Sacrifice in Islam
Introduction
I have always enjoyed the festival of Eid-Ul-Fitr. Stepping out into the sunny afternoon with lots of food and merrymaking always rekindles many memories. Laughter and children’s screams always fill the air. However, this year, the festivities are no more. COVID-19 has had its fair share of the occasion with many Muslims around the world being forced to engage in confined and isolated festivities.
One of the most observed practices in Islam is Ramadan. This is a holy month of obligation where all Islam faithful are required to commit to fasting. Also, fasting and almsgiving are common practices for the entire community. As such, this is a community practice that is characterized by social gatherings for sharing and teachings. During the coronavirus pandemic, the implications of the social distancing rules have immensely affected the annual practice for Muslims across the world. Muslims in the State of California are highly affected by this practice especially the business community that at times depends on this occasion to make a high profit to compensate for other low seasons in the year.
Elanna is one of the community leaders with such experience. In an interview, Elannan disclosed that her Islam-themed restaurant is usually flooded with Muslim customers during the Holy Month who are looking to break their fast. This accounts for about 80% of her annual profit.
“During this period [the holy month], my restaurant is surrounded by hundreds of people in the courtyard looking to break the fast. Now [the restaurant] is empty. We are only serving a few customers who are ordering for taking away meals.”
Elanna looks forward all year long for this period. However, she is not the only one affected in California. Many Islam faithful are unable to partake in various annual rituals that they have been accustomed to. As such, there is a need to understand, the meaning of some of the practices that they engage in and the significance that is attached to them especially in California.
Discussion
The Islam community has five crucial pillars. One of these pillars is Ramadan (Alghafli et al., 2019: 1). During the period, all Islam faithful who are post-puberty is obligated to fast during the day hours. However, some community members are exempted such as the sick, elderly, travelers, and breastfeeding mothers among others (Alghafli et al., 2014). The Quran states, “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was for those before you (Quran 2: 183-184). To this extent, Ramadan becomes one of the most sacred periods in the Muslim calendar. This period looks at sanctifying the behavior of the Muslim faithful, improves community relationships, and also improves on their connections with Allah.
The improvement of community relationships encompasses various factors including the family as the central point. In a study, Marks & Dollahite (2011) found that fathers that engaged in deeper religious practices had a deeper connection and better quality relationships with their children (4). Similarly, one of the key aspects of Ramadan is to deepen the relationship that exists among family members especially fathers and their loved ones. According to Pew (2011), a majority of the Muslim faithful in the US are immigrants. As such, their practices have majorly been affected by the cultural integration into society as compared to second-generation Muslims. As such, the following of Muslim practices in the country becomes highly pious as compared to areas characterized by second-generation Muslims. Moreover, despite the deep ethnic backgrounds, the practices are generally similar as accorded by the Quran.
As Elanna states, “The period of Ramadan begins with the new moon. This is a sighting that varies according to geography but ensures that all Muslims have similar periods of Ramadan due to its consistency.”
Various restrictions are stipulated to the community. To begin with, no drink or meal is allowed during daylight hours (Alghafli et al., 2019: 1). There are other temptations that the community is ascribed to. The temptations include fasting from drinking, vain talk, quick anger, and the lapse in moral judgment (Alghafli et al., 2019: 1).
Elanna reiterates this point, “[Muslim faithful during Ramadan] should not indulge in obscene speak or raise their voice in anger when prompted.”
One of the key aspects that are common during the month is engaging in intensive studying of the Quran and supplemental prayers (Alghafli et al., 2019: 4). This is perhaps the most important aspect that is important for the Muslim faithful. The activity is characterized by in-depth prayers that are guided by a teacher in the Mosque at various points in the day. Through these readings, people are able to acquire knowledge of good and bad, get personal motivation to deal with various challenges, and the direction of their life.
In the US, one of the key challenges that Elannan points out is the discipline that is required to deal with fasting during the month. Many people are ascribed to other religions and as such, they engage in normal eating during the month. This requires immense discipline to overcome. The shared work environment also makes it difficult as there are frustrations accompanied with it that make the period more difficult (Alghafli et al., 2019: 5). Elanna points out that growing up in Pakistan was easier since, during the month, nearly the whole country is in the same mood and practice which makes it easier.
In addition to the discipline that is required, the Californian Muslims have to deal with the social distancing rules that make sharing difficult. An interview with an Imam from a California mosque reveals that the main point of these activities prescribed for the month of Ramadan is to bring the community closer.
With this key important takeaway, then there is a great loss that the community has to deal with during this COVID-19 pandemic as the social distancing rules do not append to the practice. The community has to deal with banned social gatherings. This ban means that the community cannot fully participate in the practice of prayer in the Mosque. Additionally, almsgiving is highly affected as the community. A key practice is to ensure that the community engages the less privileged in breaking the fast. As such, food is prepared in plenty and the less privileged are invited to share in meals. Festivities this year are at home and people are connected through online platforms such as social media and Zoom meetings.
