RAMADAN 4 – ‘FASTING’ WITH SUFFERING BRETHREN

Such was the rue of Ramadan’s passing that the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them), wished the whole year were Ramadan. Alas! End Ramadan will, as we all will eventually. But there is hope to anticipate and long for the one of next year, and the next after, in sha […]

Such was the rue of Ramadan’s passing that the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them), wished the whole year were Ramadan. Alas! End Ramadan will, as we all will eventually. But there is hope to anticipate and long for the one of next year, and the next after, in sha Allah.
But while many of us are perhaps observing Ramadan relatively comfortably, many others here in Nigeria and other countries are passing through trying times, and this Ramadan may pass without happiness passing through them, or they through happiness. For them, we recite Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!), and pray that Allah compensate them for their suffering, now and in the hereafter. And if it is human-inflicted, may He, the Qahhar, take charge and destroy the inflictors of this suffering, amin.
BORNO STATE, NIGERIA: The people of Borno and Yobe States, despite the lull in the violence, are still being tried almost daily. In these states, murders and killings still continue, even if not on the scale of last year’s Ramadan. Their children have since grown used to the sound of gunfire, and trauma-watching. Most means of livelihood have been stifled, especially with the otherwise understandable suspension of GSM services (though partially lifted). People who have been forced to remain indoors for most hours of the day last Ramadan now move about a bit, but not as Ramadan would demand, for it is a month of much movement. Their Ramadan fasting is one of great perseverance in suffering, and may Allah continue to improve their situation, amin.
MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, CAIRO, EGYPT: All of a sudden, logic has been turned upside down. The Muslim Brotherhood (or Islamists, as the West loves to name them), are today the ones protesting FOR democracy in Egypt, while so-called Western-sponsored liberals such as Mohamed el Baradei have taken appointment in an anti-democracy military government. How things keep a-changing when it comes to Islam! Millions of Brotherhood supporters, as well as their families, have been out camping in protest at Cairo’s Madinat Nasr Rabia Mosque. All they are asking is that ‘let there be democracy, and the legitimately-elected president Mohamed Morsi be reinstated’. For the past one month, there out in the open, Brotherhood Brothers and Sisters fast their Ramadan, there they Iftar, there they Taraweeh, there they Tahajjud, there they Sahur. Dozens of them have been killed by the military. Yet they persevere. (And let us imagine, should the Brotherhood take up arms to defend ‘democracy’, what would the Western world call them? Terrorists! And what do the Human Rights people do? Watch!)
UIGHUR MUSLIMS, XINJIANG, CHINA: Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! The Muslim people of China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region are still being banned from observing the Ramadan fast, as it has been done for several years. This Muslim minority continues to suffer from China’s religious and political persecution. (Interestingly enough, Chinese Christians, a much smaller minority, do NOT suffer the same fate!) According to Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exile World Uighur Congress, speaking to Radio Free Asia recently: “The government forced Muslim members of the government throughout Xinjiang to sign ‘letters of responsibility’ promising to avoid fasting, evening prayers, or other religious activities. Government says ‘fasting during Ramadan is a traditional ethnic custom’…Party members are not allowed to fast, and neither are civil servants. As for private companies, Uighur Muslim employees are offered lunches during fasting hours. Anyone who refuses to eat could lose their annual bonus, or even their job. Officials have also targeted Muslim schoolchildren, providing them with free lunches during the fasting period. They have also made groups of 10 households responsible for spying on each other, so that if a single child from one family fasts for Ramadan, or takes part in religious activities, then all 10 families will be fined. It’s called a 10-household guarantee system.” (And then you ask; where is the United Nations? Indeed, where is the so-called Muslim World League, Rabita which only specialises in providing blankets for people who need bullets? And should the Uighurs take up arms to defend themselves, what would the Western world call them? Terrorists! And what do the Human Rights people do? Watch!)
ROHINGYA MUSLIMS, MYANMAR (BURMA): Another Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! The Internet is still awash with stories of the suffering of the Rohingya Muslim people people in Myanmar (Burma). While in China it is the Godless Communists inflicting the suffering, in Burma it is the Buddhists, the same people who claim to be intrinsically peaceful, and have the Dalai Lama to show for it, that massacre and rape the hapless Muslim Rohingyas. A recent letter written by Rohingyas to the Muslim people of the world says, interalia: “Ramadan in Burma is passing as fast as elsewhere, but for us the nights of worship remain the nights of nightmares. And the days of fasting keep us ever watchful of extremists attacking us. We take turns to guard our houses and the neighbourhood. This Ramadan the torrential monsoon rain downpours almost every day and we have hardly any roof over our heads, and our living condition is humanly unthinkable. Currently, numerous Rohingya villages are surrounded by armed radical Buddhist Rakhine mobs with the backing from the Burmese forces. Not a single Masjid in Rohingya’s Arakan State is allowed to operate – all are shut down by the Burmese Government. No prayer congregation is allowed anywhere in Rohingya Muslim areas. Janaza payer for the deceased is also banned. Rohingya Muslims have to perform Janaza prayer secretly under the darkness of the night in remote places. In these last few days of Ramadan, please remember us in your du’a. We request you to help the Muslim population in Burma by mobilizing the world to stop the genocide. We are a part of the Muslim Ummah. We have a right on you. We need your support to stop this genocide.” (And should the Rohingyas take up arms to defend themselves, what would the Western world call them? Terrorists! And what do the Human Rights people do? Watch!)
ZAATARI SYRIAN REFUGEE CAMP, JORDAN: The tragedy that is Syria continues to unfold. To protect Israel (for that’s the only reason why the West did not do in Syria what it did in Iraq or Libya) hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed, and millions have left their homes. The Zaatari Refugee Camp in neighbouring Jordan now accommodates more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees. These are people who had hitherto been middle-class and some well-to-do. Yet here we are in the 21st Century such a massive number of citizens are being uprooted from their homes. There in Zaatari and other refugee camps these Muslim brothers and sisters fast their Ramadan, there they Iftar, there they Taraweeh, there they Tahajjud, there they Sahur.
BIDA, NIGERIA: To our new sister in Islam Aisha Uzoechina and all the multitudes who come to Islam on their own volition before and during Ramadan, and who are fasting with great emotional and sometimes physical turmoil, we wish you Allah’s protection, Happy Ramadan and A Sha Ruwa Lafiya.
And may we witness Lailatul Qadr.