By The road was jam packed with traffic. Cars, vans, bikes, rickshaws and even a donkey cart; all were ramming into each other hardly holding on to their breath. It seemed they felt justified because it was Ramazan and they were all fasting …
They all wanted to get home before Iftar. They all were getting angry and impatient without realizing that abstinence and discipline are the soul of fasting. You have to respect those who are fasting and those who are fasting should maintain patience. But they love to test each other’s patience even more in this Holy Month.
This is the dilemma. During Ramadan, such indiscipline becomes evident at various occasions. We push and jostle when we enter and leave the Mosque. We do the same when we go to markets to purchase food for Iftar. While doing all this we don’t even realize that we have already trounced the spirit of Ramazan…
It’s not that we lack in education. At least our urban population is literate enough to know the importance of discipline in life. But still nobody cares. It’s not that we don’t know about the actual message of Ramazan. It’s not that we don’t read The Holy Quran. It’s not that we have not been told about the purpose of fasting. We know a lot.
Then why we do not follow these teachings. To get the answer of this question, I went to an erudite scholar and spoke my heart out. Just like a true scholar would do, he explained the whole situation in few simple words.
He told me, “Most of us do not feel the need to practice of what we have been taught.” He then elaborated, “I would like to request The Ulema that they teach society that religious beliefs and everyday life are not separate entities. Both are interrelated as religion’s main purpose is to make this world a better place and its adherents; better citizens.” I got the point and took this matter to a renowned religious scholar. I presented the whole situation before him and asked, “Despite so much emphasis given on discipline in Islam, why we do not practice it in everyday life and why the Ulema do not condemn such disorderliness in society? I also went on to ask him why don’t the Ulema tell people that violating a traffic signal is also a sin?
He endorsed my point but did not categorically call the violation of traffic signal a sin. Anyhow he did state that when the state makes a law for the betterment of society, abiding by that law becomes obligatory for the masses. According to him, all those acts of indiscipline that cause nuisance to society are prohibited in Islam.
I came back with the hope that during the next Jumma sermon, this scholar would emphasize on importance of discipline than just stressing on mere rituals and superficial aspects of religious acts.
Thorough analysis of this situation reveals that teachers, clergy and elders have not done their job properly in our country. Very few members of society belonging either to the religious right, liberals or common educated class adhere to the absolute spirit of their own beliefs and education. The day we manage to overcome this lacuna in our society, we will start our journey towards turning into an enlightened nation.
