Sunday 09 / March / 2025
Daily habits in the holy month of Ramadan change when many people alter their routines to adapt with rituals that they don’t normally perform in other months.
But Ramadan is not just to stay hungry the whole day and eat uncontrollable during the evening. In other words, it is not about fasting or refraining from eating food during the day. It is our deeds and performances during the day and night that count.
It is the belief in our actions that are vital in this month. The belief that we need to be better humans, by helping others around us, is the true spirit of Ramadan. It is also not what you don’t digest during the day in your stomach but what you digest in your mind the whole 30 days of the month, which is important.
How we conduct ourselves, not only socially but spiritually, is also the focus here. But many people think Ramadan is about certain sets of rules. This is where they go wrong and they go wrong in many ways. To do good deeds, or show kindness to all, have no rules. For example, to be supportive to your family comes first.
Second, is to be helpful to your local community by devoting your time with them. There are many ways you can engage yourself that way. Charity work like raising money for the less fortunate is most important, not just giving them food.
But if you are not able to go into that path, there are other ways of being charitable in Ramadan. One example comes to mind. We see a lot of gatherings in the evenings of Ramadan, not just in mosques, but in other public areas. These gatherings are not just for preaching but they have one thing in common.
For people in all walks of life to be together and share their happiness and problems at the same time. Some people, even the wealthiest, need to be listened to. Being supportive by just being attentive, when someone pours out their feelings, is very important. That’s the reason why these sittings are important during the Ramadan.
These sittings are also, in a loose term, is about ‘spiritual networking’ with different people and some, you may not have met before. Just being there is important even if you no money in the bank to share it with others. In this context, no one has nothing to give, like many would like to think when they say they have no spare cash. Your time with them is part of giving.
You could also try to forgive someone who did you wrong in the past. When you have disagreements, find out a way for reconciliation. It may be hard but the rewards are high. All these actions are about spiritual cleansing while fasting is about biologically scrubbing your body with unwanted fats. So we get both in the same month.
So embracing the spirit of Ramadan has many advantages. It is spiritual healing for yourself and being compassionate to your family, neighbours and the community, at the same time.
