The early scholars of the Islamic tradition were well aware of the balanced relationship between the human soul and the body in which it is lodged. The inhabitants of our cities have apparently lost this balance and the consequence has manifested itself in all sorts of absurdities both at the individual level as well as that of the cityscape. Unlike human beings cities cannot lie.
For Muslims Ramadan is an occasion to rectify the imbalance, to bring the soul and the body back into a state of harmony. Taqwa, awe of God Almighty, the objective of siyam, is, in its classical definition, obeying the commands and avoiding the prohibitions of Allah both outwardly and inwardly. At an immediate level this is an individual struggle and when in full swing it is an awesome thing to behold, but when absent, the outcome is often deeply troubling.
When taqwa becomes a collective aspiration however, it has the ability to turn the tarnished image of our sordid cities into something of beauty, calm and tranquility. In other words, taqwa can give civil society the moral high ground by which it can resist the combined forces of global corporatism in cahoots with the State that has shackled the inhabitants of our cities to a life of misery, greed, crime, and social injustice.
Civil society will not regain the ground it has lost, is losing and will continue to lose, unless it aspires to a higher ideal. Engaging in a series of noisy demonstrations, boycotts, strikes and protests, is useful, perhaps even worthwhile, but imagine how much more effective they can be if combined with a vision that is grounded in truths to which we must all conform.
Taqwa is that razor sharp sword that slices through the narrative of consumerism which holds us hostages to meaningless objects and mirages. The splendor of the glorious month of Ramadan is a gift given to the believers but it is also an opportunity to open the doors of its beauty to our fellow citizens.
What we are witnessing today is an unprecedented use of state power to suppress civil society. The state has made it clear, whether in Canada, the United States or the UK, that it joined with the forces of global corporatism which produces what Shaykh Hamza Yusuf notes as the twin industries of ‘distraction’ and that of ‘destruction.’ In other words, industries that offers you entertainment as seduction which is your distraction, and weapons of death and misery which is our destruction.
And so as we lock arms with fellow citizens and march against these ‘Masters of War’ in the month of Ramadan let us remember what Ibn Mas’ud, the great companion of Our Noble Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, said concerning the verse of God Almighty in the Quran “Have awe of God as is deserving of Him Alone” (Ale-Imran: 102). He said it means to obey the Creator, not disobey Him, and not to be ungrateful.
The companion Abu Huraira narrated that this world is like a thorn-ridden path and that taqwa is that which causes us to take evasive action to avoid getting pricked by the thorns.
In the Quran God says “O You who believe, have awe of Allah and let every soul see what it is acquiring for tomorrow. Have awe of Allah. Surely , Allah is aware of what you do.” (Hashr: 18). Not only is taqwa mentioned twice in one verses but “Ghadan” here means tomorrow or sometime in the future and most of the Quranic commentators say it means the Day of Judgment. Both meanings are correct in that the Day of Judgment could be anytime, the time is not known to man.
Whatever meaning you take from this verse there is no doubt that awe of the Creator is intricately connected to a believer’s assessment of the future impact of his actions. The hesitation among many in our community is whether a person’s actions in this regard are limited to the prayers, fast, charity, and pilgrimage, or whether it extends to include our efforts to stem the tide of human suffering and injustice; to make the world a better place, a more comfortable place, for the citizens of this world? The difference between the two is the difference between taqwa as a personal priority and taqwa as a collective commitment.
In first verse of Sura Hajj, God Almighty commands all of humanity: “O Mankind have awe of your Lord, verily the coming to past of the Last Hour will be a serious affair.” Imam As-Sabuni says that this verse means that Your Lord should not find you in a place where He has prohibited you from being nor should He find you absent from a place He has ordered you to be.
In a sound narration the blessed Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, said, “taqwa is here” and he pointed to his chest three times. The heart is located in the chest and the spiritual heart is located in the physical heart. So taqwa is located in the spiritual heart of the human being. When we fast in the month of Ramadan we subdue the lowest of the soul’s inclinations, nafs al-ammaratu-bi-su so that the highest and noblest of its aspirations might be accentuated. And that causes an increase of one’s awe of God Almighty.
When this state is achieved it will hold there for as long as the individual has the capacity to stand against the forces that will most certainly challenge it. But it could hold for much longer if those who aspire to it band together. “Certainly Allah loves those with taqwa.” And his Mercy encompasses everything and He shall allocate His Mercy to those with awe of Him. Their wrong actions will be erased, their affairs in this world will be facilitated and their sustenance increased, and God shall help them against their enemies
These are the ones of karam or of nobility. If we are going to be victorious against the harmful forces that seek to rule our lives we have to arm ourselves with more than just cool slogans, loud placards, by aspiring to a higher goal. Ramadan is the month to polish the shield of taqwa. As the late Khurum Murad said: “As flowers blossom in spring, so does taqwa in Ramadan.” Let it blossom to such an extent that those who wish to put order, beauty, love, tolerance, into our cities and our lives will come to see that these things are not possible without a ‘state’ that is pleasing to God.