Introduction

I was not being able to understand the topic for today but as I was climbing up the stairs to reach here, I met Sajid Anwar Sb on my way and I said to him:

You are a spiritual mujahid. He stays at Roorkee, which  is  200kms  away  from  Delhi  and comes  every  Sunday  by road. It takes  him 4 hours  and he is regular with it. He did not miss the talk even during the Ramzaan. As I thought about it, I realized that in order to come on time, every Sunday, he must actually be doing Idlaaj (literally means, to travel at night) by  beginning  his  preparation  from  one  evening  before.  This  is  an  example  of  spiritual jihad.

People wrongfully become militant mujahid while on the contrary, a believer follows spiritual jihad.

According to the Quran,

Believers, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil (2:183)

The  month of Ramzaan  aims  at developing a believer so that he  becomes a  spiritual mujahid.  Such  a person  undertakes jihad with  his  self  –  with  his  mind,  his  thinking,  and  his  habits.  People  equate fighting with jihad but according to a Hadith,

He who fights with his conscience for the sake of God is the real mujahid [Mujahid who hai jo apni nafs se lade, allah ki khatir (Musnad Ahmad)]

Ramzaan  is  training  in  spiritual jihad so  that  man inculcates  non-material  thinking and  can  lead  life according to spiritual values.

Leading a need-based life

Inculcating such spiritual jihad has deep wisdom as it teaches man to lead a need-based life. There are three levels of leading life – need, comfort and luxury. Abstaining from food and water is symbolic  of reducing  all  material  comforts  and  luxuries  in  life,  to  ensure  that  one  leads  life  without  being distracted.

In  the  backdrop  of  the  upheaval prevalent  in the  world  these days  (Gulf  countries,  Britain  and  even India), an international magazine  approached  me to write an article  explaining this  unrest in  the  light of  religious  wisdom.  After  analysis,  I  concluded  that  the  key  reason  for  this  surge  of  protests  is dissatisfaction. People do  not want to  settle on  what they have  and  seek  more  and  more.  None  of the protestors is dying of hunger; yet they consider their present provisions as inadequate.

Be  it  the  ouster  of  the  British  or  any  other  later-day  protest,  all  arose  from  dissatisfaction;  because anything  that  man  gets,  loses  significance.  Roza  is  a  training  to  agree  with  less  because  it  is  in agreeing with less that man will find satisfaction.

Man: ideal seeking animal

Man  is  an  ideal-seeking  animal  and  he  wants  everything  to  be  ideal  –  world,  justice,  society  and government. But in the present world of God, none of them is meant to be ideal.

We have created man into a life of toil and trial. (90:4)

The ideal in the mind of man is for paradise, not for this world. In reality therefore, man is a paradise- seeking animal.  This nature of man makes him seek paradise in this world itself and since everything in this world is less than ideal, it makes him dissatisfied.

The only solution to this problem, I wrote is, contentment (qanaat). In other words, man should adopt material status quoism and spiritual idealism.  While being an idealist in the way of attaining  spiritual development, man must remain a status quoist for material matters. This is the training that the month of  Ramzaan imparts. Man must  agree with what  he  has  since  he  will not  achieve  ideal  in  this world.

Quran says,

Greed for more and more distracted you [from God] till you reached the grave. (102:1-2)

Throughout history, tension,  extremism, fighting,  has  taken  place due to dissatisfaction. For instance, Alexander  the  Great,  the  King  of  Greece  was  not  satisfied  within  the  borders  of  his  kingdom.  He wanted to conquer the  entire Europe. He advanced and eventually  reached Asia  till the Indian Ocean and then died. Despite having a kingdom from Greece till Sind, Alexander died in frustration. It is therefore  important  for man  to understand that he cannot create his  own paradise  in  the  present world;  paradise  will  be  in  the  hereafter  only.  Seeking  it  here  would  only  yield  dissatisfaction.

