Fasting and the Institution of the Family (al-iym wa alUsrah): Let us for a minute reflect on the verse in which

Allh mentions the obligation of iym upon the Muslim Community or Ummah. Allh, all-Mighty, commands us in Srah al-Baqarah (2), Ayah (183):

O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you perchance learn self-restraint (or gain consciousness of Allh or Taqw alAllh). When reflecting on this verse, we will discover how this fourth pillar of Islam stands out among the rest and how its status is elevated in Islam. Al-iym and Raman educates all Muslims to be sincere in all their deeds, only performing them for Allah and no one else. No one knows that we are truly fasting except Allh the all-Knowing and therefore it remains an Ibdah purely performed for Allh. This is the elevated status of Raman and it has been
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awarded only for the Ummah of the Last Prophet of Allh, Sayyidin Muammad (S.A.W). Raman should ideally inculcate in all Muslims the noble virtues of compassion, love, serenity and peacefulness. All those believers or members of the Ummah whom Allh granted Taqw should not inhabit this planet with temptation and harshness, but with justice and firmness and with love and pure affection. The social problems currently faced by our Muslim community can be reduced, if before the inception of the blessed month of Raman, each Muslim makes a resolution to integrate all his/her activities and gear them towards the ultimate objective of developing him/her into a person with Taqw. This should be done not only while we are fasting, but also throughout our entire lives, since the benefits of fasting are not limited to the month of Raman. We should not, however, ignore the fact that our Ummah is made up of the smaller institutions of families, and a family is made up of individual Muslims. Therefore, to realize the notion of the best Ummah, we must first and foremost work towards realizing Muslim families living in love and serenity with an Islamic environment and upholding noble virtues and ethics. Raman is thus the
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opportunity for us to imbue ourselves with such pure values. We should note that Raman is not a month of selfishness and individualities, and it is not a month for us to gain much rewards for ourselves alone. It is not the rewards that are the ultimate goal, but it is gaining the Consciousness of Allah. If gaining Taqw-Allh is the It is the ultimate goal, then we can never attain such a noble goal if selfishness is ingrained deep in our hearts. month for the whole of the Ummah, since it is for every Muslim, i.e. a month of collectiveness. In this regard our Most Beloved Prophet Muammad (S.A.W) says:

Rajab is the month of Allh, Shabn is my month, and Raman is the month of my Ummah. We are, therefore, taught in this month to think of and prioritize the needs of the Ummah and the needs of our families before our own personal needs. In this month we can witness the blessings and mercies of Allh surround
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us, as we can sit together with our families, brothers or sisters at the same table, both during our breakfast (Sur) and also at sunset when we break our fast (Ifr). However, most of us fail to maximize this opportunity. If we yearn for Allhs blessings and mercies to enter into our households, and henceforth penetrate the hearts of our families, we must follow the eating patterns of the Prophet Muammad (S.A.W), for he has been sent by Allh to this world and Ummah as a blessing for the entire universe. This opportunity of eating together should be fully optimized, but how can that be done? Family members, especially all our young boys and girls should take turns to read the Adiyah (pl. Du) before and after meals, or recite the Niyyah before commencing al-iym and when breaking the fast or exchange a short adth or stories of the Prophets of Allh. The month also alerts us toward the importance of performing our daily prayers (alawt) in congregation (Jamah), and the younger boys should be encouraged to take turns to lead the alawt when at home and thereby acquire training to become Aimmah (pl. Imm). Besides gaining reward for such congregational prayers it also offers us a high level of spiritual strengthening and unites our supplication (Du) to Allah.
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These collective activities will also gradually soften our hearts, and hence an environment of love and compassion will be created in our homes. Raman provides us with ample opportunity to study the Qurn together among family members. We should put aside some time everyday either after alh al-Fajr or after the Tarw or any time during the day, to collectively read, memorize or study yt from the Holy Qurn, and to share the related knowledge that we have. These study sessions and gatherings are usually also attended by the angels (Malikah) of Allh, who in turn bring peace and calmness into our homes. We always ask ourselves, how can we create an Islamic environment in our homes, in which there is calmness and peace? Salm)! All of us dream of such a home (i.e. Dr alSo now is the opportunity for all of us. This

blessed month of fasting is the time for us to actually work towards creating such a home. Let us put all our efforts at bringing the spirit of Islm into our households. Let us switch off our TV sets for this month and try to live without them. This is where parents, especially fathers should With this our Exemplar Prophet play a crucial role.

Muammad (S.A.W) says:

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Each one of you is a leader, and each one of you will be held responsible for your/his leadership. A father will hence be held responsible on the Day of Judgment for his leadership in his own home. Islm has shown us the way to create a peaceful and loving home, where mercy (Ramah), tranquility (Saknah) and love (Maabbah) prevail. The choice is now ours, whether we would like to work towards that. Let us all resolve to attempt to create such a blessed environment in our homes, so that this little institution we call home and family will gain the blessings and mercy of Allah, and all our family members will gain the guidance of Allah, and subsequently our Ummah will move towards excellence and goodness both in this world and the hereafter, mn.

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