Some of our Muslim brothers and sisters glow with excitement as they find themselves facing yet another Ramadan. Their faces are shining and there isn’t a hint of fatigue or hunger in their eves. They relentlessly come to the Masjid night after night, without a worry at all about the next day’s Fajr (dawn) alarm clock.
But, then there are those of us who sheepishly drag our feet to the Masjid only a few nights, wondering what all the commotion is about. We aren’t really feeling it. We are not getting that all-over tingly feeling that these other people seem to be getting from this blessed month. Nor are we seeking the benefits of the nighttime prayer and any other good deeds done in this sacred month.
Instead, we are usually the ones who barely offer our five daily prayers, and hardly ever make them on time. But it is not because we don’t believe in Allah or don’t have faith in the religion or anything like that. Nah! It is just because we are so busy with our lives, jobs, schools and everything else that sometimes it is really hard to manage the grades and work and all these ‘rituals’ that take up time. But do we really think that we are all that busy? Are we busier than the Prophet and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them? Think about it.
We may work or go to school for 10 or even 12 hours daily, we cram in there the gym, shopping, eating, TV and sleep, and there is no time left. So, what did they do 1400 years ago? A typical man was a shepherd, a warrior, a merchant, a farmer, and worker, etc, and all in a day. He would do everything by his own hands, in the blazing sun, without a car to take him where he needed to go, without air- conditioning, without a cell phone, without email, without even three square meals. And we can’t make the excuse that the Prophet and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were special and they were chosen by Allah. Yes, the Prophet was chosen, but he was a man and was made to toil and work hard (harder than any man today) as he was an example to all of us now; It can be done, and it must be done. Even by the busiest of men (and the noblest), life’s trials did not overtake worship of Allah. The Prophet knew this and explained this to us; When he was asked: “What deed is most beloved by Allah?” He answered: “To offer each prayer as soon as it is due.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Some of us believe, with all our heart, that as long as Allah Knows what is in our hearts, that is all that should matter, even if we can’t manage to offer prayer or fast, as prescribed. They think that is what Islam is all about; Intention. As long as their intentions are good, what does it matter if they miss a prayer or two, or a fast or two?
Should this be the case, we would end up with a handful of philosophies but no true faith. For the difference between philosophy and religion is the action that supports that religion. A person with a heart full of love for Allah but doesn’t practically demonstrate that love is like a rosebud that never blooms. It never blossoms and comes to its full potential. Such a rosebud is still beautiful, but it hasn’t yet reached the beauty that Allah intended for it. This is not to deny that intentions on their own are significant and worthy; rather, I meant to say that only when coupled with deeds can intentions signify true faith.
The actions of worship that make Islam a way of life are also the ones that make it a matter of faith, not just a mental or emotional attachment. It is a belief that encompasses the entire being and therefore requires the entire being’s involvement. We can spend the rest of our days convincing ourselves that Allah knows what is in our hearts (certainly He does), but He also prescribed for us a clear set of rules that we are supposed to follow. Prayer and fasting are among those. Imagine if we had a paper due in school and we told our teacher that we decided not to do the paper because we felt that we understood the material well enough just by reading the textbook and attending the lectures. In other words, the teacher should just trust that we know our stuff and should just take our word for it. It is kind of the same thing.
Allah is testing us and we are telling Him, by not offering prayer or fasting, that we would rather not take His tests, but we understand the material. How is that possible? If in our hearts we really believe in Him, then we should be willing and able to simultaneously show with our bodies, minds, and spirits the power and strength of our faith.
Luckily, Allah is Most Merciful and Forgiving; so let this Ramadan be our springboard to start acting on our faith.