Ramadan, A Protective Shield

As the month of mercy, forgiveness, and pardon begins, the aroma of unconditioned good, sincere connection, and hopeful beginnings reaches the hearts of Muslims. A reminiscence of pure goodwill awakens the human consciousness, longing for a breath of sincerity after a long burial beneath the dust of Dunia attachments, restless pursuit, and egocentric competition.

Ramadan is not merely a second chance in our relationship with our Lord- it is a rebirth of our humanity.

Unlike the common understanding of dedicated worship, Ramadan is far more than a season of rituals. It is a divinely designed camp for cleansing one’s ego and fuelling one’s heart to reach piety as declared in Surah al Baqarah, “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain piety.

In its truest essence, Ramadan is a boot camp for hearts, not merely for limbs.

But what is piety?

Piety, in its simplest definition, is to shield oneself from all that displeases Allah, avoiding all possible means of sinning, shortcomings, heedlessness, and injustice. As such, piety holds a powerful connection to fasting, which the Prophet, peace be upon him, described as a “protective shield”.

But what exactly does fasting protect us from?

Surprisingly, fasting is protecting us from our own NAFS- that cunning, sharp-toothed undercover rival and our most intimate enemy. Our NAFS is the one burying our hearts in desires, attachments, false hopes, fear of poverty, fear of creation, as well as lack of reverence and awe towards our Creator. A predestined darkness of human consciousness.

Our NAFS has been described in the Qur’an as, “ungrateful, unjust, stingy, impatient, ignorant, and anxious”. Yet, strangely, despite its flaws, we still trust such an imperfect rival and rely upon its wisdom, or the lack of it, to navigate our lives and our worship- a delusional balance of common sense.

We rarely recognize the depth of its influence until fasting unveils it to us.

When we fast, we are not only abstaining from food, drink, and desire from Fajr to Maghrib, we are also weakening the powerful grip of our NAFS upon our hearts.

Our NAFS feeds on indulgence, the indulgence of appetite, anger, and desire. Even though, these desires are meant to protect us from extinction, our NAFS exploits them to dominate our heart. Fasting, on the other hand, weakens the NAFS and its pathways to control, as most of the month, we are shielding ourselves against these desires, consequently shielding our hearts against our NAFS.

Is that all?

This is not the only fruit of Ramadan. The greatest share belongs to our hearts.

After long darkness and layered veils, our heart starts to see light. It finally smells the fresh breath of presence, spiritual intimacy and awe, reflecting its innate good, reawakening the human consciousness within, and celebrating a long-awaited reunion with Allah.

As the cleansing process is intact, the seeds of piety are planted into one’s heart, where they truly belong, as referred to by the Prophet, peace be upon him, “Piety grows here and referred to his heart three times”.

These seeds are meant to grow an everlasting connection of servitude between us and Our Lord, a connection that lasts long after Ramadan. This connection becomes the saving stick that saves us from drowning into the oceans of desires, materialistic pursuits, breaking ties over Dunia, and favouring oneself that our NAFS constantly drags us into.

As the tree of piety grows, it reflects the light of guidance, inspiring our heart to keep praying, reciting, supplicating, and giving. It clothes oneself in modesty, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and surrendering, gently carrying our heart toward Laylatul Qadr

Laylatul Qadr, the passage to a sound heart

Reaching Laylatul Qadr is a mere blessing from Allah, SWT, to His servants, yet this blessing can echo across a lifetime. To witness this night is to be granted steadfastness and transcendence for the rest of your life as the harvest of this tree enlightens a never-ending journey of closeness to Allah.

Consequently, all worries, anxiety, anger, darkness, feelings of injustice, dissatisfaction, betrayal, and fear that long haunted our hearts as it locked Dunia inside it, would start fading, replaced by the sweetness of presence, reliance, surrender, and tranquillity that we felt on our prayer mat and which Allah multiplied and instilled in our hearts.

Ramadan has always been the month of blessing and abundance. So open your heart to its gifts, and may it be the beginning of a new chapter of hope- a return not only to worship, but to your truest self before your Lord.

Ramadan Kareem