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KALEIDOSCOPE
Ramadan the Muslim month of fasting-I
Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. In this month adult and sane Muslims are obligated to fast from dawn to dusk. Fasting, however, is not unique to Islam, and many other religious communities do fast. The Qur'an says: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)." (2:183) [This verse was revealed during the second year of Hijri, the Islamic Calendar following the Prophet's migration from Makkah to Madinah.]
Fasting is not compulsory for all Muslims, but only on the physically sound, capable individuals, as is clear from the Qur'an: "(Fast) a certain number of days; and (for) him who is sick among you, or on a journey, (the same) number of other days; and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need - But whoso doth good of his own accord, it is better for him: and that ye fast is better for you if ye did but know." (2:184) Thus, a traveler or sick man must either make-up missed days of fasting at a later time or feed hungry people to compensate.
Ramadan is a blessed month because in this month the Islamic Scripture, the Qur'an, was revealed as a guidance for mankind to Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) - the Prophet of Islam. The Qur'an says, "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure ye may be thankful." (2:185)
Muslims are NOT allowed to eat, drink, smoke and have sexual relationship with their spouses when they are fasting, activities that they can engage in when they are not fasting, i.e., after sunset and before the dawn. The Qur'an says: "It is made lawful for you to go unto your wives on the nights of the fast. They are raiment for you and you are raiment for them. ... And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn. Then strictly observe the fast till nightfall and touch them not, but be at your devotions in the mosques. These are the limits imposed by Allah, so approach them not. Thus Allah expoundeth His revelations to mankind that they may ward off (evil)." (2:187)
To the one and a half billion Muslims of this planet, Ramadan is a month of "blessing" marked by fasting, prayer and charity. The month is called Ramadan because it has a scorching effect upon sins; it burns sins away.1 It is a month of sabr (patience) whose reward is Jannah (Paradise). By fasting, one's body and heart experiences a process of purification and brings one closer to his/her Creator.
Universal thanksgiving
Fasting is the key to a genuine, earnest, total and universal thanksgiving.
Imagine that you partake of food from the garden of a gardener who lends you the ground and provides water to cultivate his land. The time of harvest comes, and as thanksgiving, you decide to leave some produce from the garden to the gardener. But the gardener is not in need of anything; so, he politely advices you to share your food with the needy folks in your neighborhood. Fasting is like thanksgiving for the bounties of Allah that He continues to shower us with. He is that Merciful Gardener of the universe.
When we fast through our hunger and thirst, especially during hot summer days, we realize how difficult it would have been for us to survive without His bounties. We also realize the pain and suffering of those who are less blessed, who usually go hungry and thirsty. Through our fasting, we instill a sense of social responsibility to help ease their pains. The caring for our fellow human beings is the foundation of true thanksgiving. So, when we break our fast, we thank Allah by acknowledging our need of His bounties, and being fully appreciative of those and ascribing those bounties directly to Him.
Self-training
Fasting during Ramadan helps one in self-training and self-discipline.
Human being is comprised of nafs (soul) and ruh (spirit) beside the flesh and blood. Man's true humanity lies in subduing the lowly carnal soul and elevating the heavenly spirit. But that is easy said than done because the carnal soul tries to dominate everything. With unbridled lust, power and wealth it starts behaving like an overlord. It is in the driving seat and sets the agenda of life. The most effective way to bridle this monster is by fasting, by denying its source of strength and pleasure.
In a Prophetic hadith it is said that after creating nafs, Allah the Almighty asked it: 'Who am I and who are you?' The carnal self replied: 'You are Yourself, and I am myself.' However much Allah tormented it and asked the same question, He received the same answer: 'You are Yourself, and I am myself.' At last, Allah subjected it to hunger, and when asking the same question, the reply came: 'You are my All-Compassionate Lord; I am Your helpless servant'.
One of the purposes of fasting is to discipline the rebellious carnal soul. Fasting allows the person to tame the nafs so that it knows that only Allah, the Creator, truly owns him/her. Thus, a true devotee fasts, and many of the great Sufi masters have said that the path of Sufism consists in hunger. The Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) said: "There is no vanity in fasting."
