August 23, 2009 Today is the first day of Ramadan in India. I as a Christian have decided to follow the fast with my Muslim friends both for my own intrinsic spiritual reasons as well as a sign of solidarity with Muslims and the vast common ground that our two Abrahamic faiths share.
Today I woke up around 5:30am, no alarm clock. al-hamdulillah! God has helped me get up in time to get a quick bite to eat and down a couple glasses of water and coffee. And I have to admit that the coffee I drank was Starbucks, it was my one little pleasure before sunrise.
I spent some time reading the Injeel in Matthew 13 where Jesus(as) speaks about God’s Kingdom through a number of little comparisons. He compares it to a sower sowing seeds amongst different soil, wheat and weeds growing together until the Last Day, a mustard seed growing into a large tree, and yeast that makes its way through all the dough-very interesting comparisons to consider.
Afterwards I read Surah al-Fatiha and about half of Surah al-Baqara where there were a number of themes-everything from following the Straight Path (Sirat al-Mustaqeem) of monotheism to a number of reminders for true people of faith to follow God from the heart-to not add partners with Allah (swt), to do good deeds on this earth such as caring for the poor, etc.
Really interesting to read this in tandem with Jesus’ (as) teachings on the Kingdom. One ayat that stood out to me was
al-Baqara 2:62, “Truly those who believe and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabeans – whoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day and does good deeds – they have their reward from their Lord, and they shall have no fear on them nor will they be sad.”
I for one can agree with all of these aspects, belief in the one God, Allah (swt), belief in the Last Day, as well as the great importance of living out one’s faith in good deeds-these are all important facets of living within God’s Kingdom. I spent some time praising God for all that He is, that there is no other like Him, that He sustains His creation and mankind.
Then my mind and heart went towards some of my weaknesses that I know will come out during this month of fasting. Frustration and sometimes even anger when I feel disrespected by my wife or daughters or others living here in India…temptation to give up, have a drink of water, or just nibble a little on something…and my ever present back pains that are making it hard for me to have a pleasant demeanor-if you add to that fasting it really starts to strain me.
I’m thankful that God will help me this month. He knows that I’m not doing this to gain something that He hasn’t already promised or given, but rather I do this purely to grow closer to Him, to be freed of some excess baggage that has built up-stuff that you think you need only to realize that you can do without, possilbly even live better without. I also spent some time asking God to reveal to me what He’d like to do in regards to Muslim Christian relations in my life. What hurdles does He have next for me? What new lessons lay down the road just around the corner? Lastly, I prayed for some friends of mine who have spent four years in the courts seeking justice for something very dear to their hearts and God’s. So far they have gone through 4 judges and now they are beginning on their 5th. Still no justice in sight. As I prayed for them I felt God saying that He is preparing a way, a way that is straight, even though the path may appear crooked, He is preparing a way and not to lose heart. So Insha’Allah I hope and pray that during this month something opens up in the heavenlies and God pours our His blessing upon them for staying the course and not giving up.
We had to do some shopping in town today. I wonder who else is fasting as I walk around. I certainly feel a little dizzy and already feel the pains of hunger. Wow! It’s only 11am and I’m already feeling the effects. Even buying vegetables was making me hungry-usually vegetables aren’t so tantalizing. My wife brought home samosas for her and the kids. Man! Can it get any worse? I can’t hear the azan here in this city, but know there is at least two or three mosques here. I wonder what God wants to show the Muslim community this year? I wonder what God wants to show me…29 days more to go.
Posted by najashi 
