Learning from Ramadan

If you are reading this article at the time I have published it, Ramadan has just begun.  I am sure all of my Muslim friends reading this need no reminder, but those of us who are not Muslims may not have been aware.

One reason for writing about Ramadan is to make sure you know what it entails and do not inadvertently do anything which might cause your Muslim friends embarrassment.  This blog is all about personal development, and I believe a very important aspect of personal development is to learn to respect the beliefs of others even if you do not share them, and to avoid doing anything which might hurt those around you in any way.

Another reason is that I strongly believe there is much to be learned from the beliefs and practices of those who do not share our own beliefs.  Having studied what happens in Ramadan, and why, I find many things which I think are helpful to anyone learning to become a better person.

So, what actually does happen during Ramadan?  I am not a Muslim, so if any of my Muslim friends spots errors in what I have written, please let me know.  I have taken great care and tried to be accurate, but am happy to correct what I have written if I have misinterpreted anything.

Even my friends who have had little or no contact with those of the Muslim faith probably know one key fact about Ramadan - that it is forbidden to eat or drink from dawn until sunset.  There are some important and practical exceptions to this rule though.  If you are ill, elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, or diabetic you do not need to fast.  The same applies if you are travelling.  It is really up to you to decide whether your own circumstances fall within one of those exceptions solidly enough to mean you should eat and / or drink.  Where practical you should then try to fast outside the month of Ramadan to make up for the fact that you could not do so during Ramadan.  Clearly this does not apply where the reason is simply that you are elderly or diabetic.

During Ramadan it is not permissible to make love between dawn and sunset.

Putting these two prohibitions together, this means during the daylight hours you are practising abstinence from what are perhaps the most compelling and enjoyable human pleasures.  Such a practice is a very good discipline for anyone learning to become a better person.  Why?  Certainly not because there is anything wrong with eating, drinking, or making love.  But because learning to practise self-discipline is a very important aspect of personal development.  The more self-discipline you have, the higher up the ladder of personal development you can climb.  Note, though, the important balance introduced in Ramadan.  Are we told to fast and abstain from sex throughout Ramadan?  No, we are not.  Only during daylight hours.  As long as you don't live in Rovaniemi (or even further north) this gives you plenty of time during which you can eat, drink and enjoy making love - every single night of the festival.  I believe balance like this is very important.  Struggling to remain abstinent for days or weeks at a time is really not necessary when learning self control skills.  You are much more likely to be successful if you follow the teachings of the Quran in this regard rather than trying to be completely abstinent, day and night, and perhaps finding your motivation to continue dwindles.

There are also other abstinences which you must observe during your fast, such as swearing, gossiping and lying.  Obviously you are not expected to do any of these things at any time, but it is especially important to abstain from them during Ramadan.  If you do any of those things, or anything else that is clearly wrong, it is as though you have also broken your fast.  You may as well not have bothered to fast in the first place.  In the case of these things you do not have an exemption during the hours of darkness.

Ramadan is not, though, simply about abstinence.  During Ramadan a good Muslim thinks deeply about his or her faith.  It is a time for spiritual development, a time to purify your heart and soul.  The time that would otherwise be spent eating, drinking (and perhaps also making love) is time that can be used instead for spiritual exercises.  For a Muslim, this period of reflection will most certainly include reading the Quran.  For my readers who are not Muslim and who want to adopt a practice similar to that of Ramadan for their own personal development, they may not wish to read the Quran, but I suggest it would be a very good idea to spend time reading spiritual works of one kind or another.

Just as bad deeds are strictly forbidden during Ramadan, good deeds are particularly encouraged.  This includes, but is certainly not limited to, giving generously to charity.  And "charity" is also very broadly defined anyway in this sense.  For example, when the fast is broken after sunset it is considered good to share one's food with others.  In many cases this is simply with family and friends, much as Americans share the blessings of the earth with family and close friends at Thanksgiving, but it is also considered good to share with those who may not be able to afford the good food you have perhaps kept aside for breaking your fast.

