Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam upon which the house of Islam built. The purpose of fasting is to develop the quality of righteousness, inwardly and outwardly, by abstaining from sinful deeds and training ourselves to control our thoughts and desires. It is a deeply spiritual practice which means it is the time to build a strong spiritual connection with God and improvement of our moral and spiritual character of human being.
However lately, Ramadan has lost its magnificent symbolic meaning as some contemporary trends have replaced the divine traditions. Most of the Pakistani Muslim community has forgotten the real meaning of Ramadan; the “Taqwa.
Take an example of Snapchat ; we pray; we Snapchat, we eat; we Snapchat and even while performing good deeds we Snapchat. Just the other day an acquaintance went on on the social application, “Hello friends, today I’m up to the poor XYZ place for charity and donations. Do think this place is good to donate or should I go for welfare NGOs”. well…SHAME!
The extravagant Iftaar Buffets have left no stone unturned either. With most of the restaurants charging around 1700 to 2000 rupees per head, one can’t help being bewildered. Where does that food even go?!?! Who eats that much?!?! Little do the customers know that they can actually buy ration for a complete family that they can use for A WHOLE MONTH!
The Facebook food groups are’t far behind either. The daily hustle of trying to go more over the top than another random person who posted in the group and got a decent amount of ‘likes’ is honestly a cringe fest.
It’s okay to celebrate food but hey, go easy on everyone. Serve amazing food of course but don’t flaunt. May Allah grant us the courage and willpower to be able to perform his obligations and bestowed upon us with blessings.
Rabia Mahboob
Lose your soul in the echos of nature
