Charity is the third major act of worship in Ramadan after fasting and recitation of Holy Quran. It is quite sad that we lose the smile that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) described as a gesture of generosity throughout this month. Muslims have money to donate throughout Ramadan, but they seem to forget their manners in this month. It seems as though people hoard politeness like they would other essential commodities. Every face you see during Ramadan seems to be either scowling in anger or exuding excessive solemnity, as if the doctor had just delivered bad news and the man’s usual sense of humor had vanished.
God rewards people 100 times more during Ramadan than at any other time of the year, thus it is a time to collect benefits. Not only does He hold the devil in check throughout this month, but He also removes obstacles from people’s paths so they can receive the innumerable benefits. Given this element, this month is meant to be a happy period. But the truth is that during Ramadan, our faces no longer even have the normal smile that is seen in other months, let alone the extra joy we are meant to feel throughout this month. The strange thing is that smiles only appear on people’s faces after iftar and not during the fast, even though the hunger and thirst are temporary which end in few hours with delicious food.
The truth is that our willingness to enslave ourselves to our addictions is the real cause of our loss of joy during fasting, not our thirst or hunger. Most of us are addicted to Pan, tobacco or cigarettes. Only a tiny minority of the general population is free from any of the aforementioned addictions. However, that minority, like the majority, typically cannot survive without tea. As you are aware, tea is one of the most common addictions in the world. Tea addiction is so widespread that even mothers intentionally encourage it in their kids.
Mothers disregard the fact that tea is not a necessity for human beings, but it is an intoxicant that is harmful to health and makes a person prisoner. Mothers make their children dependent on tea at a young age when, if they knew better, they would not allow them to be near it at such a young age. Even during Ramadan, the tea addiction can make you miserable the entire day since you are hankering after a cup of tea.
Eventually, despite your best efforts to escape, these legitimate addictions become so irresistible that you are powerless. When our compassionate doctor Asimullah Bakhsh examined my stomach a few years ago, he suggested quitting pan because drugs would only provide temporary comfort. The truth is that an addict becomes accustomed to these types of advice throughout the course of his life, so all he usually does is make a promise to the doctor that he later breaks. But with Dr. Asimullah Bakhsh, I was unable to do that. I finally gave up on Pan after many years. I then experienced acute depression and understood that stopping Pan abruptly could lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Pan then reappeared in my life.
In order to avoid the anger of a fasting villain, it is advisable to use caution when speaking with Pan, cigarettes, or tobacco addicts after midday during Ramadan. I brought up this matter since I am one of these cases. Why do we become a bother for people during the fast? Is this practice not against the sanctity of fasting itself? My family members would avoid talking to me while I was fasting, which made me realize my disagreeableness during Ramadan. Three years prior, I promised myself that no matter how bad I would feel during fasting, I wouldn’t become a nuisance for my family.
I wouldn’t argue that getting over my quirks was easy, but it wasn’t difficult either. By and by I mended my ways telling myself that this is a month of blessing and my family now sees a different man during the Ramadan. Writers who are addicted to Pan or cigarettes find it hard to write anything during fasting, however, now I have written dozens of pieces and even can concentrate in the evening while fasting, even though by the time of evening prayers, even tea addict find it difficult to produce anything during fasting.
Tea addiction is not a problem for me because I only drink one cup with breakfast. How did I get rid of my addiction? Willpower is the solution. God has endowed man with many abilities to conquer. The man, through his capacity for conquest, climbs the Himalayas, soars through the air, or finds the ocean’s bottom. And willpower is the spirit of a conqueror. So how can it be that he is unable to overcome his flaws? I’m no longer a fasting villain as a result of using my willpower.