The California Imam states that: “There is also an increase in the number of people that are suffering from the consequence of COVID-19 that are feeling the economic impact of the community. This means that there is an increasing number of Muslim faithful who are facing the month with the prospect of being jobless, are jobless, or are unable to cater for their dependants fully.”
Another key tradition that is characterized during Ramadan is the visiting of friends and family. Elanna is originally from Pakistan which is one of the most populous countries in the world. Research on the impact of COVID-19 on Ramadan in Pakistan reveals that the country has been put under lockdown. This lockdown means that there is no visiting friends and family as is custom to many faithful in the country (Edgar, 2020). Additionally, all gatherings in Mosques have been banned with all mosques remaining closed during this period. Being a highly Muslim country, the tradition of Ramadan is more of a national symbol that an individual practice in the US. As such, the country as a whole is overwhelmingly feeling the impact.
Marks & Dollahite (2012) in research found that the practice of fasting has a positive impact on uniting the community (189). These connections have been found to assist the community during difficult times and have led to the development of resilience (Marks & Dollahite, 2012: 189). As such, will the fasting attribute assist the community to deal with the wave of COVID-19 more effectively than other ethnographic groups? Well, we are not sure but research from other quarters can give us some indications. Burr et al. (2012) found that engagement in deep religious practices had a positive impact on the development of strong family relationships. With the social distancing rules, the Ramadan festivities mean that the community members are greatly interconnected at the family level. With this, there is an increase in the sacred family practices. This creates a base or foundation on which the family can develop psychological connections for dealing with the negativities associated with various practices.
Professor Abdel-Khalek from Kuwait University found that the Muslim faithful had better mental well-being and happiness levels as compared to other communities which were greatly attributed to their cultural practices including Ramadan (Alghafli et al., 2019: 4). This is a study that was conducted on Muslims from various parts of the world that included a sample size of over 17,000 individuals from eight countries. The lower depression and neuroticism that was found among the Muslim participants can indicate as to the implications of Ramadan on the community in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a religious practice that is aimed at uniting, the Ramadan has the impact of enabling the community to be better prepared to deal with various eventualities. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the community is particularly strained during this period. As such, one may assume that the community may have various negative implications emerging. However, the pandemic is leading the community to develop deeper religious practices that are based on the family members. As a result, the community is able to develop families that are deeper in values and connections. Common practices such as sharing and engaging in religious education practices are limited and majorly focused on the family unit at this time. As such, the community has increased level of family interactions even during isolation which is leading to the development of psychological connections that can help deal with some of the mental health issues that are common with isolation such as depression.
From this perspective, the Muslim community, through the practice of Ramadan and based on the findings of Abdel-Khalek can be predicted to the community that will most likely have the highest resilience and fewer mental health issue cases resulting from the impact of the pandemic. Professor Abdel-Khalek’s research has also been repeated by other authors and the results have been consistently revealing the better mental health and subjective well-being of the Muslim community as compared to other members (Tiliouine et al., 2009: 70, Manganaro & Alozie, 2011; 528). Therefore, we can assume based on the research that the Muslim community may be adversely affected by the social distancing rules in meeting the requirements for Ramadan but are also developed to better cope with the consequences of the period through the same practices.
Conclusion
Therefore, the month of Ramadan is a time for prayer and fasting among the Muslim faithful. The period is one of the five pillars of the community and is characterized by prayer, fasting, and community engagement. I have enjoyed the festivities associated with Ramadan – Eid-Ul-Fitr – on an annual basis. However, this year the festivities have been halted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Other practices of significance to the community include prayer and readings in the Mosque and community sharing of meals during fast breaks which have been halted. However, Ramadan may have a great positive impact on the faithful in California by building on greater family bonds. These bonds will lead to the development of greater relationships which may help the community deal with the effects of the pandemic better. As such, Ramadan may be more than just a time for prayer and fasting for the community but also a time for building resilience for dealing with forthcoming challenges.
Works Cited
Alghafli Zahra, Hatch Trevan, Marks Loren, Rose Andrew, Abo-Zena Mona, Dollahite. A Qualitative Study of Ramadan: A Month of Fasting, Family, and Faith. Religions 10(2): (2019) 123
Alghafli Zahra, Hatch Trevan, Marks Loren. Islam. In The Social History of the American Family. Edited by Marilyn J. Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 769–72. 2019.
Edgar, Taylor. Covid-19 impact on Ramadan. Retrieved from https://www.welovestornoway.com/index.php/articles-auto-3/16886-covid-impact-on-ramadan
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Marks, Loren D., and David C. Dollahite. “Don’t Forget Home”: The Importance of Sacred Ritual in Families. In Understanding Religious Rituals. Edited by John P. Hoffman. New York: Routledge, pp. 186–203. 2012.
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Pew. Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism; Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2011. Retrieved from www.people-press.org/2011/08/30/muslim-americans-no-signs-of-growth-in-alienation-or-support-for-extremism/
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