Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Ramadan – Month of Morality and Humanity

In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to revive moral standards and social values. A peaceful collective life originates from individual reform. When one feeds their souls with virtue and spirituality and deems others as brethren, the society will move towards peace and stability. Men’s megalomania and lust for power and property are believed to be the main reasons behind the current violence and bloodshed going on around the human societies. The holy Ramadan aims to deplete the individuals’ soul from all vice.
We will have to broaden our horizons and discard dogmatic beliefs. Men’s radical vision of the world have resulted in lack of tolerance towards others. For instance, when one views the world from a narrow lens and with parochial mindset, they will see others inferior. Subsequently, claiming superiority for yourself and inferiority for others on the grounds of race, religion and color will pave the ground for violence. All the destructive wars in men’s history stemmed from the issue of superiority and inferiority.
A civil society void of violence will be formed when people of all races and religions treat one another with the spirit of brotherhood on the basis of being human. It is possible when individuals show tolerance and patience towards one another. The Creator has bestowed all people the rights to life and liberty and no one is allowed to curtail these rights without the provision of law. Now the question is that how can you nurture tolerance?
There are two ways to cherish tolerance towards others. First, we have to empty our souls from all vice and evil through practicing moral values and religious tenets, in their true spirit. That is to say, we are to abandon our wicked characteristics and curtail our desire for power and lust for luxury. All should realize their human responsibilities and respect the rights and dignity of others as they do theirs. Second, one has to understand a religion deeply and does not tailor religious tenets to their own tastes. For example, radical groups are imposing their own minds on religion and pursue their self-styled manners. So, violence apparently roots in men’s megalomania and misconstruing religion.
In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims have two great responsibilities to deplete their souls from evil and understand and practice religion truly. The soul also needs to be fed the same as body. But one is to be cautious enough not to feed their souls with poisonous food. Religion emphasizes Muslims to satiate their souls with ethical code namely humanity, kindness and love for mankind. Keeping fast in the holy month of Ramadan does not necessarily mean being hungry and thirsty from dawn to dusk without any reasons behind and just for being a religious order. Besides fasting, we have to keep a tight rein on our carnal desires and physical pleasure and restrict our wants and needs. Purifying our souls from evil is the main objective of this month. There is actually a strong tension between soul and body. The soul tends to fly one in the spiritual sky of virtue, whereas the body pulls one back to the quagmire of sin and evil. We restrict our physical needs in this month in favor of soul through keeping fast.
It is believed that religious issue in Islam is not an individual act but it is widely involved in collective life. After purifying ourselves from evil, we will keep our society safe from inhuman acts, especially violence and bloodshed. The fundamental practices of radical groups are not justified at all in human societies. As it was said earlier, radical groups do not understand the true spirit and message of religion. They impose their own warped minds on religion and practice upon their self-styled rules.
The holy month of Ramadan tends to provide an opportunity for Muslims to repent their misdeeds and reform their acts. This month humanizes the society. It should be noted that one is not to reduce humanity and moral values only in this month. That is to say, it will be of no value to practice religious tenets and moral values in the holy month of Ramadan and ignore them in other months. After purifying ourselves, we have to continue being, if not perfect, good humans.
In brief, the philosophies behind this holy month should not be ignored or downplayed. In this month, Muslims are supposed to polish their souls from filth of sin and crime. All people, not only Muslims, will have to revive humanity and ethical code in anytime and uphold the rights and life of people. Let us hope and pray for a peaceful and human society in which all people are able to exercise their rights without obstacles – this is the aim of Ramadan, too.