Fasting allows the hungry and thirsty person to be humble and meek - to reflect upon his fragility, weakness, helplessness and destitution.
It is stated that on the Day of Resurrection, one of the best worshippers of Allah will want to enter Paradise on the merit of his pure worship alone. To test him, Allah will order the heat to be too severe for him. The man will beg for water to quench his thirst. It will then be asked if was willing to barter his years of worship for a sip of water to which he would comply. Then it will be said that his years of worship was not even equal to the gratitude he owed to Allah for the bounty of water that he took for granted whenever he drank from the well or river.
Fasting inculcates in man the desire to take refuge in the Divine Court of Mercy begging forgiveness for his negligence. So, when he breaks his fast at the end of the day, he thanks Allah for food that he eats and for the compassion and generosity shown to him for all these years of his earthly life. It makes him penitent, willing to repent for his heedlessness in fulfilling his obligations to fellow creatures.
The Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) named fasting "the poor-tax of the body" (zakat al-jasad), "a shield" (al-siyamu junnah) and also "half of restraint or patience" (al-sabru nisfu al-sawm); and he named patience or restraint "pure light" (al-sabru diya'). He was asked about the "wanderers" in the Qur'anic verse:
"Those that turn to Allah in repentance;
that serve Him, and praise Him;
that wander in devotion to His cause (al-sa'ihun);
that bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer;
that enjoin good and forbid evil;
and observe the limits set by Allah -
these do rejoice!
So proclaim the glad tidings to the believers." (9:112)
The Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) explained: "The wanderers in the cause of Allah are those who fast" (hum al-sa'imun).
Sowing the seeds
Fasting during Ramadan is like sowing the seeds of the Hereafter.
It is said in a Prophetic hadith that every good deed done in the month of Ramadan earns a thousand fold reward (thawab). The reward is still greater on the Fridays of Ramadan. This month also holds the Laylatul Qadr (Night of Power), when the reward of worship is equivalent to a thousand months. Surely there is nothing more profitable as a trade for a faithful believer than engaging in virtuous deeds during the month of Ramadan.
The Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) said: "If Allah's servants knew what Ramadan was, they would have wished it lasted for the whole year."
The Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) also said: "The month of Ramadan has come to you, a blessed month for the duration of which Allah has prescribed fasting for you. In it the gates of the heaven are open and the gates of hell are shut." Another version adds: "And devils are put in chains."
It is, therefore, proper that during the month of Ramadan, one should incline more towards spiritual reawakening than normal material preoccupations.
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South-South coop can change the world
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in New Delhi
Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who also heads his country's delegation in multilateral trade negotiations, believes cooperation among developing countries can change the way people perceive the world. It can make developed countries listen to the voices of the rest of the world and, in the process, become more responsive to the aspirations of developing and least-developed nations.
IPS correspondent Thakurta spoke to Amorim about Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's dream of South-South cooperation and the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) initiative. Excerpts of the interview follow.
IPS: President Lula has spoken about the need to change the world's commercial geography. Do you believe IBSA has the potential to achieve such an ambitious goal?
Celso Amorim (CA): I will go a step forward and say that cooperation among developing countries has the potential to change not just the commercial geography but also the entire geography of the planet. In this context, IBSA can play an important role because we represent three large democracies in three continents.
Our positions are similar on a wide variety of issues such as climate change, the importance of human rights, disarmament, the need to reform the United Nations in general and the UN Security Council in particular and the need for developed countries, especially the U.S., to reduce agricultural subsidies to take forward the Doha Round of negotiations in the WTO (World Trade Organisation).
IPS: Can IBSA serve as a voice representing the entire developing world without China being a part of it?
CA: This is not a fixed grouping. All three countries are engaging with China at different levels. For instance, China, Brazil, India and Mexico are in the outreach group talking to the G8 (Group of Eight leading industrialised countries). The term BRICs has become very popular these days as an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China - four of the world's most populous and fast-growing countries. Representatives of the BRICs countries met informally at the UN General Assembly last year, a meeting that was organised with the help of Russia.
