Ramazan and Eid message

“FASTING is prescribed to you so that you may achieve Taqwa, says the Quran (2:183). Taqwa is thus the ultimate aim of fasting. Though an all-comprehensive Quranic term Taqwa basically means that attribute of human psyche which restrains man from falling prey to animal instincts and temptations distracting him from the Straight Path leading to Allah.

In contrast to another ethical value and concept, Zuhd, which consists in removing oneself away from the place where there may be a strong apprehension of falling into the jaws of evil temptations and insinuations, Taqwa connotes that instead of adopting an attitude of retreat, avoidance, and fleeing away from such places, positions and circumstances one must rise to the occasion, valiantly and squarely face the situation, fight against the evil, overcome, defeat, and subjugate the temptations and thus lead a manly this-worldly life.

It is quite evident that the religions or systems of life which extol Zuhd as the uppermost cherished ethical value, most naturally, and very logically too, end up with the renunciation of this material world as the highest and most sublime form of religion and religious activity. Implied in this thought-process is the pre-supposition that one can never achieve the most sublime religious good and highest spiritual station unless one completely renounces this world. These systems may be categorized as Zuhd-based Systems. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism fall under this category.

The main problem with these systems is that attainment of higher religious and spiritual values and sublime forms of religion are denied to the common man and remain strictly a privilege of the chosen few who could afford to undergo the excruciating rigours, tormenting strains, and unbearable severity and harshness of a life of renunciation incompatible with the social nature of normal human beings.

The Quran has highlighted this aspect while commenting on the attitude of Rahbaniyaat, the institution of monasticism and the resultant degenerate and corrupt religiosity. It says, “the monasticism, the renunciation of the world, which they invented for seeking the pleasure of God, was never prescribed by Us, but then they could not sustain it nor could they strictly comply with its demands. Yet We bestowed upon those of them who believed their due reward, but the fact is that most of them transgressed the limits,” (57:27). Islam, on the contrary, is a Taqwa-based religion. It teaches that man has to live in and face the realities of his worldly existence. The pathway to the proximity of God, to the fullest possible attainment of highest religious virtues, most coveted ethical and moral values, and the loftiest heights of consummate spiritual achievements lies through full-strength participation and total involvement in the affairs, concerns, dealings, and transactions of this very material world.

The only proviso being that throughout this active interest into and association, engagement and occupation with this world he remains unflinchingly committed to the fidelity, loyalty, allegiance and faithfulness towards Allah in the sense that he does not fall into the Satanic snares, strewn all the way long, of temptations, allurements, seductions and enticements of his own baser self, of his Nafs Ammarah, but remains steadfast, unwavering, firm and resolute in following the dictates, instructions and commandments of Allah. And that is precisely what the Taqwa is. And that is this quality, this attitude and approach towards life that Islam intends to inculcate, nurture and develop through fasting.

It is true that fasting, in some form or the other, has been prescribed by other religions also. The Islamic fast, however, differs from the others in several respects, the number of days, the time and the manner of the fast, and in other incidents. The essential difference lies in the fact that Islamic fast aims at regulating the entire human attitude and approach toward life and generating a life-style that is signified by term Taqwa.

Fasting in Islam does not simply mean temporary abstention from food, drink and sex. It is only the physical aspect of fasting. The Prophet (PBUH) has made it clear that if a man while fasting does not desist from committing evil acts his abstaining from food, drink and sex carry no value in the eyes of Allah. The Prophet, has also told that the fast which acts as a protective shield against hell-fire is totally destroyed by one’s indulgence into telling lies and backbiting. It is so because commission of sinful acts destroys the very purpose of fasting.

It is hoped that a full one month training in Taqwa during Ramazan, carried out on a world-wide basis, which is practised individually and collectively would be instrumental in elevating the religious, moral, and spiritual standards of the international Muslim community on the whole as well as inculcating in the Muslim individuals the qualities of a strong belief in the accountability before Allah, patience, forbearance, strong will to fight against inner evil inclinations and outer insinuations, and deep commitment to follow the Divine injunctions.

The degree, intensity, quality of Taqwa achieved by an individual or a segment of the Muslim society or, in other words, the extent to which one has harnessed his Nafs Ammarah, the animal in him, can be gauged and adjudged by the attributes of the Muttaqoon as elucidated at various places in the Quran.

At the very beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:4) we find that the Muttaqoon are those who believe in the Ghaib, the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, spend (in the way of Allah) what Allah has provided for them. They believe in what has been revealed to the Prophet, (the Quran) and also in what has sent down before him, and hold deep conviction in the Hereafter.