Contentment therefore is the key to ensure that man leads a peaceful life. Because each time a change is  implemented,  it  becomes  a  source of  dissatisfaction  for the  next set of  protestors  and this  vicious cycle  goes  on.  Unfortunately,  even  those  who  fast  do  not  understand  this  reality. A  Persian  poet’s couplet reads,

Tan parvariye khalq, fuzun shudd za riyazat

Juz garmiye iftaar, nadarad ramzaan heich

Roze main aur zyada khane peene ki dhoom mach gayi. Roza is liye tha ki log kam par raazi hon [During Ramzaan, people started indulging in elaborate food arrangements, even though fasting was so that they learn to remain contented on less.] I  recall  an  instance  here.  Once,  I  was  in  America  during  Ramzaan.  During  my  discussion  with  a gathering of  people,  I mentioned about  the  extravagant  eating habits  of people during  Ramzaan.  An American Muslim countered me and said it was not so in America. Then, a senior person stood up and said that  the  young  person  was not  correct in his  assessment and  same  was  the  case in America.  He suggested  a  simple  litmus  test: weigh  those  who fast  before  the  month  begins and  weigh them  after the month ends, there would be a positive difference.

Why does man seek paradise?

God created man and inhabited him in paradise. Man could however not control his temptation and as a  result  of  his indulgence,  he was casted  out of paradise. God  ordained that  man must  now  spend  a part  of his  life on  Earth  and basis his deeds,  he  will be casted into either  Hell or  Paradise  in  the life hereafter.  The  concept  of  Paradise  therefore is  embedded  in  the  mind  of  man.  In  the present  world, man has to build the personality which will become worthy of being inhabited in Paradise. But instead of preparing themselves, people want to establish their paradise in this world itself.

Man lives and dies in the frustration of not being able to create a paradise in this world. What he fails to understand is that in the present world, God has not kept those circumstances, which will enable the creation of  paradise.  While  man’s  mind  seeks  ideal,  this  world  is  less-than-ideal.  This  in  fact,  is  the biggest wisdom that allows man to lead life with a realistic approach.

Ramzaan teaches the wisdom of contentment. It trains man to avoid distraction and control the psyche of wanting more and more (takassur), thereby ensuring that he leads a tension free and peaceful life.

Aetakaaf (Seclusion)

Aetakaaf  is  the  practice  of  contemplating  in  the last  ten  days  of  Ramzaan  by  keeping  oneself  away from all distractions and to spend time concentrating and reading the Quran.

He practices seclusion from sins [Woh zunoob gunaah se aetakaaf karta hai] (Ibn Maja)

“Gunaah”  here does not mean that the person earlier drank wine or committed other sins and refrains from  doing  so  while  he  is aetakaaf.  It  means  that  the  believer  performs aetakaaf (seclusion)  from distraction.  Multiple kinds of  distraction  exist  in  the world  but when a believer comes to the mosque and concentrates, he is able to think and contemplate on bigger realities of life and existence.

A verse in the Quran states,

The month of Ramazan is the month when the Quran was sent down as guidance for mankind. (2:185)

Ramzaan, being the month of contemplation encourages man to think about the Creation Plan of God, how to make life tension free and the purpose of life. Both aetakaaf and Ramzaan are not mysterious; they  are  meant  for  contemplation.  Only  when  you  concentrate  and  think  can  you  realize  deeper meanings. Thinking therefore is the biggest worship.

According  to  a  tradition,  when  a  companion  named Abu  Darda passed  away,  another  companion visited  his  house and  asked  his wife, Umme Darda to tell about the  way Abu Darda worshipped. She said, “He used to keep thinking!”  (Hayatus Sahaba)

In this  context,  I  also subscribe to  Mr.  Pramod Batra’s  formula: Think,  think,  think; there  must  be  a better way.

This is the real purpose of aetakaaf. Ramzaan is for training The training imparted  in Ramzaan  is  to  “agree on  less.”  It aims  at inculcating  realistic thinking  and learning  to  agree  on  what  is  possible  in  this  world.  Exercising  contentment  teaches  man  to  accept what is possible. Those who do not know this wisdom live in tension and frustration.

Quran has been  revealed to  make  man aware about the Creation  Plan  of  God.  God created  man as  a seeker  of paradise. But  man must  not strive to bring to fruition  the  search for  paradise,  in  this world itself. The present world is so that man performs  actions that  would make him eligible for paradise in the world hereafter. Knowing this is akin to knowing the secret of life.