IPS: What has IBSA been able to achieve?
CA: The July 17 joint communiqué issued after the (New Delhi) meeting of foreign ministers has some 100 points relating to trilateral issues. An important dimension of the relationship is the development of more and more joint projects in areas like health, transportation, agriculture and science and technology. These are being developed with the participation of the parliaments of all three countries and also with civil society. But we don't stop here. We are concerned about helping countries that are less developed than we are. We have ongoing projects in Haiti, Guinea-Bissau, Zambia, Burundi and East Timor. A four-billion-U.S.-dollar fund has been created and this fund is expected to grow by one billion dollars a year.
The three IBSA countries are also closely cooperating with one another in international fora like the WTO and the UN. We are members of the G20 in the WTO. In the future, we could as a combination intervene in issues and in regions where we have influence - in Africa, in the Middle East... even on the Palestine issue. It is difficult to predict what could happen. The world is today very different from what it was even 50 years ago.
We were clear after the G8 outreach meeting (Jun. 8) at Heiligendamm (Germany) that we cannot be taken for granted by the rich nations. It is no point asking us to come and taste the dessert after the main meal is over. As Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, there is no use asking us to discuss a document after it has been prepared and not during its preparation. I don't question the intentions of the G8 in calling us. I just think some of these countries have not yet been able to get rid of their bad habits.
IPS: One of the biggest constraints hampering trade among the IBSA countries is the high cost of transportation. Consignments from India and Brazil to South Africa first travel to Europe before reaching their destination. Because of low traffic, it is less expensive to fly from India to the U.S. than to Brazil, although Brazil is closer.
CA: Yes, this is a problem but we have to move forward. While there are agreements at a government level, we wish to convene meetings of businesspersons to look into issues related to aviation and maritime agreements, including trans-shipment issues, so that goods do not have to move through other countries. The natural sea route from Brazil to India is through South Africa.
IPS: IBSA nations also compete in international markets. How do competitors become collaborators?
CA: The areas of collaboration and complementarity are far bigger than the areas of competition. There is tremendous potential for collaboration, in areas such as computer software, pharmaceuticals and aviation. Even in areas like textiles, garments and farm commodities where we compete with one another, I believe there is scope for cooperation.
Take the case of biofuels. India and South Africa can benefit from Brazil's experience not only with ethanol but also with biodiesel. I believe promotion of biofuels would help create employment opportunities in rural areas. I don't agree with Fidel Castro that there are conflicts of interest between farmers growing cash crops and subsistence crops. This is a false controversy. Farmers have a choice of planting black beans, rice or sugarcane. The main problem is not lack of food but lack of income and appropriate land. Without money, you will not be able to eat.
IPS: How do you react to the view that India, Brazil and South Africa should not be pressing the U.S. to reduce farm subsidies because all three countries import food and consumers can benefit from subsidised food?
CA: Agricultural subsidies in the U.S. cause much more harm than good. The subsidies that are given to farmers producing cotton and sugar in rich countries benefit only a few and threaten the livelihood of many. We in IBSA and other developing countries are united in demanding that developed countries completely eliminate trade-distorting export subsidies on agricultural products and substantially reduce other agricultural subsidies. This cannot become a precondition to NAMA (non-agricultural market access) from developing countries. We want the developed countries to remember the Hong Kong declaration (of the WTO) that there should be no less than full reciprocity on this issue.
IPS: There is a complete breakdown of talks at the WTO on the issue of farm subsidies. Do you not think that the so-called Doha Development Round is dead and gone?
CA: No, I don't think so. I have hope that the Doha Round would be successfully concluded. In the area of TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights), at (the 2003 WTO meeting at) Cancún (Mexico), the U.S. and the developed countries in Europe accepted changes related to trade in pharmaceuticals. That was a good omen. The WTO, after all, is the only multilateral trade body that allows for settlement of disputes among countries and believes in a rule-based international trading system.
IPS: Now that India and the U.S. are coming closer together on nuclear energy, what kind of cooperation is possible in this area between India and Brazil?