At another place in the same Surah (2:177) we are informed that the Muttaqoon are the persons who believe in Allah, the last day, the Angels, the Book, and the Prophets. They spend their wealth, even though they hold it dear to them, for their relatives, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer, those who ask, and for freeing the slaves. They are steadfast in prayer (Salah), regularly pay Zakat, fulfil their commitments whenever they so pledge, are firm and patient whenever they happen to be inflicted by bodily pain, suffering or disease, or encountered by adverse circumstances like hunger and poverty and when they are at war.

Still at another place in Surah Aal-e-Imran (3:134-5) the Muttaqoon are described as: Those who spend (in the way of Allah) not only when they are affluent, well-off and prosperous but also when they are under difficult and adverse circumstances. They are not ruffled and put out of temper instead they suppress and restrain their anger, forgive and pardon the people, and what is more they treat them with benevolence and kindness. (They may not be necessarily perfect and as the saying goes ‘to err is human’) So, whenever they happen to have committed any indecent, filthy act or wronged their own souls by faltering into any sinful activity, they immediately recall Allah, ask forgiveness for their sins, and who can forgive sins except Allah, and they are never knowingly persistent in what they had committed.

These are a few Quranic word-pictures of Taqwa and Muttaqoon provide us with a yardstick for measuring how one has really reaped the harvest of Taqwa, the ultimate aim of fasting, during the month of Ramazan which had presented to him the rare opportunity of getting the benefits of Lailat al-Qadr whose spiritual glory far exceeds thousands of years.

The first of Shawwal, the day of Eid-al-Fitr, is the culmination of the month of Ramazan. Those who underwent the rigours of practising Taqwa for the whole month, fasting during the day and standing in prayer during the night, gather together to offer their thanks to their Merciful Lord Who gave them the Tawfeeq, the courage, the patience, the forbearance, the self-control and the strength to successfully carry out His commandment. It is the day of rejoicing for them because today. Allah, their Most Gracious, Most Merciful Rabb, would forgive all their sins, favour them with His best and choicest blessings and ensure their entrance in the Paradise through the Gate of Rayyan reserved for those who fast.

Reconstruction and reconciliation

AS we move into relief and rehabilitation stages of the Oct 8 quake there are fears of another tragedy. The mismatch between the magnitude of the disaster and resource mobilization is made more agonizing by the short space of time available before the Himalayan winter sets in.

The public outpouring of support, sacrifices and voluntary services has been overwhelming. Much more of this support came from the non-formal sector. But this is a tragedy much bigger than the meagre resources of a poor developing country like ours can withstand. Despite the prompt and welcome help from the international community, specially from the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, the UK, China, Japan, Iran, France, India and others that saved many precious lives, the rehabilitation of some three million people is a huge and expensive undertaking and even urgent relief efforts are under-funded.

Those who are familiar with the funding situation can easily make out that various fund-raising international conferences and other efforts will perhaps raise about one billion dollars or so by very optimistic estimates. Domestic efforts, despite the heroic efforts of the people, may not raise much more than the rupee equivalent of another $1 billion or so.

Even if the prime minister’s guess of $5 billion damage is correct — which many feel is low — there is a yawning gap of about $3 billion staring us in the face. Many suggestions have been made in these columns of how national priorities need to be rearranged in the aftermath of the earthquake and many will be watching to see how this gap is going to be filled. If such a huge resource gap of about 60 per cent persists and is translated into human terms, the unfolding tragedy though not difficult to visualize is nevertheless painful to describe. Already the UN agencies are warning of the “disaster within disaster” that may be round the corner because of the continuing gap between urgent needs and available resources.

What this state of affairs tells us is that the greater part of the burden of rehabilitation of survivors would have to be carried on by Pakistan itself. And it should get ready in earnest. The first lesson we may learn from this scenario is to be modest and realistic in all future plans now being announced, some of which are not reflective of the realities on the ground. Besides modesty, let our search for solutions also be guided by science and technology-driven solutions rather than jumping into big contracts or commitments. Many of these technological solutions are cheap but effective and have been successfully developed in other developing countries that faced similar situations.

Another lesson comes from the scandal of the wholesale collapse of publicly-funded buildings — schools, colleges, hospitals and office buildings. Despite the designing flaws, the schools buildings were nevertheless supposed to conform to higher standards of construction and pass through long processes of approval before the public funds were spent on them. From the reports of survivors, it seems that the odd students, who stayed home that fateful Saturday were safer in the huts and hamlets of their poor parents than at the officially built over 10,000 schools which turned into death traps for them.

