The month of Ramadan: “The spring of Faith”
With the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, endowed with a special place in the minds of Muslims, our hearts quiver with joy as our souls resonate. Ramadan marks a temporal and psychological break. The rhythms of life are disrupted, habits disrupted, consciousness awakened.
The prophet (pbuh) describes the formidable atmosphere which reigns in the sky upon the announcement of the arrival of this “Spring of Faith” :
“When the first night of the month of Ramadan arrives, Allah commands his Paradise: Prepare yourself and beautify yourself for My servants who will soon come to My abode and My generosity to rest from the sorrows of the world” (Hadith reported by Al Bayhaki).
Now is the time for fair competition in good. The Prophet (pbuh) encourages believers to redouble their efforts to take full advantage of the cascades of divine clemency:
“Ramadan has come to you! It is a month of blessing. Allah envelops you in peace and sends down mercy. He discharges faults and grants requests. Allah watches you compete for this purpose and He boasts of you to His angels. Show Allah the best of yourself, for he is very unhappy who is deprived of the mercy of Allah, Mighty and Majestic! ». (Hadith reported by Al Bayhaki).
In the torments of life, the breath of the soul is suffocated and faith deteriorates. Disarray is gaining consciousness and frustrations are silently haunting many people. Breathing new life into a spent spirituality is becoming urgent. Renew “the pact of Faith” arises acutely.
To tame these anxieties, the Ramadan station comes to replenish our conscience, affected by forgetfulness and worn out by carelessness. Ramadan restores to the soul its inner happiness, lost in the ambiguities of everyday life. Our ego, chained by unfinished passions, is in a state of permanent imprisonment in its incessant needs.
Freeing yourself from it is a daily inner battle (Jihad Nafs), which consists of fighting against the negative suggestions of your ego and freeing yourself from the domination of your desires! During this month, the soul extorts its ” conditional liberty “. Thus, the soul goes beyond the control of the body and takes full advantage of its appetizing spiritual food, punctuated by days of fasting and nights of devotion (prayers, invocations, charity, reading of the Koran).
At the time of fasting, the believer manifests a striking willingness to endure thirst while refreshing water is within his reach and to resist hunger while delicious food is before him. This is the true translation of endurance, which the Prophet (pbuh) speaks of: “Fasting is half of Patience.”
This symbolic gesture of dominating one's ego and abandoning part of one's most natural instincts in search of divine pleasure, reflects the inextricable love for Allah and translates the gain of will over procrastination. This is why fasting remains a secret between the believer and his Lord: Allah said: “Whatever the son of Adam does is for himself except fasting, it is for Me and it is I who give the reward. » (Hadith unanimously recognized as authentic)
Certainly, far from being reduced to food abstinence, fasting in the month of Ramadan is an excellent human and spiritual school, which teaches us patience, perseverance, generosity, altruism, compassion, solidarity, humility.
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “This is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise. This is the month of giving. It is a month in which the resources of the believer increase. A month whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is freedom from the fire of Hell..
The spiritual significance of Ramadan invites our conscience to fast in the same way as our stomach. Avoid listening to his anger! Master your tongue of slander and lies! Protect your eyes! Say “Stop” to every source of temptation!
The Prophet (pbuh) clarifies the deeper meaning of fasting by saying:
“He who does not abandon lying and acting in lies, Allah does not need him to abandon his food and drink.” and he also says: “ How many fasters only harvest hunger and thirst from their fast! » (Hadith reported by Al Bayhaki).
He repeatedly recalls this dimension of “fasting of the spirit”, saying :
“When any of you fasts, let him refrain from speaking obscene words and from raising his voice. If someone insults him or provokes him to fight, let him simply respond : “I am in a state of fasting.” » (hadith unanimously recognized as authentic).
Therefore, Ramadan, with the psychological rupture it generates, should be a springboard to reform one's life in the light of spiritual principles and initiate a serene and frank dialogue with oneself. The Prophet evokes this spiritual atmosphere conducive to “introspection”saying :
“When the month of Ramadan comes, we call: “O you who want to do good, run! O you who want to do harm, stop! This call is renewed every evening.”
A spiritual journey to the depth of one's interiority allows one to reconcile oneself with the originality of one's being. Look at yourself in the mirror of your conscience. Inspect your interiority. Identify your negligence. Take into account his qualities. Have the courage to face your faults. Take the time to create space for your interiority.
While having the necessary modesty to seek the support of the Most High. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with faith and counting on divine reward, his sins will be forgiven. » (Reported by Al Bukhari and Mouslim).
While being an excellent opportunity to strengthen one's faith, Ramadan is also an appropriate time to strengthen family ties. Gathering together when breaking the fast, adults and children, around the same table is an eloquent image of family closeness. Thus, the united family which lives at the same rhythm finds its lost unity and embraces the spirit of family values of sharing, which many forget during the year.
Faced with temporal deprivation revived by the sensation of hunger, we should be reminded of the misery of the unfortunate and the precariousness of the most deprived, while reflecting on the benefits that Allah lavishes on us.
How can we begin this month of Ramadan without thinking about the terrible images coming to us from the Horn of Eastern Africa and more particularly Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Millions of hungry stomachs around the world, who hear the cries of their stomachs every day without finding a piece of bread that would quench their hunger, nor a drop of water that could quench their thirst. Without forgetting, the disastrous situation on the other side of the Mediterranean, from the Maghreb to Yemen, where many people are fleeing their homes and living to the rhythm of fear and suffering.
It is reported that the Prophet Joseph (pbuh) fasted frequently even though he controlled the country's reserves and was the state budget minister at the time. He was asked about this and he responded by saying: “I fear, if I am full, I will forget the hunger of the poor.”
The prophet (pbuh) is the model of generosity said: “ The best charity is that performed during the month of Ramadan. » (Reported by At-tirmidhi).
When the month of Ramadan arrived, the prophet became so generous that Ibn 'Abbas said about him: “The Prophet of Allah was the most generous of men, and particularly in the month of Ramadan, when the Angel Gabriel met him with the revelation and taught him the Koran. His generosity was uninterrupted like the continuous blowing of the beneficial wind. » (Hadith reported by Al Bukhari.).
Finally, the month of Ramadan is the month of the Quran par excellence. Allah said:
“(These days are) the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was sent down as a guide for people, and clear evidence of right guidance and discernment.” His daily companionship is essential, emphasizing spiritual deepening in meditation on his verses and the incarnation of his values, without of course neglecting his reading and learning.
In summary, Ramadan is not a time of idleness and passivity. On the contrary, it is a crucial moment to take stock of one's works and free oneself from one's animality to gain humanity. The awakening of consciousness is the ultimate goal of this sacred month, expressed in its verses:
“O believers! We have prescribed fasting (Al-Siyam) for you as We prescribed it for those before you, so you will attain piety.”