CA: We have to be very careful with regard to proper and dependable safeguards. If there is an effective safeguards agreement, there should be no problem. We should start with the relatively softer areas, for example, nuclear medicine and the use of isotopes for food preservation. The joint communiqué states that Brazil and South Africa, as members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, have resolved to explore ways for civilian nuclear cooperation with India through acceptable approaches.
- Inter Press Service
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'History and the truth': A rejoinder
Mohiuddin Ahmed
As a Foreign Service officer, first of erstwhile Pakistan and then of Bangladesh, for 34 years, I have had the privileges and opportunities to know both Humayun Rashid Chowdhury and K. M. Shehabuddin rather closely. The former had joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1952, the latter in 1966, and myself in 1967. More importantly, all three of us had joined the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 from our respective places of posting.
K.M. Shehabuddin and Amjadul Haque were the first Bengali diplomats to resign their posts of second secretary and assistant press secretary respectively from Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on April 6, 1971. They did this when the Provisional Government headed by Tajuddin Ahmed had not yet been formed. I had formally resigned from my post of second secretary in London's Pakistan High Commission on August 1, 1971 and Humayun Rashid Chowdhury was the last among the three of us to join the Liberation War on 4 October 1971. HRC was then a counselor in the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. I write this just to point out that the three of us had our small share in the most important and glorious event of our history and therefore, we three have a common bond as well.
It is for this reason that I was appalled when I read Nasrine Karim's article "History and the Truth" in your esteemed weekly, Weekly Holiday, on Friday 14 September.
Nasrine Karim has every right to glorify her father Humayun Rashid Chowdhury; all children do that, in respect of their parents. Most recently, Princes William and Harry in the memorial service on the occasion of their mother Princess Diana' s 10th death anniversary described her as the best mother in the world. Likewise, Nasrine Karim can indeed, describe her father as the best father in the world. However, while doing so, she certainly cannot indulge in attempting to assassinate the character of K.M. Shehabuddin. My first reaction after reading her piece was that she has demeaned the memory of her father who, if he were alive today, probably would not have allowed her to write such a piece.
Humayun Rashid Chowdhury, in his later life, had been an ambassador, an OSD, again an ambassador, a Foreign Secretary, and finally, President Ershad's Foreign Minister. The same President Ershad had also removed HRC from his post of Foreign Minister unceremoniously following allegedly a big scandal. Nevertheless, I still admire HRC for his courage when he, as ambassador to West Germany, had hosted Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and Dr. Wajed Miah after the murders of their father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on August 15, 1975. These two sisters and Dr. Wajed Mia were then the guests of another one of our ambassadors in a West European country. The ambassador in question, a political appointee of Sheikh Mujib, when he heard of Sheikh Mujib's assassination, became scared for his life and position and would have, if possible, thrown the two sisters out of his home. At that most tragic point of time of our history, Humayun Rashid Chowdhury sent his car to bring them to his house in Bad Godesberg, the then capital of West Germany. Sheikh Hasina never forgot this act of courage and kindness of HRC, she made him the Speaker of our 7th National Assembly. Unfortunately, HRC was widely considered a partisan speaker and subsequently, a failure in the position. Deputy Speaker Advocate Abdul Hamid got more praise for his neutrality, many a time, when conducting the business of the House.
Karim describes Sheikh Hasina's decision to appoint K.M. Shehabuddin as our ambassador to the USA "as an aberration". Why does she think so? HRC was appointed ambassador to the USA by HM Ershad when the military leader did not consider him the appropriate man to be our Foreign Secretary. Earlier, HRC had been our ambassador to West Germany and Saudi Arabia. K.M. Shehabuddin, in his later life, had been our Deputy High Commissioner in London. Then, after a few months in Dhaka, he had his first ambassadorial appointment in Poland in the early 1980's during Ershad's time. He was then transferred to Kuwait, and in this position, he did a splendid job as our ambassador when Iraq attacked Kuwait in mid 1990. Shehabuddin arranged the repatriation of about 70,000 stranded Bangladeshis to Bangladesh and, in 1991 he had a commendable role in engaging our army in mine clearing in liberated Kuwait.
