In Search of Piety
By Azher Quader
Chicago , IL
As the curtain comes down on yet another month of Ramadan, as always there is much rejoicing and celebrating within the community. Some of us celebrate the end of fasting days, others the end of sleepless nights and yet some others the hectic schedules of praying and promoting the faith through activities both within and outside the community.
All of us embark upon a journey of our souls throughout this month with a hope of somehow seeking redemption for our past shortcomings, salvation for our future and a reward in the hereafter. For some this journey means standing for hours each night in taraweeh in their neighborhood mosque, behind some talented Qari and Hafiz whose recitations are music to their ears, for others it means the performance of small tasks and duties around the mosques assuring the welfare and security of the faithful who come to pray, and perhaps to many more it might mean the quiet reading of the Qur’an in the solitude and seclusion of their homes.
It is a phenomenon that repeats itself every year across the globe among millions of the faithful and myriads of households. It is a phenomenon steeped in tradition, linked to our faith that lingers in our childhood memories. Some of us may recall the waking for the pre-dawn suhoor, maybe the voice of the wayward street caller exhorting us to rise and shine, the hurried eating with an eye on the clock, the hot summer days when hunger took a back seat to thirst and finally the winding minutes of the evening when the sun would set and the sirens would herald the end of the fast.
While there is a certain nostalgic charm in these traditions of Ramadan, which capture our imagination quite easily, what often gets ignored is the sobering task of absorbing the Qur’anic guidance in order to lead a life of integrity and compassion beyond Ramadan. For our search for piety and Divine pleasure cannot and should not end with the sighting of a new moon. Our journey to God must take us beyond the confines of our mosques, beyond our saum and sujood, to serve the needs of our neighbors, to aid the poor, to feed the hungry, to heal the ailing, to speak up in defense of the weak and voiceless. If the spiritual exercises of the month cause us to only feel good without inspiring us to do good, we have to wonder where was our attention when the Qur’an declares:
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West; but righteous is he who believes in Allah, in the Last Day, in the Angels, in the Scripture and the Prophets; and gives from his wealth for love of Him, to kinsfolk, to orphans, to the needy, to the wayfarer, to those who ask and to set slaves free (to free the oppressed); establish salath ( proper worship) and pay zakath (the poor due). And those who keep their promise when they make one, the patient in tribulation and adversity and in times of stress. Such are the sincere, such are the Godfearing. 2:177
Our destiny has brought us to America from the far corners of the globe. Some came on ships. Some came in planes. We are all now in the same boat bound by a common fate. We are witnessing some amazing and historic times here in America. Our nation is sharply divided on a number of issues dealing with health care, immigration, reproductive rights, energy and environment, to name a few. The scourge of racism haunts us still, notwithstanding the election of a black president. The greed and self interest of Wall Street has bankrupted main street. The dollar toll from alcohol is in billions, not to mention the death and untold misery that comes in its wake. Adultery and permissiveness in society have made a mockery of marriage. Over a million lives are lost to abortion every year.
Do we have a role to play? Can we leave the baggage of our ethnic past and pick up the challenges of our demanding present? Will the meditations and spiritual exercises of Ramadan move us from consumption to contribution, from isolation to involvement, from reactivity to proactivity? America can be a better place if our search for piety enables us to find ourselves, our mission, our purpose and go boldly forward pursuing it.
Need we recall the Qur’an again:
Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they first change what is within their hearts. 13:11
And as the poet philosopher wrote:
Theri Khudi mein agar inqilaab ho paida
Ajab nahin ke there chaarsu badal jaye
Iqbal
If within your character comes a revolutionary change
It will be no surprise to see that it will change your entire circumstance
Dayare ishq mein apna muqaam paida kar
Naya zamana naye subha shaam paida kar
Iqbal
Create your special place within the world of Passion
Create a new time (and reality) for yourself, with new mornings and new evenings
May Allah guide us and bless us.
(The writer is Executive Director, Community Builders Chicago)
azherquader@yahoo.com
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