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Professor ASLAM FATAAR focuses on the importance of Ramadaan as a month for cultivating virtues of moral living in complex times.
I begin with the risalah (message) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who experienced a year of sorrow, depression, and sadness – known as ‘aam al-huzn – in the tenth year (619) of his prophetic journey.
He and his followers were enduring a boycott from Meccan tribal society, imposed against the Banu Hashim to pressure them into relinquishing their protection of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers. The loss of two of his closest protectors – first his wife Khadija and then his uncle Abu Talib (the chief of the Banu Hashim tribe and Muhammad’s lineage protector) – left the Prophet and his mission vulnerable.
Consequently, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) suffered sorrow and hardship during this period. Allah addresses the Prophet and Muslims who are experiencing hardship and sorrow in Surah Ali Imran:
‘Do not weaken and do not grieve (be sad/depressed), and you will be superior (in victory) if you are true believers.’ (3:139)
The ayah alerts us to a condition of sadness, depression, and challenges to wellness that can engulf us in times of difficulty. The Prophet’s morning duah speaks of his call to Allah for assistance out of this depressive condition:
O Allah, I seek refuge with You from grief/sadness/depression.
Early Muslims in the Cape
Such circumstances also confronted the pioneers of Islam in Cape Town. The community found colonial conditions harsh and dehumanising. One of its prominent leaders, Tuan Guru – Imam Abdullah bin Qadi Abdus Salaam – described the Cape as an abode of sadness/ depression, a darul huzn.
Responding to the Quran’s call to address their depressive situation, the early Cape Muslims pioneered institution-building: masajid, madrasahs, and welfare institutions to build their vulnerable community.
These pioneers turned their depressive situation into adaptation and innovation. They drew on Allah’s call, as explained in Surah Rahman (55:5): ‘He has imparted unto him articulate thought and speech.’
Our forebears established their identity based on religious rituals, social practices, and language. They gave expression to Allah’s exhortation in Surah Ar-Ra’d:
‘Verily, God does not change men’s condition unless they change their inner selves.’ (13:11)
This ayah focuses on the inner self and its relation to the social self amid difficult change. The lesson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and our Cape Town forebears is that their responses were rooted the Islamic spiritual legacy. This was not a case of wallowing and cowering in defeat.
Based on an acute understanding of their circumstances, they activated Allah’s divine presence and guidance. Accessing Allah’s beneficence was core to their livelihoods. Allah explains in Surah Fatir:
‘Since He will grant them their just rewards and give them yet more out of His bounty: for, verily, He is much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude.’ (35:30).
The lesson of our forebears is that believers respond to hardship based on the necessity of accessing Allah’s forgiveness and gratitude.
Allah explains in Surah As-Shura how good deeds are increased when founded on Islam’s emphasis on virtues:
‘And whoever commits a good deed, We will increase for his good therein. Indeed, Allah is forgiving and ever forgiving and appreciative/ responsive.’ (42:23)
The pairing of Allah’s maghfirah (forgiveness) and shukr (gratitude) emphasises a clean slate, pardon for past wrongs, and recompense for one’s good deeds.
According to this ayah, a disposition of forgiveness and gratitude would lead to wholesome practices, securing caring relations and addressing challenges.
The Quran emphasises gratitude in the face of challenge. Shukr means being thankful and appreciative, praising Allah, and placing us in Allah’s divine fadl, His ever-abundant grace.
Divine gratitude galvanised Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers in their most arduous moments, repositioning them to advance Islam’s cause of dignity and fairness.
The Quran teaches us that the sickness of ‘ghafla’ or heedlessness and forgetfulness is the enemy of shukr. Ghafla denotes an illness of the heart. Allah explains in Surah An-Nahl:
‘They whose hearts and whose hearing and whose sight God has sealed – they are the heedless!’ (16:108)
The ghaafilun are people who neglect their responsibilities and ‘ibadat (worship). They do not fulfil their obligations, spread gossip, and live indulgent lifestyles.
Ghafla has a corrosive impact on people’s spiritual health. Ghafla prompts people to live unaccountable lives. Thus, for the human heart, ghafla is the worst type of disease.
Allah’s mercy, forgiveness and shukr are the antidote to ghafla, to those who genuinely repent and commit themselves to improved, counter-intuitive behaviour. Humans can access Allah’s ever-available mercy and return to His divine grace.
This is where Allah’s shukr plays a crucial role. Accessing Allah’s shukr and committing to a life of gratitude must enable us to lift the veil of our heedless behaviour.
One associated meaning of shukr is to unveil our weaknesses, to lift the lid on what makes us heedless. Once the ghafla is revealed, we open ourselves to a life of gratitude and a moral existence.
The multiplying effect of shukr is elucidated by Allah in Surah Ibrahim:
‘And [remember the time] when your Sustainer made [this promise] known: ‘If you are grateful [to Me], I shall most certainly give you more and more, but if you are ungrateful, verily, My chastisement will be severe indeed!’ (14:70)
The shaakir, the one who internalises gratitude, is bound to receive Allah’s mercy. In contrast, the kaafir or the ingrate will receive Allah’s wrath. In this ayah, shukr is tied to belief in Allah and receiving His mercy, while kufr is tied to ingratitude that leads to disbelief.
Allah-ordained virtues, such as shukr and karamah/ dignity, must now guide our spiritual development and relationships. In our current circumstances, we suffer from the sorrow and harshness during these huzn traumatic times.
Huzn or trauma and depression are widespread in our communities, suffered by people who must make ends meet with limited resources, those whose attention spans are diverted by digital technology and social media, and others who have mental wellness challenges.
A ghafla/ heedless response exacerbates the huzn. However, Ramadaan offers us the spiritual and physical resources to build a caring society. Ramadaan interrupts the attention economy that steals our time and side tracks us.
Ramadaan tells us to switch off those devices and behaviour that deflect our attention from virtuous living. It persuades us to switch on behaviour that secures a moral existence.
Ramadaan fosters increased self-discipline and a state of detachment from ghafla. Through our ’ibadat – salaah, zakaah, fasting, charity, and dhikr (remembrance of Allah) – we access Allah’s divine mercy and live inside Allah’s gratitude.
The purification of the soul reaches its height during this month, and we ask Allah that we carry our spiritually aligned personas forward.
Ramadaan fosters our ability to acquire focused attention. We observe the beauty of the natural world, Allah’s symmetry, and order. We smell the plants, observe the galaxies, and bask in the wonder of Allah’s creation.
We are thus able to reconnects ourselves with our primordial self, our fitratullah, and clarify our true purposes. We become the ulil al-baab (Quran 3:190), people of reason who contemplate Allah’s creation of the heaven and earth and the alternation of day and night with awe and acute understanding.
Ramadaan provides us with the spiritual resources for re-establishing moral balance and purposefulness, essential for facing these challenging times.
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We make duah to Allah to allow us to maximise our worship, develop spiritual elevation, and commit to doing good.
- This is the full text of the khutbah delivered by Professor Aslam Fataar at Goejjatul Islam Masjid, Stellenbosch on March 22.
Professor Fataar is Research and Development Professor in Higher Education Transformation at Stellenbosch University (SU). He was Distinguished Professor from 2016 to 2020 in the Department of Education Policy Studies in the Faculty of Education at SU.
