The blessed month of Ramadan will soon come to an end, and by God’s Grace, some of us might still be able to reap its blessings in the following years, while some might be called to return to His Abode and meet His Almighty Majestic before the next Ramadan. Indeed, Ramadan is neither an ordinary month, nor is it a Food Feast month with Ramadan bazaars. That is not the objective of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month to instil piety or taqwa into one’s heart as God mentions the Holy Qur’an: “O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may acquire God-consciousness (piety).” (al-Baqarah [2]: 183). The question worth asking is that after many years of fasting—depending on one’s age—are we able to instil the piety in our heart as Allah wanted? Or do we merely fast out of habit during the month without any serious effort to improve our spiritual quality to attain piety? Piety is in the heart, rather than the outer appearance of oneself.
The Proof of Islam, as Imam al-Ghazali (d.505/1111) is called, mentions that there are three categories of people fasting. The first category and the lowest rank is those who fast by abstaining from food and drink and avoid others that can nullify fasting. The second is those who not only do as that of the first category, but also fast all of his body organs by not committing sins of the tongue, eyes, ears, feet and others. Finally, the third category is those who enhance the second category by focusing their hearts towards God only, through constant remembrance of God at all times. Indeed, it is the third category which is the best of all and it is called the fasting of the elect of the elect. How many of us actually fast as those in the third category which will have tremendous spiritual impact on our soul? Not that many.
Fasting as the elect of the elect is the highest category of fasting. It is the fasting of those at the spiritual station of “Ihsan” (Excellence), which is one of the pillars of the religion (din al-Islam), after the pillars of Iman (faith) and the pillars of Islam itself. Ihsan is defined as “worshipping Allah as though you see Him, if you don’t then believe that He sees you”. This means being vigilant of Allah SWT at all times. In current term, it partially can be translated as being in the state of “mindfulness” of Allah. It is the foundation from which all the deeds of the heart emanate and translate into action by the limbs or organs.
Muslims the world over are at the highest mode of being vigilant of Allah during the month of Ramadan. He will not drink or eat even when he is alone, in a secluded areas like the bathroom where no one sees him and no one will know about it. Yet, he knows Allah sees him and it will break his fast if he did the nullifiers of fasting. He will not lie too in the month of Ramadan nor would he argue or debate with people because it will lessen the rewards of his fasting. The degree of God’s consciousness of Muslims is at its peak during the month of Ramadan. However, once Ramadan is over, the spirit of God’s consciousness and being vigilant of God’s presence suddenly disappear. We return to our old attitude and practices of mindlessness of God’s presence, as if God’s presence exists only in the month of Ramadan but not in other months. As if God is not watching in the remaining eleven months, except in the month of Ramadan. What is wrong with Muslims that Ramadan fails to enhance their spiritual uplifting? Indeed, nothing is wrong with Ramadan, but the defects are in the Muslims themselves. Their fasting has only become one of the routine cultural activities that they encounter annually, not truly a month dedicated for spiritual enhancement programme that one enrols to become a better person at the end of it. Not many of us assess the quality of our fasting after it has commenced after a week or two, except that everyone is eagerly looking forward to “balik kampung” for Eid. Then, we only realise on the last day of Ramadan that we have not achieved anything spiritually. So, in Ramadan this year, try to make a difference by being vigilant of Allah not only during this month, but also the remaining eleven months. In our daily lives, inculcate in ourselves that God is watching us all the time 24/7 no matter what we do, where we are. If we do this, we will surely be not just a transformed person but an excellent one.