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KonkNaija Media | May 8, 2016

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What Is This Ramadaan Sef? Terrorist Training Month?

What Is This Ramadaan Sef? Terrorist Training Month?

Every year for about 30-31days millions of people around the world observe ramadaan.

Apart from the peaks and troughs individuals face due to dehydration, low blood sugar and well… Absolute hunger what exactly is the purpose of this ramadaan?

I thought i should go down memory lane to share my knowledge learned growing up of ramadaan.

As a young child we always felt special during ramadaan; from age 8 we joined an elitist club where we were no longer ‘ajosan” we graduated to “a gba d’aila” it was like being promoted from office messenger to boardroom chairman.

We could join in sehri and break our fast in the late afternoon. We felt special.

“Hold your horses! I am not rewriting hadiths and frankly i am not sunni or whichever or, i don’t know boko and i never really heard the word haram used; yes we are not the “ajagbemo keferi” breed

Ahem i digress;

During ramadaan grandad used to write suras on his wala with honey and he would wash it into a cup and then we drank it after saying fatiha prior to breaking our fast. That was pretty special.

Grandad would sit with us and remind us ramadan was a time to be focussed on discipline and diligence.

We were to knit our shoulders even tighter at times of prayer to remind ourselves that the umma is one, that the devil wouldn’t be able to find a gap in our wall and that we were united in prayer where the presence of many in prayer would surely give shaytan a bad convulsion.

Muhammed SAW must have got so thirsty during ramadaan that if his camels took a pee he might have thought the camel had turned into a borehole tap; because i have been in the Tunisian sand dunes and ventured into the sandstorm plains and valleys of Libya not only does it feel like a pizza oven or well stoked aga it is also bitter stinging dusty and cold as well as hot.

In fact the views are frightening when one looks across the vast stretch of absolutely nothing but dry coarse sand.

Back to our own environs we fast because abstinence is discipline and discipline of the sort where you eat nothing and drink nothing propels and heightens your internal spirituality and faith; it gives you the courage to pray for big things like a change in the world and pushes you to yield thanksgiving instead of resentment for what you do have.

Ramadaan for me growing up was seen as a time for family togetherness; unity in prayer and focus on the things we take for granted.

Ramadaan is that time when we go from house to house to make tarawih jamaa and be hosted by a different family each night it is truly an honour if prayer comes to your home.

Ramadaan is that time when we brush uo on our rusty arabic or learning of ayas and reacquaint ourselves with dua and supplication.

Most of the time as a youngster fast would be broken with a little cup of grandads prayers and then a bowl of milky or lemon pap drizzled with honey and slices of fruit.

Then we would pray and eat a bit of rice, lots of vegetables and meat or fish; being islanders “agbodo” was a delightful treat (agbodo is a plump mature sardine grilled slowly in its own skin till its juices run)

We were allowed to stay up a little bit past bedtime and we soon learned not to abuse that freedom because you would surely know about it should the morning come and it would be time to wake for school.

My fondest memory of ramadaan is the effort my gran and grandad would make to send a parcel of food to virtually all the neighbours who were old; housebound or altogether members of the masjid we call masjid “moshalashi”

After that would come the mix of exhausted excitement during lailatul quadr with us having to push ourselves extra to defy sleep and anticipating yidi.

During ramadaan we were encouraged to dress up and look presentable, greet everyone correctly with salaam alekum, follow up by helping our neighbours and friends, support each other, remedy any wrongs we could see happening and to be diligent in prayer.

Ramadaan is the time to pray for the world; to remember the poor; the old; the weak; the sick; the disregarded and our obligations to Allah and as we step into day 2 of ramadaan may God continue during and beyond this month to shower us with blessings; the spirit of unity, tolerance, respect, virtue, providence and peace.

Have a lovely month; Ramadaan kareem