Ramadhan, which begins this weekend, is the month Muslims look forward to the most
amadhan, which begins this weekend, is the month Muslims look forward to the most. It is the month when the Quran was revealed and when able Muslims are obliged to fast from dawn to dusk; during fasting hours Muslims are said to be closest to Allah, who will forgive their sins. The month culminates in Idul Fitri festival, which witnesses the mass homecoming of people to gather with families and celebrate the opportunity for a clean slate.
Devotees are reminded that despite fasting in the heat, they cannot doze off or stay home. It is basically business as usual, though some offices will let employees go home earlier. Apart from fasting, Muslims are urged to work on their spirituality by improving the quality and quantity of prayers and Quran reading, restraining from lust and negative emotions and increasing alms as part of building empathy with the poor.
Physically Muslims in Indonesia have it easy compared to brothers and sisters in the West, for instance, when summer means breaking the fast at 10 p.m. or later, and having a predawn meal at around 2 or 3 a.m. Muslims here will also have a much easier time compared to millions of Muslim refugees fleeing war-torn lands, who have yet to find a home.
For all our advantages, Ramadhan still poses a great challenge to Islam’s followers here. The holy month follows on the heels of a recent terrorist attack, which killed two suspected suicide bombers and three police officers and wounded several others in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta.
In Manchester in the United Kingdom, minors were among the 22 dead victims of the blast just outside a concert of pop singer Ariana Grande. Whether the attacks were religiously motivated, most terrorist acts in the past decade have been carried out or claimed in the name of Islam, yet few Muslims would feel they have anything in common with the criminals.
Nevertheless, Muslims in Indonesia need to reflect on how they can improve on practicing their teachings, when hundreds of minority faith members who consider themselves Muslims are still refugees in their own country. Ahmadis from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, will spend their 10th Ramadhan away from their homes after being evicted because of their beliefs. Shiites from Sampang in Madura, East Java, who had to flee their homes four years ago, have not been able to return either from where they are sheltered in government apartments in Sidoarjo.
Meanwhile, around the capital, excesses of the divisive gubernatorial election still linger.
Ramadhan, therefore, provides an opportunity to refrain from judgment on what we consider the only supreme truth.
If people are busy focusing on becoming better Muslims, by fasting and studying the holy book while increasing their prayers and trying to at least maintain productivity, surely little energy and will is left to bully others that hold beliefs and views.
May this Ramadhan bring blessings to all our readers.
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