THE month of Ramazan 1437 (2016 AD) ended a week ago. While a majority of the faithful respected the spirit of the sacred duty of fasting the way some people interpreted their ritualistic obligations raised quite a few questions that ought to be answered before next Ramazan.

For quite sometime, the public image of Ramazan has been changing from a month of austerity and self-abnegation to a period of extravagant ostentation and exhibitionism. This year, the trend appeared to have become stronger than before and this is something the ulema may like to deliberate upon. While we have no desire to question the way the Muslims of Pakistan discharge their religious obligations, we should like to open a debate on the impact of rituals on societal morality, economy and public administration.

A large number of good Muslims discover their instinct to be charitable during Ramazan, which is no doubt something good. One has seen some welcome innovations in this area, such as citizens offering bottles of water to wayfarers who might not reach their homes before iftar, or the creation of ‘walls of kindness’, where the indigent ones could pick up whatever they need, or dastarkhwans spread out near hospitals to serve the sick and their attendants. But one has also seen long queues outside the bungalows of the rich where iftari/ food packets are distributed to burgeoning crowds of beggars many of whom are loafers and parasites and who are simply out for a free dinner. This amounts to offering an incentive to begging.

The tendency to ape Middle Eastern lifestyles undermines our work ethics during the holy month.

One wonders whether the lottery-like extravaganzas staged by TV channels at which gifts are distributed to well-off ladies and gentlemen are in harmony with the Ramazan spirit of austerity. Every layman knows that the exhibition of charity is contrary to the teachings of Islam which enjoins dispensation of charity in a manner that the left hand of the benevolent person does not know what the right hand does. Otherwise too, public demonstration of charitable offerings violates the recipient’s right to dignity and privacy.

The last Ramazan witnessed a record-breaking sequence of terrorist attacks across the globe. Hundreds of people were killed in Baghdad, Istanbul, Orlando, Dhaka, Kabul, Quetta and Madina in these incidents. Most of the victims were Muslim and the perpetrators are also believed to have been Muslim.

How do our ulema react to this frenzied bloodletting in the month of prayers, forgiveness and repentance? Is a suicide bomber entitled to a premium on his reward if he decimates innocent people during the sacred month of Ramazan? Will the ulema remind the faithful that their duty to respect the rights of fellow human beings ranks higher in value than their obligation to render what is due to the Almighty?

The impact of fasting on society’s work ethics has become extremely unhealthy. Under the code the Muslims in the India-Pakistan subcontinent followed for centuries, no person, except for the vulgarly rich nawabs, pirs and feudals, was supposed or expected to give up his/her normal work while fasting. A large number of peasants, workers, vendors, and state/private employees on outdoor duties went about their professional duties while fasting and for the housewives Ramazan meant extra work in the kitchen. This tradition of fasting without disturbing the work routine is being eroded.

The tendency to ape Middle Eastern lifestyles undermines our work ethics during the days of fasting. More and more people, most of them able-bodied, try to stay awake throughout the night and spend the day sleeping. Is this in accordance with Islam which does not approve of excessive ibadat at the cost of one’s duties to the family and the broader circle of humankind?

We find that, except for the courts and police stations, a slowdown in work at government offices during Ramazan has been accepted as a precious principle. The habit of putting off even routine decisions till the end of Ramazan is getting stronger year after year. Civil society organisations also postpone activities that do not require anyone to stand in the sun or do any hard labour. The excuse ‘after Ramazan’ is sometimes replaced with the expression ‘after the holidays’. What this means is that Pakistani Muslims are going to reduce their calendar year from 12 working months to 11 and a half or even 11 working months. Somebody should calculate the man-hours lost due to the growing habit of shirking work while fasting (or while pretending to be fasting). And the time thus saved is hardly ever devoted to any ibadat.

For traders, vendors, and transporters, however, Ramazan is a period for maximising their profits. Overcharging is the order of the day in fruit and vegetable markets, including the officially supervised Ramazan bazaars. The profit margin on the sale of garments, shoes, and ordinary consumer items is raised quite arbitrarily. Every year the media publishes stories about transporters’ decision to fleece large hordes of people who wish to travel to their hometown on the eve of Eid but no attempt to protect them against this form of extortion has borne fruit.

While it is easy to recount the signs of waywardness during Ramazan, the search for remedies is not easy. The government must not be asked to regulate anything except for keeping its offices working and telling its privileged functionaries that offering prayers in the mohallah mosque carries as much reward as doing so in the holy land.

The ulema can help in discouraging wasteful ceremonies and the rush towards exhibitionism by at least staying away from such functions. But perhaps a major part of the effort to free the Ramazan rituals of undesirable practices will have to come from the ordinary women and men themselves, depending, of course, on their ability to reclaim their faith from the self-appointed middlemen.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2016