Free Ramadan Essay Example
For some of you, this will be your first experience fasting. For others this will be another year of fasting during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan, of course, is a month of withholding from food, water, and one’s own desires.
Since I’ve had a few Ramadans under my belt, I thought it would be helpful to provide some tips and tricks to make the most of what’s left of Ramadan. So I’ll intersperse my sage advice throughout the rest of this speech. Like this tip. For college students living the broke life, think of it this way, now you have a religious reason to be broke and hungry. [Pause]
Ramadan is a time of community. Strengths in community are not just when we are a part of something but only when we come together in ways that we can uniquely see people from a different light. Regardless of the way someone dresses, their skin color, their ethnicity, their language, their gender, and yes even their major – each one of us has a stomach that is grumbling.
Ramadan teaches us that we use consumption as a form of distraction, whether it be the consumption of food, drink, or our own vices. When we begin to fast, we are surprised by how much free time we have not eating or drinking. With this newly discovered time, we can now begin to reflect over our own purpose and those around us from a new perspective. It teaches us that if we have the strength to suppress our most essential needs like drinking a Starbucks’ Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso, yes that is a real drink on their menu, then we have the ability to control our desires and vices that are less critical. Although some world argue, Starbucks is essential to one’s life.
Fasting is an act which cannot be seen, yet if you asked the person fasting, they would say that they are hungry and tired. This is a reminder that there are people around you who are suffering on a daily basis unnoticed. It is a reminder that we need to be more conscious of others’ well-being despite them presenting as healthy. We learn this lesson through the Prophet’s interactions with animals.
One day, the Prophet entered the garden of a man. Suddenly, a Camel spotted the Prophet (ﷺ) and it began to weep. The Prophet (ﷺ) came to it and wiped the temple of its head to comfort it. He then said “Who owns this camel? A young man came and said, “This is mine, O Prophet of God(ﷺ).” He said “Don’t you fear God about this animal which God has given you. It has complained to me that you keep it hungry and load it heavily which fatigues it.”
This camel did not have the words to express its distress, yet the Prophet paid close attention to signs and recognized it was suffering. That camel is not so different from those around us who need our help but don’t have the words to express what they are feeling. This is why the Prophet was known as
أَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ، وَأَجْوَدُ مَا يَكُونُ فِي رَمَضَانَ
The Prophet (ﷺ) was the most generous of all the people (Bukhari)
This translation, however, does not do justice to the Prophet’s generosity. There are two words in Arabic for the word generous: karam and Jūd. This ḥadīth states that the Prophet was the most jūd. The difference between the two is that karam is generosity when a favor is asked of you.
There is an account where two men were lost and did not have food or water. They suddenly noticed a mosque. So one man said, I will tell the Imam that my name is Mohammad so that he will give me food. The other man decided to keep his original name. They entered the mosque and asked for food and water. So the imam asked the locals to bring food and water for the guy who didn’t change his name. As for Mohammad, the Imam said Ramadan Mubarak! [Pause] In this case, the Imam was Kareem. He was generous, but he was generous when someone requested for help.
Jūd, on the other hand, is to be generous even without being asked. This is when someone takes initiative and identifies those who need help. So when the Prophet was described as ajwad al-nass, it means that he was the most generous out of anyone by taking initiative and identifying those people who needed help. During this Ramadan, as we withhold ourselves from food, water, and our vices – do not forget that an integral part of Ramadan is not only to be helpful when asked, but to be actively generous with those around you, to be aware of your surroundings and to help wherever you see a need.
The last tip. When it comes to breaking your fast, know that Muslims are very jūd. They will keep feeding you without asking if you are full, thinking that you are on the brink of death. So, pace yourself. And when I’m already making unnecessary food analogies, we know it’s close to breaking our fast! May God accept from all of us.