Strangely,  mankind  has  remained  unaware  of  this  wisdom.  The  discontentment  in  our  world  is  an outcome of erroneous thinking, which has two broad aspects. One pertains to not being contented with what  we  have  been  given  and  the  other pertains  to not  knowing that  the  present world  is  not  where man’ s aspirations will come to  pass.  This world is action-ground and the hereafter is  where  man will receive the reward  for  the actions he performed  in this world. I have read Quran all my life  and  have read books other than Quran as well. I have discovered this as the conclusive secret of life.

Dawah work

Dawah  work  is  not a  political, or  community work. It is to make  man  aware  of  the  Creation Plan of God. The biggest well-wishing for mankind is to tell this secret of life so that  people are  able to  ward off their unnecessary problems and tensions.

Dawat ilallah means “calling people to God”, calling them to lead a God-oriented life as per the Creation Plan of God.

It  must  be  noted  that  nothing  is  mysterious  in  Islam,  everything  is  well-defined.  According  to  a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said I have been sent with a religion, whose nights are as clear as the day [Main ek aise deen ko le kar bheja gaya hun, jiski raatein dinon ki tarah roshan hain (Musnad Ahmad)]

Such  realization  comes  through  contemplation  and  thinking;  Quran  therefore  stresses  on Tadabbur And Tafakkur.  It  is  also important to  understand that unlike other  books written by  men,  Quran does not  provide  details  of  everything.  Half  the  thing  has  been  told  and  for  the  other  half,  the  reader  is invited to think  and understand.  Books  authored  by men  provide complete details and  specifications but  Quran is different. For  example, Quran ordains  namaaz  but does  not give details  of  the  five time prayers.  This  principle  in  itself,  invites  one  to  think.  I  say  therefore,  that  Quran  is  the  Book  of Contemplation.

I want that CPS team to understand the Creation Plan of God themselves and spread  to all others. This will be  the biggest act of well-wishing for mankind. Street-activism does not lead to any result. I have seen  the  politics  of  crowd  many  times  in  my  life,  but  have  never  seen  it  yield  any  result.  This  is because in such scenarios, people are emotionally charged and stand with slogans without giving deep thought.  In  a  world,  where  politics  of  crowd  is  rampant,  responsibility  of  the  CPS  team  increases manifold so we must realize it and discharge it.

The  present-day  man lacks  most  of  all, an  understanding of the  ideology  of  life.  He  has  everything, apparently, but does not know what the right way  of thinking is. Because God has unfolded  the Truth before you, you must thank Him and make people aware about it. One form of it is that you distribute Quran.  He  who  reads  the  Quran  will  get  to  know  the  Truth.  Spreading  Quran  is  like  spreading  the message of God.

The CPS team members can follow any of the two courses in life: one man, one mission and one man, two missions.   Former is when you only strive for dawah work and  there is no other purpose  in your life.  In  the  latter  approach,  you  dedicate  50  percent  of  your  time  to  your  family,  yourself  and  the remaining is dedicated for dawah work. There is no third approach. According to the Quran Some keep half-way; (Muqtasid, 1:2 mission) (35:32)

Some, by God’s leave, excel others in good deeds (Sabiq, 1:1 mission) (35:32)

A person told me that a lot of dawah work is happening throughout India and the world, but very little is happening here in Delhi. I want  the CPS team to think about this because Delhi is the centre. If less work  happens  at  the  Centre,  what  effect  will  it  have  elsewhere?  This  image  must  be  shed  and  all conceivable methods to do dawah work should be  employed. It is obligatory upon every  man of faith, just like namaz and roza is.

Quran says,

God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear (2:286)

Responsibility  is  proportionate  to istitaat. When  after  death,  we  present  ourselves  before  God,  we must  not be  guilty of having worked less despite  all the opportunities.  There is no material  benefit or political benefit in doing dawah work; it is done only for the hereafter.

This should be our  goal in  life  so that  we  do  not  remain  devoid of divine blessings in the  hereafter. Every person is responsible for himself. According to Quran,

No burden-bearer shall bear another’s burden (35:18)

I pray  that  God  gives  us  the  ability  to see things  rightly and  lead  lives so  that  when  we  reach after death, we don’t have to feel ashamed. God may give us  a place in His paradise. According to a Hadith Life is that which will be found in the hereafter,

Zindagi wohi hai, jo aakhirat mein mile (Al Bukhari)