Just as we get used to the Ramadan Routine, we are suddenly in the last ten days, the holiest of the whole month. Every odd night is said to have greater probability for spiritual openings, and we make sure we avail ourselves of this open invitation. The odd nights are called nights of power- Lailatul Qadr- although the night before the 27th fast we are counting on it and definitely on our prayer mats for a long, long time.
It feels like we just got started and now we are in the home stretch. I thought I would be happy and clap so that I can go back to my normal routine. But there is a tinge of sadness and a foreboding of parting, as this month ends. I renew my intention to go to the mosque as often as I can for communal fast opening and long prayers into the night. I see it as a gift of retirement- to be able to stay up late, get up early and nap in the day.
I will surely miss the communal iftar breaking whether at friends’ homes, restaurants and especially the mosques. In my mosque, we break fast with a date and water. Then we do the sunset prayer, and then we sit at low tables to eat food cooked and served by dervish – people committed to the path of faith and kindness in the service of our Creator. As there is an hour before the night prayer, our shaikh speaks and leads a dialogue on a wide range of topics, and with his brilliant scientific mind (he is a CTO at an AI company), deep religious knowledge and spiritual light, we relish every moment as if our souls are quenching their thirst for understanding life, faith and meaning. And then we do the long optional prayer called Taraweeh. It is 20 units interspersed with short poems in praise of Allah and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). After 4 or 8 units, I find that I have to sit to complete the prayers, and while I miss touching my forehead to the ground, I at least am able to complete the 20 units which makes me feel rich spiritually.
Feverishly, we also try to finish up all our zakat, or poor tax – I wonder if it should be called tax the rich Muslim style- which is 2.5% of our assets. There is always the confusion that are we not paying so much in federal and state and other taxes, and how do these count towards the poor tax? In any case, it is a privilege to even have that problem.
The enormous needs of the exploding world population, especially those that suffer from wars and invasions and climate change- the Global South- beckon us to give and help. Just today I talked to an Iraqi friend who went back to Iraq after 32 years in Norway and he said how hopeless the conditions are there- people said they would rather have Saddam Hussein back than this miserable so-called democracy brought by the American Empire.
Hopefully, we sustain this practice after Ramadan as well. So, as I run off to the mosque, I again wish all my Muslim friends a beautiful ending to a very special and blessed month. As you celebrate the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr next Friday, may your faces be lit up, your souls lighter and brighter, and your families together in love and support and joy. I will enjoy having my Cappuccino mid-morning with a very special and renewed appreciation!
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