Ramadan was easy. Now, the real battle begins
It’s been only a few days since eid, but ramadan is already a distant memory. Why? Why? Why?
It’s not that we no longer pray or read the Qur’an. It’s the fact that the atmosphere outside ramadan is so overwhelming in affecting our closeness to Allah (swt). The atmosphere dominates our actions and feelings in such a way that find it hard to imagine anything else - until we experience another ramadan, if Allah wills.
Atmosphere connected us with Allah
What happens in ramadan? We fast and that action in itself reminds us of Allah (swt).
We remove distractions like Netflix and cut down on TV and social media use. We also give up many bad personal habits. Instead, we read the Qur’an more often, attend taraweeh prayers and freely give our wealth in charity. All in order to obey Allah (swt) and seek His pleasure and these actions all help us get closer to Allah (swt) - enhancing our taqwa.
The environment in ramadan reminds us of Allah (swt) more than at any other time. Alhamdulillah.
A partial picture
Zoom out of the picture above and something else becomes apparent. During the same month of ramadan, throughout the Muslim world, banks continue dealing in riba (interest) and corruption and immorality are promoted on TV in the name of entertainment.
Sudan and Algeria searched for a new political solution, Pakistan took it’s 13th IMF loan that will further impoverish the masses, and millions of Muslims continued to suffer in Yemen, Syria and China.
In taraweeh, we listened to Qur’anic verses where Allah the All-Knowing offered us solutions to all of these issues, however we live in societies where these Islamic solutions are only deemed fit for recitation - not implementation. So our connection with Allah (swt) is partial. In our economic, social and political lives, we carried on regardless heedless of our duty to implement His (swt) Guidance. May Allah (swt) forgive us.
That is what happens when there is no Islamic ruler to enforce the shariah rules over society as the Prophet (alayhi salam) and the Khulafah did for centuries.
Better than 60 Years of worship
No wonder the Prophet (alayhi salam) said
يَوْمٌ مِنْ إِمَامٍ عَدْلٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ سِتِّينَ سَنَةٍ وَحَدٌّ يُقَامُ فِى الأَرْضِ بِحَقِّهِ أَزْكَى فِيهَا مِنْ مَطَرِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا
A day under a just leader is better than sixty years of worship, while the hadd (proscribed punishment) established on the earth according to its right is better than forty days of rain (Bayhaqi/ Tabarani)
Today, Islam has been relegated to rituals - and rituals like Ramadhan only last a month.
We have imported the Western mantra to ‘render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God’s’ forgetting that Islam does not accept this Western secular view of life. All of life is to be lived in obedience to Allah, the Guide, the Master, the All-Knowing and Merciful Creator who sent guidance to mankind.
Society without the implementation of His Guidance will remain lost in disobedience, darkness and all sorts of oppression. Hence we witness widespread poverty, the oppression of women and the #Metoo campaign, and racism across the ‘civilised’ world.
Atmosphere
No wonder we immediately go back to old habits once ramadan is over because what has not changed is the environment where the words of the Divine are only allowed to shape a few aspects of our lives.
Without an Islamic Khilafah system that applies the guidance of the Divine over society, we swim in a sea of riba (interest), oppression, importation of un-Islamic morals, the abandonment of our suffering ummah in Syria, Kashmir and elsewhere and continue to witness the widespread disobedience of Allah (swt).
Our duty is to ensure that Muslim societies are ruled by the Islamic shariah rules and that is by re-establishing the Islamic Khilafah system - the only type of society that enables the individual to obey Allah (swt) in every aspect of life.
Enhancing our taqwa
The Khilafah system creates a society that helps us connect with Allah by living the guidance He revealed. Today’s secular societies - in the Muslim world - push us away from Allah (swt) and the guidance He revealed.
We must reject the secular idea that Islam’s solutions are only fit for parts of our lives. We should raise our voices to demand that the Muslim world re-establishes the Islamic Khilafah system so a Khalifah rules by the whole of what Allah (swt) revealed in the blessed month of ramadhan. In that lies taqwa and the pleasure of Allah.
May Allah (swt) accept our good deeds in ramadhan and may He (swt) forgive us for abandoning ruling by the revelation He sent.
Taji Mustafa