Friday sermon of Hazrat Imam Zafrullah Domun

After reading the Tashahhud , the Ta'uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine, Zafrullah Domun recited verses 184 and 185 of chapter AlBaqara (Chapter 2) of the Holy Quran and then he said:

I have just recited to you only two verses of the Holy Quran out of the five verses in the Holy Quran where Allah speaks about fasting in the month of Ramazan. As you may all be well aware, according to the astronomical calculations the moon will be born tomorrow night at 23:59. Since it can be visible after at least twenty hours, therefore it is very unlikely that it would be visible on Sunday 31 st August. If this is the case, fasting will start on Tuesday 2 nd September incha Allah and we will start praying Tarawi prayers as from Monday night.

Therefore I wish all our members and all Muslims at large “Ramazan Mobarak”. I hope and pray that each one amongst us, young and old, man or woman will derive the maximum benefits from this holy month. May Allah open the heart of each one amongst us and fill it with certainty; may Allah give us a new enthusiasm for renewed devotion to Him; may we use all available opportunities to be of help to those who are less fortunate than us. May Allah give to all of us on whom fasting is obligatory the necessary opportunity and strength to fulfill this obligation in a way that we may win His pleasure and that He is happy with us at the end of the month because of our devotion to Him.

The Muslim calendar has twelve months as Allah has said in the Holy Quran: “the number of months with Allah is twelve months by Allah's ordinance since the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are sacred...” (9:36). In the Muslim Calendar the first month is Muharram and the last one is Zul Hijjah and the one before the last is Zul Qa'dah. These are three consecutive months and they are sacred. The other sacred month is Rajab which is the seventh month of the calendar. This month also is sacred in Islam and Muslims are forbidden to fight in the four sacred months. The month of Ramazan is the ninth month of the calendar. Consequently throughout the Muslim world the fasts of this month are observed.

According to one lexicographer the word “Ramazan” is derived from the word “ Ramaz ” which means “to burn”. The month is so called because at times it occurred in the summer season or because the fast burns away the sins of men. However, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, has told us that he thinks that the word Ramazan means the combination of two heats. The first is the sort of burning that one feels when one does not eat or drink. The second one is the enthusiasm that a real Muslim feels in his worship during this month. Here I have paraphrased the Messiah's words as reported in an article in the newspaper “ Alhakam ” 24 July 1901.

We now turn to the two verses which I read in the beginning of my sermon. Allah says:

To begin with Allah addresses all those who believe in the message of Islam. They are the ones who are addressed here. No one is left out except the exceptions that would be spelt out in the next verse. Therefore if some one is a Muslim and without any valid excuse he ignores this important commandment of Allah, he would be guilty of a great sin. But we should say that as far as the fasting is concerned the majority of the Muslims on whom it is obligatory do observe the fast. Some make it a duty to fast although they may not be quite regular in their prayers. But yet they feel that they should fast at all cost. Hence we may say that the great majority of Muslims on whom the fast is obligatory make it a duty to turn to Allah and they obey Him as far as the commandment to fast is concerned.

Now one may ask what is fasting. In the language of the Holy Quran, that is, Arabic, the word that has been used in this verse is “siyam”. It is derived from the word “saa-ma” which means he kept back or refrained from doing something; or he refrained from eating or drinking or talking or walking. Hence the root meaning of the word “siyam” would have the following meanings (1) keeping back or refraining from something(2) to be silent (3) to calm oneself (4) refraining from eating or drinking or from having sexual relations between married couples. Therefore from the verses of the Holy Quran and according to the Sunna of our beloved prophet Mohammad (saw) fasting is to refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from early morning to dusk. This is the basic practice although it is true that with the additional explanations that the Holy Prophet has given us in the books of Hadith, there are some others dos and don'ts. We will speak about that later on. But basically fasting is as has been defined above.