K.M. Shehabuddin's next post as ambassador was in France when Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister for the first time. His last post was in the US which was a correct decision of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as his major accomplishments in that position bore out. During his tenure in Washington D.C., President Bill Clinton visited Bangladesh on March 20, 2000, and Sheikh Hasina also had paid a return visit to the US in October of the same year. Karim perhaps forgot to keep in mind when writing her piece that this was the first ever visit of an American president to Bangladesh. Well, if she is that forgetful of vital facts, how can she be expected to be objective when evaluating a man?
Karim dishes out an incredibly absurd story in defense of her father's delayed resignation (on 4 October, 71) from Pakistan's New Delhi High Commission. According to her version, HRC was waiting to be Acting High Commissioner so that with his defection he could take over the High Commission's building in Delhi's Chanakyapuri for the cause of the Liberation War!! As far as I know, the fact is that Mujibnagar government's request to him to come out earlier went unheeded. It is strange that Karim cooked up a ridiculous story of her father forcing Shehabuddin and his wife to defect while he himself sat tight on his post. It is a common knowledge that whatever Mr. and Mrs. Shehabuddin did in 1971, they did on their own without interference from any quarters. I have it on the authority of independent source that they did it out of their love for Bangladesh. In our service, he has an impeccable reputation of being honest, handworking and patriotic.I had had several occasions to talk about Pakistan's New Delhi High Commission and the Bengali diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff's role in 1971 with HRC in Geneva, Jeddah, and South Yemen's capital Saana. HRC never once mentioned the scheme of things, as Karim put it, in defense of his delayed decision to defect.
In this respect, KM Shehabuddin and Amjadul Haque remain miles ahead of Humayun Rashid Chowdhury. As a matter of fact, these two officers created history in the world because such an event did not happen anywhere in the world before 1971 or after. Thus they opened the diplomatic front of our Liberation War as the first two diplomatic soldiers. They certainly inspired me in London in taking my decision to resign. They must have inspired Bengali officers and staff in Pakistani diplomatic missions in many other places in the world such as Calcutta, Washington D.C., New York, Cairo, Tunisia, Lagos Bern, Tokyo, and so on. No amount of abuses and outbursts against KM Shehabuddin can diminish this heroic role of those two young diplomatic officers in 1 971.
Karim's column does not say a word as to why she became so abusive towards KM Shehabuddin. Was it because of the piece headlined "History from one who helped shape it" that Syed Badrul Ahsan, the Editor for Current Affair of the Daily Star and also a distinguished columnist and journalist, had written in the Daily Star on September 8, 2007? He had in an eloquent manner recommend KM Shehabuddin's book "There and back again: A Diplomat's Tale" (University Press Limited) to the readers? It is rather strange that Karim did not send her bitter reaction to the Daily Star! Why did she sent her outbursts to the weekly Holiday and the daily Independent?
It appears to me that Syed Badrul Ahsan genuinely described K.M. Shehabuddin in his concluding paragraph in these following few words:
"As an individual who served all governments in the country until his retirement (his final call was as ambassador to Washington during the period of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government), he remains a living record of some of the most intense and purposeful phases in Bengali nationalist politics. This is a book to be savoured, for it comes from a suave and distinguished citizen of this land. You cannot put it down without wanting to flip through the pages yet one more time." HRC did commit many irregularities in his career as a foreign service officer and then as the foreign minister. One such example is the appointment of Nasrine Karim's husband, Iftekar Karim, as our high commissioner, to Brunei when her father was the foreign minister. Her husband was then an employee of the BCCI. This mission was opened just to accommodate this gentleman and was closed down after his term ended. I am surprised that a big column full of diatribes against a distinguished freedom fighter has been published in a national weekly like Holiday.
Finally, I would like to add that a point-by-point retort to Karim's letter would require more space than given to Nasrine Karim. The editor of Weekly Holiday would not perhaps give me that large space and more importantly, I do not have the taste and interest to enter into a polemic of this sort.
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