What can we do differently this Ramadan that transforms us not just for a month but transforms us for longer? Saudi

 

Ramadan: Reimagining a New Self
By Haroon Hashmi, PhD
Boston, MA

There is a unique mercy in Ramadan that anchors ordinary Muslims in a realm of religiosity and spirituality: we willingly adapt to a new rhythm of our days and nights to submit to the Will and Command of our Lord.

Every pang of hunger and every desire to wet our parched lips remind us of the state of obedience to our Creator. We even begin to see the better side of us in aspects of our own created self from being upright, speaking truth, giving charity, being merciful to others, etc. But then what happens to all of us when we leave the confines of this sacred month? Why do we become so unanchored? We gradually slide again into “ghaflat” and get trapped in the mendacity of this life. The very beautiful side of our own self begins to give way to the not-so-pleasant one, the rancor, the envy, the greed. The heart that just started to feel its pureness, starts feeling diseased again.

What can we do differently this Ramadan that transforms us not just for a month but transforms us for longer? Perhaps we need to change our transactional mindset when it comes to our faith. We seem to see our religious duties and acts only in the framework of give-and-take or reward and punishment, i.e., we give God a good deed, and we expect to receive some unit of “sawaab” in return from Him. As such, we have even created “packages” of good deeds, e.g., doing a certain number of rakahs, finishing Qur’an certain times, etc., that will guarantee us a house in Jannah and so on and so forth.

Perhaps it is time we reflect on the transformational nature of our Deen and not reduce it to merely a transactional one. Perhaps this Ramadan we can reimagine a new “self” for ourselves by focusing on the aspects of God-Consciousness in the verse that Allah revealed: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may develop God-consciousness" (2:183). Consciousness describes our awareness of internal and external stimuli; imagine if all aspects of consciousness are anchored in the ultimate Source of all that is Beautiful, Pure, and Good. Perhaps if this Ramadan we can reflect on what having God-consciousness truly means and how can one develop and practice it in their life, maybe the spiritual bliss and special connection we feel with our Lord in Ramadan will continue to stay with us beyond it – inshaAllah!