A time for self-reflection

You know it's Ramadan when tents begin to appear all over the city, official working hours are shortened, people begin to drive a bit more recklessly to get to work and back home in time to end the fast, and daily social gatherings start at 10pm and go into the early morning hours.

Other signs of Ramadan are the congregation of family members to end the fast together, evening prayers of taraweeh, and sharing food with one's neighbours and the needy.

I will say without hesitation that in our society today, the socially indulgent behaviours of people have dominated all other aspects of Ramadan.

While all Muslims in our community observe the major rituals of Ramadan, for many people, Ramadan today also means working fewer hours and with less rigour, sleeping in during a large part of the day - in many cases right up until it's time to end the fast, spending hours watching dramas and comedies on TV, going out in the evening and visiting tents with friends, smoking shisha and consuming enormous amounts of heavy food into the morning hours.

I will not pass judgment on anyone, but I will call for greater balance in the way we conduct ourselves during Ramadan, because our personal conduct, collectively, has a major impact on our society. Ramadan is like no other month in the year. Over a thousand years ago the last prophet of Islam, received the first revelations of the sacred scripture, the 'Quran.'

In Islam we believe that during the month of Ramadan, especially the last 10 days of Ramadan, the gates of heaven are open, and the gates of hell are closed, so this month is the most auspicious time for prayers and self-reflection. Today when you ask the majority of people in our society about Ramadan, they will tell you it is essentially about abstaining from food, drink, smoking, and sexual relations; they will tell you the obvious. But Ramadan and the teachings that this month seeks to instil in us are far deeper and greater in their consequences.

Ramadan is not about abstaining from food and drink; it is about nurturing piety, compassion and, most importantly, it is about nurturing the discipline of 'self-control'.

This discipline of self-control illuminates all aspects of one's life, engaging us on all levels: physical, psychological, social and spiritual.

The physical level is manifested in abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during daylight hours.

During this time, because of our physical self-control, we are forced to feel what those living in poverty must endure and we can begin to understand that our fasting is not even a fraction of their hunger. This realisation allows us to not only endure our own fasting, but also to empathise with the poor. Our empathy in turn leads us to action and we strive to do what we can to help the needy.

The psychological level should be manifested in self-control over our emotions which can be exhibited as anger, desire, insecurity and many other negative feelings that translate into a type of behaviour. For example, the noticeable road rage and speeding during Ramadan is a clear example of lack of self-control in one's emotions which, either due to frustration or anger, makes people behave irresponsibly, thus endangering people's lives.

The social level should be manifested in one's practice of self-control in their social life, by focusing on productive social engagements, such as spending quality time with one's family, pursuing the company of good friends and helping the poor by any means. Self-control here also means refraining from indulging in over-eating and other social behaviour that can be considered as vices.

The spiritual level should be manifested through our self-control which makes us consistent in our daily prayers, where we give thanks to our Creator and reflect on our lives. In Islam we follow the teaching of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) which sums up this dimension: we must live for this world as if we were immortal, by being extremely productive, and we must live for the next life as if we were to die tomorrow, by living the virtues of piety, compassion, by giving to those around us of our time, our knowledge, our kindness and our wealth.

Ramadan is another month in the year, but God bestowed this month upon us to teach us deep lessons about our existence and lessons that are all too often forgotten in the fast pace and habits of our daily lives.

You do not have to be Muslim to fast, as fasting is an ancient practice found in many traditions. So whether you are Muslim or not, I hope you will also reflect on the teachings of Ramadan.

There is an infinite unbreakable link between faith, in this case illustrated in the teachings of Ramadan, and between the building of a vibrant and noble civil society of compassionate human beings - human beings that seek to make the world they live in better.

Najla Al Awadhi is a member of the Federal National Council.