If you look up at the sky tonight, you will see three quarters of a beautiful bright moon illuminating the sky. For Muslims across the world, the moon is once again the focal point of their lives. It is Ramadan, the most blessed month in the lunar Islamic calendar.
Off the top of their head, most people would say that this is the month of fasting from dawn till sunset. Or the month of charity and generosity. Or the month of voluntary night prayers. Or the month of the Words of God: the Quran. And all of those are correct and completely valid points. But this month is also the month of ihsaan, the month of striving for excellence.
Ihsaan is the highest level of faith in Islam…it is that level where the basic obligations are done in sincerity, with the added layer of being done in as perfect a way as humanly possible. For example, at the basic level, a person is fasting by refraining from eating and drinking during daylight. One step up, they are fasting, whether or not people know. And at the highest level, they are fasting from food, drink, and any improper or disliked behaviours and habits.
It’s a strange concept in today’s age. Ihsaan speaks to nourishing our hearts and minds in a day and age where the focus is on feeding the eyes. Today’s world is a society of visual display, a phenomenon perfectly encapsulated in the squares of an Instagram feed and the short videos on TikTok. It is a society focused on the material, on what can be visually displayed, noticed, and captured. The number of pages of the Quran that we read, the various places prayed in, the charity baskets donated…these are the things that are characterizing Ramadan. Good deeds nonetheless, but cheapened by the intention of showing off and appealing for recognition and praise.
Choosing ihsaan is to reject that. It is to choose the path of the stranger, the traveller, the rebel. To walk alone on a path unseen by the world, where one exists alone with the Lord. It is to do something knowing that no human being will know it was done. It is to focus inwards on one’s self, versus the outward obvious choice that people can see.
And that is the hardest part of the Ramadan struggle. One month is not long. Reading and avoiding and praying for one month takes dedication, but at the end of the month it’s often back to business as usual until next Ramadan. But what if instead of adding on these temporary big deeds, a person decided to perfect the regular deeds that they would do all year? That’s where the struggle lies: in relearning and correcting lifelong habits and routines. For twenty-something years, a person could be praying absentmindedly. They could now add on an extra prayer in the same manner. Or they could work to put focus and concentration into their prayers.
In the end, it may be that in the depths of the night, someone made it their habit to turn to Allah in complete surrender for a minute of sincere supplication. Or that they offered their daily prayers with single minute concentration. It may not seem much. But these little things done consistently over the years weigh heavier than a big act done for one month in the year.
The Prophet said, “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.”
May we be from amongst the consistent few whose deeds are most beloved.
Maryam Baksh is a graduate from University of British Columbia. She is a member of the Muslim community in Vancouver and a busy young mother.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE: https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
* This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, April 23rd 2022