There is another piece of information that Allah has given us in this verse. It is as follows: We are prescribing fasting for you as we prescribed it for those who have gone before you. Who are those who have gone before the Muslims? The Christians, the Jews, all the series of prophets who appeared from time to time to different peoples before the advent of Islam. Hence we learn that this fasting is something that has been practiced since eons of years before Islam. In fact the Encyclopedia Britannica says: “ By the greater number of religion in the lower, middle and higher cultures alike fasting is largely prescribed: and when it is not prescribed, it is neverthe less practiced by some individuals in response to the promptings of nature.”

From the encyclopedia we also learn that throughout history man has been fasting for either “ritualistic, mystical, ascetic, or other religious or ethical purposes. The abstention may be complete or partial, lengthy or of short duration. Fasting has been practiced from antiquity worldwide by the founders and followers of many religions, by culturally designated individuals ( e.g., hunters or candidates for initiation rites), and by individuals or groups as an expression of protest against what they believe are violations of social, ethical, or political principles.

In the religions of ancient peoples and civilizations, fasting was a practice to prepare persons, especially priests and priestesses, to approach the deities. In the Hellenistic mystery religions ( e.g. the healing cult of the god Asclepius), the gods were thought to reveal their divine teachings in dreams and visions only after a fast that required the total dedication of the devotees (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/400805/mystery-religion). Among the pre-Columbian peoples of Peru, fasting often was one of the requirements for penance after an individual had confessed sins before a priest. In many cultures the practice was considered a means to assuage an angered deity or to aid in resurrecting a deity who was believed to have died (e.g., a god of vegetation).

In the religions of traditional or preliterate peoples, fasting is often practiced before and during a vision quest (e.g., among the North American Indian peoples of the Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest. See http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/630694/vision-quest). Among the Evenk (also called Evenki, formerly Tungus) of Siberia, shamans (religious personages thought to have the power to heal and to communicate psychically) often receive their initial visions not with a quest but rather after an unexplained illness; after the initial vision, however, they fast and train themselves to see further visions and to control spirits (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/197095/Evenk). Priestly societies among the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest fast during retreats before major ceremonies connected with seasonal changes (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482769/Pueblo-Indians).

Fasting for special purposes or before or during special sacred times is a characteristic of the major religions of the world. I n Jainism for example, fasting according to certain prescribed rules and practicing certain types of meditation leads to trances that enable individuals to disassociate themselves from the world and reach a transcendent state (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202347/fasting). Buddhist monks of the Theravada school fast on certain holy days (uposatha) of the month. In China prior to 1949, it was customary to observe a fixed period of fasting and abstinence before the sacrifice during the night of the winter solstice, a time when the heavenly Yang (positive energy) principle was believed to begin its new cycle (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111803/China). In India, Hindu sadhus (holy men) are admired for their frequent personal fasts for various reasons….(see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202347/fasting)

Judaism, which developed many dietary laws and customs, observes several annual fast days, primarily on days of penitence (such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement) or mourning (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202347/fasting). Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, has observed a 40-day fast period duringLent (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/507284/Roman-Catholicism) a spring period of penitence before Easter, and during Advent, a penitential period before Christmas. Among Roman Catholics the observance has been modified since the second Vatican Council (1962–65) to allow greater individual choice, with mandatory fasting only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday during Lent. Protestant churches generally leave the decision to fast to individual church members.” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202347/fasting).

Through the brief details that I am giving you about fasting in other cultures we see how far this verse of the Holy Quran is true. We have historical evidence to confirm that the practice of fasting goes far back in time. But as I have said before the way the Muslim fast is quite different from what has been practiced before. It is mandatory for the Muslim to fast at least twenty nine or thirty days continuously and it requires complete abstinence from food , drink and sexual relations from dawn to dusk during the whole month of Ramazan.

