A Blessed Ramadan to All!

A Blessed Ramadan to All

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may develop God-consciousness.” (Quran 2:183)

I wish to express my joy and gratitude to everyone — Muslim and non-Muslim alike — for all the blessings I’ve received over the past month as an official Muslim in the eyes of the world. Furthermore, I wish all of my Muslim brothers and sisters a blessed Ramadan! Ramadan Mubarak!

It is hard to believe that it’s been a year now already since the last Ramadan. At that time, I was observing Lent in the monastery and praying along with my Muslim brothers and sisters while I discerned my own way forward. Catholic/Orthodox Lent is a particular time of fervent prayer and extra fasting, but it is quite different in nature from the fast during Ramadan. Either way, the end goal is much the same — purification from sin, and drawing nearer to God. As a monk, I had always been fond of quoting the 7th century Palestinian spiritual master, St. Dorotheos of Gaza, who said this:

“Imagine that the world is a circle, that God is the center, and that the radii are the different ways human beings live. When those who wish to come closer to God walk towards the center of the circle, they come closer to one another at the same time as to God. The closer they come to God, the closer they come to one another. And the closer they come to one another, the closer they come to God.” (Instructions VI.)

This truth I’ve felt even in (and perhaps most especially in) the masjid. As we draw close to God, we are literally shoulder to shoulder with our brother. We greet each other with a warm smile, a handshake, and with the words “Peace be unto you!” on our lips. We share a meal together. Our lives are intertwined in our mutual movement towards God.

As this is so in the moments throughout the year, it is even more so during the blessed month of Ramadan.

Reading William Chittick’s classic work, Faith and Practice of Islam, I came across this paragraph on fasting, which I wish to quote in full. It reads:

Fasting — united with prayer — is such a powerful spiritual tool. Yet we must remember that fasting is not simply abstaining from food and drink! We fast with our eyes by not looking on what is sinful. We fast with our tongue by not saying what is harmful. With our ears by not listening to what is corrupting. Instead, we must look upon what is holy. We must speak with prayer. We must listen to what lifts us up to Allah. And we strive for the mutual uplifting of our brother and sister in Islam.

Without prayer, and without right intentions, fasting is just simply going hungry.

For me, this is my very first Ramadan. Let us joyously strive together, and may our fasting and prayer be pleasing to Allah!

“Have you ever wondered why we’re happy in Ramadan? Because we do what we were created to do.”
– Sh. Alaa Elsayed

What are we created to do? We are created to worship Him. To return. To remember. La ilaha illa Allah.

Please make dua for me. And thank you all so much for the love and the light that you have shown me leading up to this much blessed month of Ramadan.

In closing, I wanted to share this beautiful poem by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī about Ramadan. It is no secret now my love of Rumi, so I thought his words would be something beautiful to meditate upon in the coming days. (I am unsure of the source of the translation.)

Rumi Poem for Ramadan

O moon-faced Beloved,
the month of Ramadan has arrived.
Cover the table
and open the path of praise.

O fickle busybody,
it’s time to change your ways.
Can you see the one who’s selling the halvah — 
how long will it be the halvah you desire?

Just a glimpse of the halvah-maker
has made you so sweet even honey says,
“I’ll put myself beneath your feet, like soil;
I’ll worship at your shrine.”

Your chick frets within the egg
with all your eating and choking.
Break out of your shell that your wings may grow.
Let yourself fly.

The lips of the Master are parched
from calling the Beloved.
The sound of your call resounds
through the horn of your empty belly.

Let nothing be inside of you.
Be empty: give your lips to the lips of the reed.
When like a reed you fill with His breath,
then you’ll taste sweetness.

Sweetness is hidden in the Breath
that fills the reed.
Be like Mary — by that sweet breath
a child grew within her.