Despite today’s air of spirit of indulgence, we call for modesty in celebration. We expect Muslims to avoid engaging in depraved or obnoxious conducts. Good Muslims should take advantage of the day to be sensitive to and share the feelings of those around them. That is why the lessons of the holy month must reflect in the way we relate with friends, non-Muslims inclusive.
Muslims whose fast is based on imaan, sincerity, should expect true reward, Ihtisaab, from Allah. Their past sins will surely be forgiven. Allah multiplies the rewards of fasting beyond human comprehension. However, all these are not forgone issues. Their fruition depends on how satisfactory they can truly answer these questions: Did we perform our fast with the true belief and full surrender to Allah? Did we fast because Allah imposed it on us or for other selfish reasons? What have we gained from the month of Ramadan? Are we positively inclined towards fellow beings? Have we overcome all our prior weaknesses and cruelty?
We have no doubt that obedient Muslims, not killers and terrorists despoiling the name of Allah, are assured of reward from Almighty Allah. Surprisingly, these fake Islamists hiding under the guise of the ‘religion of peace’ to perpetuate evil, have shown gross contempt for the holy month. These terrorists destroy the usual environmental tranquillity of unity and spiritual rebirth of the holy month through senseless bombing of innocent souls and outright destruction of properties.
We wonder what has happened to the pious habit of Qur’an recitation, especially during Ramadan, and imbibing the lessons therein. The Boko Haram insurgents should realise the futility of their actions quickly. Every human being is expected to be his brother’s keeper and should cultivate and indulge in things that would make the community and the entire world one peaceful place for all to live in. We doubt whether the terrorists could, in all conscience, proclaim this. The suicide bombing of fellow human being before, during and after the month of Ramadan is barbaric. Their act negates the projection of Islam as a ‘religion of peace’.
In the spirit of Ramadan, we call on the governments, institutions and the people to have an attitudinal change that would not negate the commandments of Allah. What should be done now is to continue to practice and sustain the virtuous preaching learnt during Ramadan for the sake of all. The talk of restoring security to normalcy in the country must start with adhering to the tenets of Allah by both Muslims and non-Muslims. These are realisable only if stakeholders in the nation’s project are honest with themselves as we all professed to be during the Ramadan period.
We know that moving our country forward entails being our brother’s keeper; and not taking more than our fair share of what belongs to all. We should pray to Allah to give us the grace not to be good Muslims only during the Ramadan period. That is the greatest lesson to be learnt from the just ended fasting as the future race continues.
culled from: http://thenationonlineng.net/new/ramadan-kareem/
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