sallam) is reported to have said:
“‘Arfaja said: We were with ‘Utbah
ibn Farqad while he was discussing Ramadan. A companion of the Prophet entered
upon the scene. When ‘Utbah saw him, he became shy and stopped talking. The man
[the companion] spoke about Ramadan, saying “I heard the Messenger of Allah say
during Ramadan: “The gates of Hell are closed, the gates of Paradise are
opened, and the devils are in chains. An angel calls out: ‘O you who intend to
do good deeds, have glad tidings. O you who intend to do evil, refrain, until
Ramadan is completed.”
(Ahmad and Nasa’i)
Indeed during Ramadhan:
“... some are freed from the Hell by
Allah Most High, and that happens every night.”
(Tirmidhi)
This generosity and charity from above
also found expression in the life of the Prophet (sallalahu
ta‘alah ‘alaihi wa Sallam)
who, according to Ibn Abbas (radiallahu
‘anhu), “When the month of Ramadan began,
set every prisoner free and gave to every beggar.”
As a consequence, spending freely of
one’s substance in charity is an integral part of the institution of fasting in
Islam. It is significant that the compulsory fast of Ramadhan was not promulgated by the Qur’an until the Muslims had
migrated from Makkah and had settled themselves as an organized community in
Madinah. This was so precisely because fasting in Islam is not a strictly
private affair but has a social function to perform in alleviating the
condition of the poor, the destitute, the under-privileged, and the weak in the
society. So integral is this care for the poor and needy to the religious way of
life that the Qur’an considers its neglect to be a repudiation of religion:
“Have you observed the one who
repudiates religion? Such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness)
and encourages not the feeding of the indigent. So woe to the worshipers who
are neglectful of their prayers. Those who want (but) to be seen (of men) but
refuse (even) small kindnesses.”
(Qur’an,
al-Ma’un 107:1-7)
It should be clear that the institution
of fasting in Islam makes a vitally important contribution to Islam’s
championing of that noble cause. Indeed what Islam accomplishes in the institution
of fasting is nothing less that the spiritualization of charity, for this is
the implication of the linking of charity with fasting.
The momentum generated in the month of Ramadhan in respect of the spiritualization of charity, is enhanced
at no less a place than the House of Allah itself (the Kaaba in Makkah), when during Hajj and Umrah,
the pilgrim who is forced by illness to shave his hair before the completion of
the rites, is required to compensate for this either by fasting or by feeding
the poor (Qur’an,
al-Baqarah 2:196). Thus
even in the House of Allah Himself, fasting and charity have the same status.
In a contemporary world in which
European ‘aid’ as a form of imperialism and a weapon of enslavement is so
common, Islam’s spiritualization of charity is sorely needed. (See John Perkins
book: ‘Confessions of
an Economic Hitman’.)
To Be Continued ....
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