Gen Musharraf’s lack of faith in the civilian component of his government has remained unaltered even after six years of working together. He has now created two organizations dealing with relief and rehabilitation — both headed by senior military officers. They may be very good officers but the relief and reconstruction works will stretch the army’s capabilities into unfamiliar areas and would inevitably subject the force to controversy.

The move would also continue to keep the relevant civilian organizations weak and untrained in modern methods of disaster management. These civilian organizations would thus remain unprepared and unable to serve the nation in similar calamities in the future.

There is a lot of talk of coordination of relief work. This means no more than centralization under one command and control system. But far more important in these matters is the accurate and timely information on exactly what is needed and where, so that relief operations are quickly targeted and avoid waste and duplication. Therefore, collect, coordinate and disseminate the information but do not “coordinate” the distribution of relief. It would only add to delays and raise many more complaints about the operations.

Let any number of voluntary organizations and individuals do their good work within the broad framework of a reliable and updated need-based information system. Let them also have the satisfaction of distributing what they have collected. It would keep their interest and enthusiasm alive which would be needed by the victims of this tragedy for a long time to come.

For days, the government and the UN have been asking for international help for setting up tent-villages in the affected areas. All indications so far show that, for whatever reasons, not enough funds are forthcoming to meet even the urgent supplies of tents, blankets, food, medicines and transportation. Think also of other flexible strategies, especially of running urgent “mercy flights” to shift the sick, weak, injured women and children to the cities and towns in the plains for six months or so to protect them from Himalayan winter. Whether in tented villages or in pucca constructions, they are safer there than up in the mountains.

All of this underlines the fact that although the problems unleashed by the earthquake are much bigger than what the government of a poor and developing country can manage by itself, yet in the absence of sufficient international aid this is a responsibility which would largely have to be carried out by the nation itself. Will this bring a more genuine realization of our strengths and weaknesses and induce changes in policies and priorities of how we conduct the business as a nation?

Perhaps realizing that it would need support, cooperation, understanding and goodwill of all elements of society — from the political opposition to various independent elements — to shoulder these new responsibilities, the government extended an invitation to the opposition to make common cause through the All Parties Conference.

However, given the nature of the dispensation prevailing in the country for the last six years, this badly needed cooperation does not seem to be easily forthcoming if the government continues with its policy of “circling the wagons” and holding on to its monopoly of power and decision making authority within its small circle.

Recognizing, that the current dispensation which does not share real decision-making power even with its own civilian component, the opposition probably reached the conclusion that the government would not be sharing the authority with it over the entire relief and reconstruction operations. Citing long delays in consultations, the opposition has regretted its inability to attend the APC.

But the problems of the approximately 2.3 million survivors are getting very acute and need some urgent relief measures. So the question arises: Will the tragedy of the earthquake also move those other mountains that have been blocking a much needed reconciliation between state and society? And will the relief and reconstruction in the disaster-affected areas lead towards the relief and reconciliation of the much wounded national polity?

Nature’s fury is often compounded by human follies and acts of omission and commission. Let us not blame nature if those in responsible positions are not able to work out solutions in the agonizing days ahead.

Email: smshah@alum.mit.edu

Paris riots

ENRAGED citizens taking to the streets is one of the recurring themes of French history. But the latest bout of rioting in the suburbs of north-east Paris is a toxic and very modern mixture of alienated ethnic minority youth and heavy-handed response by the security forces.

The trouble began in Clichy-sous-Bois when two teenagers being chased by police were accidentally electrocuted. No one else, mercifully, has been killed. But six nights of violence have seen volleys of stones and petrol bombs and cars burned on several other sink estates where unemployment is high, petty crime rife and the police are seen as the enemy. It is all serious enough for Jacques Chirac to have issued an appeal for calm from the Elysie yesterday.

Not for the first time, the unrest has highlighted tensions between wealthy big cities and their grim ghettoised banlieues, home to immigrants from the Maghreb and West Africa who have never been fully integrated into French society and have become an underclass for whom hopelessness and discrimination are normal.

It has also raised troubling questions about the government’s role, and especially of Nicolas Sarkozy, chairman of the governing centre-right UMP party and the man most likely to challenge Mr Chirac for the presidency in 2007. Mr Sarkozy’s position as interior minister has put him at the centre of this story, and there are suspicions that he is happy to use it in his battle against the prime minister and rival presidential hopeful, Dominique de Villepin.

Mr Sarkozy is one of few French politicians prepared to tackle the twin issues of immigration and integration - he has some good ideas about positive discrimination and state funding for mosques — even if he has too much of an eye on the National Front leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen.

—The Guardian, London