{"id":20569,"date":"2014-07-17T03:17:45","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T03:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/new-wp\/?p=20569"},"modified":"2014-07-17T03:17:45","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T03:17:45","slug":"learning-in-the-school-of-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/learning-in-the-school-of-ramadan\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning in the School of Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Islamic tradition, knowledge and practice go hand in hand.\u00a0 As claimed by religion Islam aims to transform behaviour from those that are blameworthy (<\/span>Madzmumah<\/em>\u00a0traits) such as\u00a0<\/span>ghadab<\/em>\u00a0(ill-tempered),\u00a0<\/span>hasad<\/em>\u00a0(envy),\u00a0<\/span>bakhil<\/em>\u00a0(stingy),\u00a0<\/span>hasad<\/em>\u00a0(envy),\u00a0<\/span>sharrut ta’am<\/em>\u00a0(eating too much),\u00a0<\/span>Sharrul kalam<\/em>\u00a0(talking too much),\u00a0<\/span>hubb al-jah<\/em>\u00a0(love of power),\u00a0<\/span>Hubb al-Dunya<\/em>\u00a0(loving the world too much),\u00a0<\/span>‘Ujub<\/em>\u00a0(self glorification),\u00a0<\/span>takabbur<\/em>\u00a0(proud),\u00a0<\/span>Riya’<\/em>\u00a0(showing off) to those that potentially can raise humankind to levels even higher than that of the angels through characteristics described as the\u00a0<\/span>mahmudah<\/em>\/praiseworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

These include:<\/p>\n

Taubat<\/em>\u00a0(repentance),\u00a0khauf<\/em>\u00a0(fearing God in terms of not wanting to commit sins),\u00a0zikr maut<\/em>\u00a0(remembering death and the eternal life where man will be made accountable for his deeds),\u00a0zuhud<\/em>\u00a0(living simply\/modestly),\u00a0tawakkal<\/em>\u00a0(trusting God),\u00a0ikhlas<\/em>\u00a0(sincerity),\u00a0syukr<\/em>\u00a0(being grateful),\u00a0redha<\/em>\u00a0(being pleased with whatever is decreed by God),\u00a0sabr<\/em>\u00a0(patience) and\u00a0shukr<\/em>\u00a0(thankful).<\/p>\n

For Muslims, one of the best, if not the best method (schooling process) to achieve such a state of transformation is the practice\/ibadah<\/em>\u00a0of fasting (in Sanskrit,\u00a0upavasa<\/em>,\u00a0puasa<\/em>\u00a0in Malay) which had been made incumbent on human\/communities long before the Muslims, “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you may truly be conscious of God (have\u00a0taqwa<\/em>) (Quran 2:183).<\/p>\n

As highlighted by the above verse fasting fundamentally teaches us\u00a0taqwa<\/em>, the main objective for carrying out fasting. What is\u00a0taqwa<\/em>? It is reported that in one of the conversations between the Caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab with one of the companions of the prophet that when Caliph Umar asked him to elaborate the meaning of\u00a0taqwa<\/em>, the companion answered in the form of a metaphorical question.\u00a0 “If you are walking along a lane full of thorny bushes, what do you do?” Umar replied that he would walk very carefully and mindfully so as to avoid tripping into the thorns.\u00a0 The companion responded by saying that having\u00a0taqwa<\/em>\u00a0is like having a similar mindfulness or being constantly conscious, not only of our actions but also our thoughts, intentions and speech\/words.\u00a0 Being mindful also means to be clear about what we are doing, the consequences\/effects of what we do and being responsible for any\/all of these consequences.\u00a0 Mindfulness takes effect at the level one’s relationship with oneself, with others and finally with the Creator.<\/p>\n