Now that you are more aware of what is involved in Ramadan, please try to remember this when talking and making arrangements with Muslim friends.  For example, remember that they are not allowed to eat or drink during the day, so please do not try to invite them to lunch, or even to dinner if it is early in the evening before the sun has set.

If you have read this far and are interested in any form of self development I hope you have seen that the practices of pious Muslims during their festival of Ramadan might be a good thing to practise in order to accelerate that self development.  It may even be that some Muslims will look at their own practices during Ramadan and realize they should be using their time during Ramadan more effectively for their own spiritual development. 

If you are not a Muslim you may simply wish to pick out certain aspects as outlined above and see if you can incorporate them in your own practices.  But if you have Muslim friends maybe a good way to do this would be to ask them if they would mind if you tried to share their spiritual practices with them during Ramadan.  Don't push it if they seem less than enthusiastic, but you may find they like the idea and are very willing to share their beliefs and practices.  If so, this should not only help you develop practices which I strongly believe will help you in your self development, but also strengthen your friendship with Muslim acquaintances and increase your understanding of their faith.  Anything that increases understanding between people of different faiths has to be a very good thing in a world in which misunderstandings and prejudices are so common.

Ramadan: An Infidel's Perspective

My Muslim friends are now celebrating Ramadan and they certainly need no introduction to this important observance, which this year is from 29th June to 28th July.  But for the rest of us who are not of the Muslim faith I thought it might be helpful to throw a little light on Ramadan and look at the personal development benefits of the festival.  I hope any Muslim scholars reading this will not be offended by this commentary by one who is not of the faithful, but which I hope gives both Ramadan and the practice of Islam the greatest respect.

You probably already know that Ramadan lasts approximately one month, during which the faithful do not eat or drink during the day.  It is, though, rather more than simply a period of fasting.

It is very true that eating and drinking is forbidden between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan.  So too are any sexual relations.  Any good deeds performed during Ramadan are considered to create more benefit than at any other time.  This particularly applies to charitable giving, but also to all other good deeds.  During Ramadan the faithful are expected to pay more attention to their spirituality, including reading the entire Quran.

The benefits of fasting are very well documented.  Intermittent fasting has been shown to increase resistance to disease, improve sensitivity to insulin, improve brain function, and extend lifespan.  The studies have mainly focused on alternate day fasting, but the health benefits are likely to be equally applicable to fasting during the day every day.

Self discipline is also a very good practice.  During Ramadan this is particularly focussed on sexual relations, but is also extended to other matters.  For example swearing, or other "wordly" non-spiritual activities.  Why not simply cut out these activities completely, forever, you may ask.  Well, unlike some Christians, most Muslims would not regard sexual intimacy with one's spouse as in any way sinful or impure.  In fact it could be argued that abstaining from sexual intimacy is sinful, as it is depriving one's spouse of pleasure.  But learning to retain more control over one's desires instead of being a slave to the animal within is a good thing when not taken to extreme.  I think restricting this self-denial to the daylight hours for a month is probably a good balance.  My Christian friends may see a parallel here with Lent.  Indeed, those of my friends familiar with the practices of the Salvation Army call Lent "self denial", so the practice has some similarities with Ramadan, although it is nowhere near as thorough or strict.

As for doing good, it could be argued that this should be the case all year round, not just during one month of the year.  The reality is any good Muslim would completely agree.  The idea is not simply to do good during Ramadan and then be evil the other eleven months!  But Islam recognizes human fallibility.  The idea is to try to do good and avoid evil all year round, but to make even greater effort to do this during Ramadan.  When practised properly the additional focus on doing good and being more spiritual during Ramadan should gradually, year by year, make it easier and easier to be more spiritual and a better person throughout the rest of the year too.

I believe those of us who are not Muslim have much to learn from our Muslim friends.  Perhaps we should begin to adopt some of these practices ourselves, whether during Ramadan, Lent, Yom Kippur or some other time of the year.

And may I conclude by wishing my readers of all faiths and none a very happy and spiritual Ramadan!