THE holy month of Ramadhan for this year started last Saturday, May 27, 2017. For the non Muslims who do not have background about this month, Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Hijra (lunar) calendar. Hijrah calendar is based on a lunar cycle of 29 or 30 days. Based on the Holy Qur'an and Hadith of prophet Muhammad (SAW), the exact date is determined by the sighting of the new moon.
Fasting during this month is one of the five pillars of Islam and revered by Muslims as a month of piety and repentance in which the Holy Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). As I observe the news about the recent conflict in Marawi City makes me all the more to remember my childhood memories of Ramadhan with my family and Meranaw friends and relatives. Fasting during this holy month is a very important ritual for every Muslim family all across the globe.
During this month, every Muslim must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, marital relations or getting angry during the day time. A Muslim who fasts are is expected to refrain from bad habits - lying, getting angry, using and using foul language. He/she is also expected to be more diligent in prayer and give to charities. It is important to spend fasting during this month with our families because it is a time devoted for spiritual connection with Allah (SWT) and for us to develop patience (sabr) and Taqwa (remembrance of Allah).
The fast begins in the morning just before sunrise (Imsak), and is broken at maghrib (one of the five daily obligatory prayers) which falls at sunset. Muslims who are expected to fast include: adults (defined as those who have reached the age of puberty) in good health condition, and those who are sane. Those who are not expected to fast include: children, women having their period, travelers, the sick, those with long-term illnesses, pregnant or breastfeeding women and the mentally ill.
Remembering Ramadhan with my family, it was my mom who usually wakes me up early in the morning to have a meal before subuh. I can also remember a nearby mosque in our house that uses a loud speaker and a microphone to awaken the Muslims in our neighborhood. The Imam of the mosque will say "wake up, wake up, it’s time to eat your saul or sahur".
I started fasting when I was ten years old. I can never forget the thirst during the day of fasting and forgetting all my thirst and hunger once I drank a glass of water and ate the delicious food during Iftar or Buka (fast breaking time). At around three in the afternoon, my mom and my elder sisters would prepare our food for Buka. They will also prepare drinks made of fresh fruits. Ina, my aunt, would also cook sindol (binignit) and other local delicacies made of rice, coconut, and brown sugar. There were many food on our table like pastil (sauteed chicken), balebed (suman), pangus (dried cat fish), palapa, and tinapayan (fermented fish), and lots of fresh fruits.
During summer time, fasting was even more fun and exciting for us. After Buka, we prepare to pray for Tarawee in our house together with my cousins who stay with us during Ramadhan. We stay up late at night till Suhur playing card games, watching movies (betamax and VHS), reading and sometimes playing chess. On the last ten days of Ramadhan, we pray Tahadjjud, read the Holy Qur'an and observe the Laylatul Qadr (Night of Decree or Night of Power). We believe that this night is when the first verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) My Meranaw friends and relatives usually told me that the nights in Marawi duringMarawi during the Month of Ramadhan were lively right up to early hours of Morning until the next day were festive in nature. The entire city was lively at night. Food wasere abundant in most of the families homes and they were shared to their neighbors and visitors. I had the chance to spend few days of Ramadhan in Marawi. Those days were very special to me because it was not hard to fast during day time. The cold weather of the city helps us forget our thirst and hunger.
I remember the delicious chicken papar, beef randang, palapa, and yellow rice that our hosts will served to us. But Ramadhan will never be the same again in Marawi City and to the Meranaws, especially to those who were displaced because of the conflict. To the displaced families, fasting outside their homes and in the evacuation centers can never be that easy. Despite the hard living conditions, the expected long days, and hot weather, I am certain that the evacuees – including old women and young children – will do their best to fast during this Holy Month. Most of them will spend the days and nights of the month of Ramadhan in prayers and in reading the Quran. This year's Ramadhan will forever be remembered by all Bangsamoro people. This is the month where the Islamic City of Marawi was sieged by extremist groups who claimed to be freedom fighters. This is the month where Muslims all over the country will be tested of their faith and trust to Allah (SWT).
As I said before, the month of "Ramadhan comes at a very challenging time for Muslim Filipinos today and the rest of the Muslim Umma in the world. We face so many problems in our communities. We blame almost all our problems to the West or to other communities and religions, but we never look inside our own condition and see what have we have done to Islam and to our faith." It is time we go back to the very nature of Islam that promotes peace, love, understanding, tolerance, and dialogue. As we observe the holy month, may our prayers and fasting be accepted by Allah and may peace come to our homeland.