Allah has not just given us an arbitrary commandment. He has also given us the main reason why we should fast. And that reason is that we may become righteous which may be most appropriately translated as Allah-fearing. Today in the world you will see that there are many persons who fast. As I have already said from the quotation from Encyclopedia Britannica people fast for several purposes. But Allah tells the Muslims that they should fast in order that they may become more conscious of Allah. That is to say to be so conscious of Allah's presence at any moment in our life that we may refrain from doing anything that Allah has forbidden us to do because His Presence overcomes us and act as a barrier against sinning. Now one may rightly ask how is this consciousness created with fasting?

When the month of Ramazan approaches the sincere Muslim is happy. He prays and asks for Allah's Help so that he may fast during the whole month. He will fast because Allah has told him to fast not for any other reasons. While he fasts he does his best not to eat, drink or have any sex. Rarely will you hear of someone who fasted in a deceitful way. What I mean is that he fasts to make others see that he is fasting. This may happen with supererogatory fasts but not the one in Ramazan. For a strong majority of those on whom Fasting is obligatory, they will fast because it is a command from Allah. He refrains from what he has been asked to refrain from because of his consciousness that it is an instruction from Allah. At times, especially during hot summer days one would have wished one were to drink inadvertently but almost no one would take a sip of water deliberately whatever the intensity of the thirst. By doing so, Allah gives man a less on. He wants man to reflect on the less on that he learns in Ramadan. That is, because of his consciousness of Allah he refrained from taking food, drink or from fulfilling one of his most important urges. For at least twenty nine days, day in day out, he does like this and definitely this reinforces his consciousness of the Supreme Being who has imposed these restrictions on him. In this way Fasting increases our God-consciousness and help us to progress towards Allah and keeps us away from sinning. That is why those who want to be near Allah, they do some voluntary fasts as well. Those who have experience know very well that fasting is a potent means to create God-consciousness in man.

In the Holy Quran there are many verses which speak about how close Allah is with human beings. I will cite only three. Allah says:

“Wa Howa ma'akoum aina maa kountoun ” which means “He is with you wherever you are !”(57:5)

“Nahnon aqrabo elayhi min hablil warid ” which may be translated as “We are closer to him than his jugular vein”.(50:17)

Moreover in the ruku about fasting Allah says “ Wa iza sa'alaka ibaadi anni fa'inni qarib ohjibo da'watad daa'e iza da'aani.” which may be translated as: And when My Servant asks about me say: “I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls upon Me”( 2:187)

Although we have such verses in the Holy Quran, most of us are still unconscious of Allah in our daily lives. That is why once in a year for about twenty nine days Allah imposes some restrictions on us so that we may progress in God–consciousness which is the key to leading a prosperous and fulfilling life here and in the hereafter. We will speak more about this in future sermons incha Allah.

Before ending I would like to read the following hadith to you. It reminds us of the grandeur of the month that is dawning on us in a few days. It is as follows:

Salman Al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) addressed us on the last day of Sha'ban and said: “People, a great b less ed month has come upon you, a month containing Laylat al-Qadr which is better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting during it an obligation, and steadfastly observing its nights in worship a voluntary act. Whoever undertakes an act of obedience to Allah during this month with a righteous deed, it is as if he has performed an obligatory act at other times; and whoever performs an obligatory act during it is as one who performed seventy obligations at other times. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise . It is the month of goodwill, during which provisions are multiplied. Whoever feeds a fasting person will be compensated with forgiveness of sins and salvation of his soul from Hell. He will also receive a reward equal to that of the person he feeds, without causing him any reduction (in his good deeds).” (The Companions) said: “Not all of us can find something to feed a fasting person.”

Therefore display four characteristics to a greater extent; with two of which you will please your Lord, and two you can not dispense with. The two with which you will please your Lord are to testify that there is no one deserving of worship except Allah, and to seek His forgiveness; whereas the two which you cannot dispense with are that you beseech Allah to place you in Paradise and that you seek refuge with Him from Hell.” [related by Ibn Khuzaymah and AlBayhaqi].