By Uzma Kolsy, Irvine, CA
Ramadan, the most blessed month of the year. A month when Muslims dedicate themselves to their piety, and seek a multitude of blessings, and hope for forgiveness. The month when the glorious Qur’an was bestowed as a gift upon mankind. The month during which Muslims from every corner of the world gather in worship and devote themselves to the constraint of fasting: a test of patience and desire, and an effort to embrace an understanding of misfortune. But gratefully, our leash keeping us from sustenance lasts only while our cranny of our earth basks itself in light. In but a few hours, we once again feast off our fruits of success and abundance, and within a month, that hallow that was placed upon our heads, slowly vanishes. We once again return to routine living, that sacred light that once illuminated our homes, our families, and our souls, gradually dims.
While that holy touch still rests upon our hearts, it’s vital to comprehend the importance of this month and its meaning in the events that are presently taking place. One purpose for the obligation of Sawm is to acquire sympathy. That shouldn’t be a problem now, because there is more than enough to sympathize with. Well aware of current events, how do you swallow that delectable fruit and delicious appetizers you have for Iftar, and how does that feast you call dinner go down your throat every night? Let me paint you a picture of affliction: Afghanistan - where a grief-stricken people wake every morning with one goal alone - to survive. Where eight million Muslims face severe food shortage, and must struggle through their own war - a battle with starvation. Where children die like fleas from malnutrition, and fathers of families are killed constantly from primitive civil war battles and crossfire, where landmines scattered upon their earth slay hundreds of thousands of Afghan women, men, children and elderly. Orphaned children wander about lost, not knowing where to go, what to do, and if they’ll ever feed their stomachs so that the incessant pain eating them away inside, stops. The suffering simply doesn’t end there. These people have faced two decades of war, and four years of drought. They now must endure a bitter cold winter. Frost will nip and bite at their hungry stomachs, their inadequately clothed bodies, and their will to survive. Millions attempt to flee their country and those incapable of doing so are left behind with only their tears, and hopes for a miracle. A nation stranded in the 12th century, technology is rare in a backward Afghanistan, and the people have no means of communication to the outside world.
Afghanistan has been jinxed with a triple curse - mass starvation, severe winter, and a daily dose of air missiles. Ask yourself how much you can contribute to help your brothers and sisters in Islam who weep for a miracle. It being the month of Ramadan, when our blessings are multiplied seventy times over, it’s now time to give.