Personal mindfulness in Ramadhan is achieved by the individual being aware of his bodily states which includes not just the awareness of being hungry and thirsty but also taking care of the protocols regarding the\u00a0sahur<\/em>\u00a0(meal before dawn) and\u00a0iftar<\/em>\u00a0(breaking fast at sunset) in accordance to the times and modes prescribed so that maximum positive health is achieved.\u00a0 Extremism in terms of neglecting the former or gluttony during the latter is contrary to the spirit of Ramadhan.\u00a0 Social mindfulness learnt through fasting teaches a person the means to purify the heart through him not harming others via his speech and activities, thus enhancing his relationship with those around him.\u00a0 Spiritual mindfulness is taught by the inevitable awareness that though we may hide what we do from the public eye God knows whether the fast or anything else that we do is truly being carried out and with sincerity or otherwise.\u00a0 In the psycho-spiritual realm sincerity is a mysterious yet real force that forges real faith behaviour.\u00a0 It is the the means that lead the way for the mastering of the\u00a0nafs<\/em>\u00a0(desires) which is turn can lead the person to the state of nafs\u00a0mutmainnah<\/em>\u00a0– a state wherein the soul is at peace and is resting in certitude.<\/p>\n

Such a state is achieved through the occurrence of the right blending of man’s activities (of this world and of the next).\u00a0 Everything that emanates from the body, mind and heart of such person in a state of\u00a0nafs mutmainnah<\/em>\u00a0is itself a manifestation of\u00a0taqwa<\/em>\u00a0during which a blending or equilibrium of the laws of the religion and the laws of nature takes place. Such a person is not perturbed, let alone thrown off balance by what happens (good or bad) to the body or mind in this\/physical world; and what appears as adversity is an opportunity to develop further spiritually (translated into the\u00a0mahmudah<\/em>\u00a0traits).<\/p>\n

Such a spiritual perspective of fasting is significant to development and civilisational ideals as both rest on the basic element of the quality of the individuals making up the society.<\/p>\n

As one of its mandate IKIM recently published the book\u00a0Madrasah (School)<\/strong>\u00a0Ramadhan:\u00a0 Lessons from Different Dimensions<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is a compilation of a variety of articles about various aspects of life impacted in real terms by Ramadhan and fasting.<\/p>\n

The book not only looks at fundamental concepts such as\u00a0taqwa<\/em>\u00a0(mindfulness) and\u00a0sabr<\/em>\u00a0(patience) and the regaining of our pristine state of\u00a0fitrah<\/em>\u00a0(the original stable equilibriumatic disposition man is created in) which is the real philosophy behind the celebration of\u00a0Edi-Al-Fitr<\/em>\u00a0or Hari Raya.\u00a0 In the space of 18 chapters various topics taught in the school of Ramadhan includes nutrition, diet and health, good conduct, kicking the smoking habit, unity and compassion, the meaning of hunger, physical and mental rewards of fasting, the importance of accuracy, sincerity, science and the miracle of the Quran, tranquillity and peace among others.<\/p>\n

Ramadhan comes but once a year, yet the lessons that it offers can potentially help improve the quality of life of those who observe it well throughout the year.\u00a0 Brief but clearly written, the\u00a0Madrasah of Ramadhan<\/strong>\u00a0should be a good companion to the professionals who may want to imbibe the spirit of Ramadhan in a holistic, realistic and contemporary manner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Islamic tradition, knowledge and practice go hand in hand.\u00a0 As claimed by religion Islam aims to transform behaviour from those that are blameworthy (Madzmumah\u00a0traits) such as\u00a0ghadab\u00a0(ill-tempered),\u00a0hasad\u00a0(envy),\u00a0bakhil\u00a0(stingy),\u00a0hasad\u00a0(envy),\u00a0sharrut ta’am\u00a0(eating too much),\u00a0Sharrul kalam\u00a0(talking too much),\u00a0hubb al-jah\u00a0(love of power),\u00a0Hubb al-Dunya\u00a0(loving the world too much),\u00a0‘Ujub\u00a0(self glorification),\u00a0takabbur\u00a0(proud),\u00a0Riya’\u00a0(showing off) to those that potentially can raise humankind to levels even higher…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-star","category-220","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}