PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012
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Ramadan fast as a tool for moral education By Mujidat Oyewole
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amadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is the month when Muslims all over the world undergo a 30-day fasting every year. During the fast, Muslims are expected to strictly adhere to Islamic injunctions regarding holy living, giving alms to the poor, maintaining peace in their neighbourhoods and upholding high moral standards. The Muslim faithful are also expected to use the Ramadan fast to modify their behavioural patterns and even though the fast it is a yearly religious obligation, the lessons learnt during the period are expected to be enduring. In the light of this particular expectation, some Muslim clerics and worshippers say that the rising menace of moral decadence and insecurity in Nigeria can be effectively addressed via lessons acquired during the Ramadan fast. Ramat Ismail, an Islamic student, insists that strict adherence to Islamic injunctions requires adequate education on the part of Muslims and their ability to discern what is appropriate in efforts to promote the safety and growth of the society. Speaking at a Ramadan lecture in Abuja, Ismail says that education is fundamental to the people's understanding of the roles of religions and their impacts on society so as to ensure harmony and development. She argues that unless in isolated cases where appropriate education is lacking, it is somewhat rare to see Muslims exhibiting untoward manners during the Ramadan fast. Ismail insists that education involves the people's enlightenment on the values of the religion, what it preaches, its principles and the influence of parental upbringing. ``If a child is well brought up by his parents, such a child should be able to distinguish right from wrong; the child will not want to hurt others if he or she is well educated on the values and vices of the society. ``Even if the person is unemployed, the fact that he is educated will give him a hope of making it one day; and this will disallow him from being influenced or used as an agent of disunity in his community. ``But inadequate education, lack of love and poor parental upbringing have ruined the lives of many youths; these, in turn, have
Central Mosque in Abuja. been having myriad negative effects on the society,'' she said. However, Dr Taofiq Abdulazeez, the Imam of the University of Abuja Mosque, says that Muslims should acquire both Islamic and Western education to enable them to contribute more meaningfully to the country's development. He insists that Islam encourages Muslims to seek knowledge from any part of the world and use it to contribute positively to the development of their society. ``Islam views an uneducated society as one that may grow naturally but will not develop; a learned Muslim is the one who has gone to school and passed through it, while he or she has acquired a sound moral education. ``Therefore, a Muslim should strive for pragmatic personal development, so as to enable him or her to impact positively on the society,'' he says. Abdulazeez describes Islamic education as allinclusive, as it encompasses the learner's background, school, mosque, community and personality. He urges Muslims to imbibe
the teachings of the Holy Quran, while striving to be agents of positive change in whatever segment of the society they found themselves. Prof. Abdulganniy Oladosu, the Chief Imam, University of Ilorin Mosque, says that apart from the fact that Ramadan fast is compulsory for all Muslims; there are other benefits that could accrue from the exercise. He says that the fasting is prescribed for Muslims to attain Taqwa (fear of Allah), which is propelled by sound education and good moral values. Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Aliu Akano, an Islamic scholar, emphasises that the Ramadan fast is aimed at
creating awareness of the blessings inherent in the holy month and its importance to the development of the nation ``Without education, however, we cannot empower ourselves or contribute to the development of this nation; that is why Allah has enjoined us to seek knowledge,'' he says. Alhaji Ibrahim Yusuf, the Imam of Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria Mosque in Abuja, says that the month of Ramadan is meant to demonstrate love, selfconsciousness, self-restraint and the fear of Allah. ``There are too many attributes of this month, but to crown it all, Ramadan is the only month that was mentioned in the Holy Quran by its name,'' he
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He insists that Islam encourages Muslims to seek knowledge from any part of the world and use it to contribute positively to the development of their society.
says. Yusuf claims that for Muslims to fully receive the blessings of Ramadan, they must intensify their worship and obedience to Allah, while praying for His blessings. He, nonetheless, insists that no meaningful development can ever be attained without proper moral upbringing and education of the youth. The government, religious groups and corporate organisations are apparently conscious of this fact, as they have been making concerted efforts to expand the youths' access to education to enable them to become useful citizens later in life. One major effort to blend Islamic and Western education together is the Almajiri Education Programme of the Federal Government, which has constructed several Almajiri schools across the country. All the same, observers insist that Muslims should always allow the virtues of the Ramadan fast to always reign in their lives in their day-to-day activities, even after the annual fasting period. Source: NAN